14-year-old girls sweep the awards at national STEM competition
If you’ve ever dealt with a 14-year-old girl you know they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Be these five young are smart and innovative to boot.
Each year the Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public sponsor a science and engineering competition for middle school students called the Broadcom MASTERS® (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars), which awards a total of $100,000 or prize money to 30 finalists.
At the end, one student takes home the coveted Samueli Foundation Prize, the top award in the competition which comes with a $25,000 token of appreciation.
But this is no typical science fair. Only the best and brightest – the ones who have already won their state or regional science fairs – even make it to the competition. Then, they must then demonstrate “21st Century skills, including critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaborative skills, and teamwork” in addition to their STEM knowledge by engaging in a series of hands-on challenges.”
This year, the challenges included collaborating to design, code and build a functional program using Raspberry Pi as well as designing a medical pack that had to be able to hold a three-month supply of medicine. They even went seine fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.
The winner after all this? 14-year-old Alaina Gassler from West Grove, Pennsylvania. And the project that got her there is the perfect combination of problem-solving and creative thinking.
Even though she’s not yet old enough to get behind the wheel, Gassler recognized a common problem for drivers (her mother having an issue with blind spots) and came up with an innovative solution. The middle school student designed an automobile system that uses a webcam to display objects outside the driver’s line of sight.
“My prototype had to reduce blind spots in a safe, efficient way,” she said.
Gassler used a 3-D printer to make a projector that would allow the driver to see those images at close range. In future prototypes, she plans to use LCD screens because they “are easier to see in daylight than projected images.”
Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public and Publisher of Science News, said Gassler and the rest of the competitors made her feel optimistic about the future.
“Congratulations to Alaina, whose project has the potential to decrease the number of automobile accidents by reducing blind spots…I am proud to lead an organization that is inspiring so many young people, especially girls, to continue to innovate.”
The rest of the finalists were equally impressive. And they were ALL 14-year-old girls!
Rachel Bergey, 14, of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention. She developed a trap made of tinfoil and netting to catch Spotted Lanternflies, an invasive species causing damage to trees in her home state.
Lauren Ejiaga, 14, of New Orleans, Louisiana, won the $10,000 STEM Talent Award for her research on the current levels of ultraviolet light that get into the atmosphere due to ozone depletion and how they impact the growth and performance of the Earth’s plants.
Sidor Clare, 14, of Sandy, Utah, won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation for her idea for special bricks that can be made on Mars so humans can build there without bringing heavy supplies.
Alexis MacAvoy, 14, of Hillsborough, California, won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement for her water filter that uses carbon to remove heavy metals from water.
The Broadcom MASTERS winners were chosen from 18 girls and 12 boys who had already beaten out 2,348 other applicants from 47 states. A panel of distinguished scientists, engineers, and educators made up the decision-making panel.
In addition to their cash prizes, the girls’ schools will be rewarded as well – each with a $1,000 prize for their science programs.
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