The Future is NEAR - Nanotechnology Research at North Penn High School

2020 Virtual Symposium Program

2020 Symposium Video
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In The News @ NPHS

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

NEWS | ARCHIVES

The Future is N.E.A.R. program (Nanotechnology Education and Research) is a STEM education endeavor designed to offer North Penn High School students a glimpse into the exciting world of nanotechnology, experimental design and engineering research.

Students work in teams to research & develop solutions to global issues by capitalizing from the fundamentals of engineering and nanotechnology utilizing some of the latest published research available.

The NEAR program parallels the Engineering Design and Development course (EDD) of the Project Lead the Way engineering academy and offers its students an opportunity to gain 21st century STEM skills that prepares them to become successful leaders in a global technological society. READ MORE

Microscopy @ NPHS

Hitachi TM3000, 3030, 4000+
Scanning Electron Microscopy

Click here to visit a sampling of SEM Images from past student research teams


International Research Endeavor (USIRT1920 / UKIRT1920) A collaborative research endeavor between Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (QEGS) in Faversham, UK and North Penn High School (NPHS) in Lansdale, PA
	Students from NPHS Lansdale, PA, USA [1] and QEGS Faversham, UK [2] in collaboration with the University of Bristol, Bristol UK [3]. have begun to research the development of cellulose nanofibers from ionic liquid systems. In general, nanofibers and their applications in the biomedical, agricultural, healthcare, energy, environmental, and many other sectors have evolved over the years with research and development being performed in many leading universities and research groups throughout the world [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. North Penn High School students began researching the electrospinning and polymer nanofiber development process in 2005 in the Future is NEAR program (Nanotechnology Education And Research) [9]. Since then, their research has advanced into many different sectors; including, energy, environment, healthcare, and more. Cellulose nanofibers have never been researched at North Penn before. This research endeavor is particularly interesting, not only because of the international collaboration, but because cellulose has many inherent properties that could improve the function of nanofibers developed in many applications.[10] Please check back often for news and updates.

This year, there are 40 students in 11 research teams in 3 Engineering Design and Development classes within the North Penn High School engineering academy. The main research endeavors that the students are involved with are listed below. Many of the students within these teams will also be performing various extended and supplementary experiments. A team research section will be added to the website soon to share various images and videos of the students' research. Please check back soon!

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
Team Name: Battery Boot

ENERGY
RESEARCH

Amanda Greaney | Trey Evangelisto | Tori Quinn

The number of battery-powered electronic devices is rapidly growing due to the decreased cost of manufacturing and the increased demand from consumers. Collectively, these portable devices consume over 78 billion kWh of electricity and cost $9.4 billion annually to charge (as of Dec. 2019); however, utilizing alternative energy sources could have many benefits to both the consumer and the environment. Therefore, further research is necessary to reduce the strain on the power grid and make these portable devices more environmentally beneficial.

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Battery Boot:

Advanced Athlete Protection
Team Name: Carbon Gear Sportswear

HUMAN HEALTH
RESEARCH

Daniel Czekaj | Lizzie Kosten | Jamie Stewart | Thomas Waltrich

The NCAA reported that between 2009 and 2014, approximately 200,000 injuries occurred per year across 25 sports. The most common protective equipment fails to adequately prevent contact sport injuries such as sprains, bone fractures, and permanent tissue damage. With advancements in material science and engineering, alternative methods can be used to develop stronger and more efficient products that reduce the number of injuries in sports while maintaining or improving the quality of play.

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Carbon Gear Sportswear: Arduino FSR test

Carbon Gear Sportswear: Data

Carbon Gear Sportswear: Soldering and Tinning

Carbon Gear Sportswear: Load Cell Amplifier

Carbon Gear Sportswear: Soldering the Load Cell Amplifier

Carbon Gear Sportswear: Wiring

Carbon Gear Sportswear: New Load Cell

Carbon Gear Sportswear:

Carbon Dioxide Capture
Team Name: Carbon NanoCapture

ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH

Srikrishna Chakravarthi | Elliot Hong | Lucas Ratson | Brian Toto

Nature, for millions of years, has acted as the sole medium through which carbon capture was done. However, with deforestation and growing carbon dioxide emissions, natural processes alone are no longer adequate. Excess carbon causes global warming, which creates extreme weather patterns and health problems, making the daily lives of individuals more difficult and dangerous. Current methodologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are too expensive and difficult to mass produce. Significantly more research is required in order to develop cost-effective carbon capture techniques.

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Carbon NanoCapture:

Fire Resistant Composite Materials
Team Name: FRM

ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH

Matthew Chambers | Grayden Griffiths | Charlie Holmes | Adam Zeenkov

Fires kill approximately 3,400 people per year in the United States alone. In California, wildfires are quickly becoming a big issue as they destroy thousands of acres of land. Many homes are also lost in the fire's path of destruction. Strong, lightweight, and fire resistant materials can have many uses during these emergency situations, saving thousands of lives per year. However, these materials are hard to produce and are costly. Further research is needed to help save more firefighters and civilians from these wildfires.

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FRM:

Advanced Wound Dressings
Team Name: Inter-Aid

HUMAN HEALTH
RESEARCH

Mit Patel | Conor Hanrahan | Logan Gillmer | Logan Ely

Everyone gets cut, children, teens, and adults. 6.5 million patients each year in the United States alone are affected by chronic wounds, which are injuries that cannot heal properly. It is estimated that 25 billion dollars are spent annually trying to treat chronic wounds. Current bandages cannot effectively provide sufficient healing for wounds. Most serve only as a cover so the abrasion heals in a closed environment, making them one dimensional. Therefore, those who suffer from chronic wounds cannot receive relief from the average bandage. Our objective is to engineer a solution that can properly and efficiently heal surface wounds that would otherwise not be able to heal themselves.

