To work on a federally funded project (e.g. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy) is a goal of many scientists regardless of whether they are just starting out or have years of experience conducting scientific research. It is an opportunity to publish ones work in professional journals and be recognized by leaders in academia and industry. Four (4) student scientists at ECOTEK were able to reach this goal while still in high school.
Alexis Edge, 10th grader at Mercy High School, Briana Young, 10th grader at University Prep Science and Math High School, Aaron Harrigan, 12th grader at Henry Ford Academy, and William Marshall, 12th grader at Renaissance High School spent part of their summer at Michigan Tech University in Houghton,
Michigan working with professors on several federally funded projects.
Alexis and Briana assisted Martin Auer and Nancy Auer, both professors in the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MTech, in developing mathematical models for assessing the morphology of sediment in Lake Superior. They helped extract and evaluate sediment core samples as well as analyze
and summarize key pieces of data. Their work will be published this Fall in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.
Aaron Harrigan helped researchers in the College of Physics evaluate the effect of radioactivity in clouds on the physics of rain drops. As part of his research, he used high tech equipment to examine the speed, force and inertia of rain drops. William Marshall assisted Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, an assistant professor in
the College of Chemistry at MTech, in evaluating how protein aggregation can be used to identify different forms of cancer. He spent countless hours in the lab examining cancer cells and constructing assays. This experience helped him secure an internship position with a human tissue banking company where he helped culture cell lines to study breast cancer.
About the Ecotek Science Program: Ecotek is a science research lab program for young inventors and researchers in grades 5 thru 12. Student scientists work on projects aligned with the issues being addressed by world leaders at the United Nations. The goal of the ECOTEK experience is to help students better understand the role that science plays in solving global problems and shaping international policy. Contact Information:Keith Young, founder/Executive Advisor, 313-399-7893 or keiyoung@ecotek-us.com
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