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Inter-Aid Electrospinning

Inter-Aid Zeiss Analysis - Nanofibers

Biomedical Research
Team Name: MEDaxial

HUMAN HEALTH
RESEARCH

Aidan Blue | Moshiour Mondal | Nate O'Brien

The development of modern medicine has served to relieve symptoms of various ailments and conditions. However, when it comes to cuts and abrasions, treatment methods are still messy, time consuming and difficult to apply. Further research should be conducted in order to develop a topical medicine that stimulates and advances healing, without the need for new additional medicine.

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MEDaxial:

MEDaxial: Acetic acid dilution calculations

MEDaxial: 2% Acetic Acid solution preparation

MEDaxial:

Improving Air Quality
Team Name: Only Air

ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH

Nate Burnell | Alec Schrum | Tom Boyle

Most cities with a population greater than 250,000 have air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization guideline limits. Bad air quality is a leading cause of premature death worldwide, leading to over 7 million deaths a year caused by indoor and outdoor pollutants. Smog is a mixture of chemical pollutants that react with sunlight to create ground-level ozone, which may lead to major respiratory issues in people who are exposed to it for extended time. Most air filters today are not capable of effectively eliminating all contaminants from the air, especially the extremely small pollutants found in smog. New filtration media and techniques could lead to more effective removal of contaminants from air.

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Only Air: 1st PVP electrospinning endeavor!

Only Air: Nanofiber preparation

Only Air: Zeiss Microanalysis

Only Air: Polyethylene Oxide - Proof to spin to aluminum screen

Only Air: Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone - Proof to spin to aluminum screen

Synthetic Photosynthesis
Team Name: PhotoSynthetic Tech

ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH

Thomas Campbell | Tae Kim | Alisha Naik | Siddharth Poreddy

Oxygen is necessary for life, without it, life forms can not convert food into usable energy. However, the deforestation rate of trees and plants on Earth is rapidly increasing; which results in slower oxygen production and faster carbon dioxide emissions. A new study has found that between 1990 and 2016, an alarming 502,000 square miles of forest land has been lost. With significant growth in industry, carbon emission levels are only rising and are one of the many sources of climate change. Also, with the age of space exploration currently among us, reaching Mars and other planets would be possible with a stable oxygen source by reducing the need for heavy and bulky oxygen tanks. With the developing rate of technology, converting harmful emissions into pure oxygen is only a step away.

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PhotoSynthetic Tech: Siddharth Poreddy | Alisha Naik | Thomas Campbell | Tae Kim

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

PhotoSynthetic Tech

Enhanced Education
Team Name: Sense Dynamics

EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH

Aidan Iannetti | Michael Lopuszanski | Andrew Stevens

Virtual and augmented reality are becoming an increasing avenue for education and training. Ever since its conception in 1838, inventors and researchers have strived to make virtual reality more immersive and have useful applications. In its current state these systems have integrated only sight and sound. While stimulating these senses provides a semi-realistic experience, this technology can be improved. Making virtual and augmented reality more immersive will provide an accurate and unique experience that will allow all people to receive a better education. New innovations in this technology will impact almost every school and company worldwide.

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Sense Dynamics:

Energy Harvesting & Storage
Team Name: Spectric

ENERGY
RESEARCH

Sydney Platt | Peter Yourl | Erik Kull | Cameron Walsh

In times of natural disaster, a loss of electricity can be a major setback for those trying to carry on with their everyday lives. Electricity is essential for healthcare, climate control, communications, and lighting. In isolated locations, a loss of power could be detrimental to many lives. While portable generators are common, these devices are expensive to own and operate, and have a negative impact on the environment. With the depletion of fossil fuels, gas generators will only become more expensive and irresponsible to fuel. Since the first solar cell was created in 1953, the technology has greatly improved, and is beginning to find its way into the mainstream, providing power to homes, cars, and other devices; however, the technology is limited by its inability to store the energy produced. If solar cells were able to store a portion of captured energy, the energy could then be used during times of disaster.

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Spectric: Solar cell characterization

Spectric: Soldering and tinning

Spectric: Solar cell characterization

Spectric: Keithley 2450 SMU Solar cell characterization

Spectric: Charger Controller Development

Spectric: Charger Controller Development and Testing

Spectric: Power Inverter Development

Spectric: Power Inverter Testing

Energy Efficiency
Team Name: ThermoTheft

ENERGY
RESEARCH

Jake Chaffin | James Carnal | Nasif Islam | Jaden Weed

Roughly 84% of the world depend on electrical devices in their daily lives. With such a high amount of people relying on these devices, it is imperative that they continually perform at their optimum level. Electronics have a tendency to overheat, which drastically limits their efficiency, performance, life span, and user safety. Current solutions to overheating consist of fluid cooling systems and heatsinks. However, the rate at which the heat is dispersed by these methods is not sufficient to keep electronics at their ideal temperature and requires a large amount of energy to operate. Advancements in materials science will enable the creation of materials that are tailored specifically to remove heat quickly and effectively.

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ThermoTheft:

More Past Research Team Endeavors To Come Soon!

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