The President:
This is my first stop. Hi! How are you? Where are you from? Meghana Rao:
I'm from Jesuit High
School in Portland. The President:
Well, it's so nice to see you. Meghana Rao:
It's so nice to see you! The President:
What grade are you in? Meghana Rao:
I'm a senior. Uh-huh. The President:
Okay. So show me what
you've got going. Meghana Rao:
Okay. So my research project was about
biocharged carbon sequestration and carbon sequestration is
really important today because of increasing carbon dioxide
emissions and the resultant global warming and biochar
serves as a natural method of combating this. So essentially biochar is
any organic material, plant, tree or anything that has been
pyrolized meaning it has the absence of oxygen and what you
want is kind of like a charcoal carbon skeleton of it. The President:
Okay, this is bio -- Meghana Rao:
Uh-huh, that's biochar
made out of hazelnuts. The President:
Okay. Meghana Rao:
And so, for example, if
you made a tree into biochar, 50% of the carbon dioxide that
the tree took in during its life is converted into a stable form
of aromatic carbon and so this charcoal lasts a really long
time in the soil, essentially. It's a soil remnant
and, therefore, it slows down how fast the carbon
dioxide is in the atmosphere. The President:
Okay. Meghana Rao:
And so it is said to have
a half-life of hundreds of thousands of years, however,
there is a lot of discrepancy in there. What I did was I made biochar
in the stove that I built. The President:
You built this
little stove here? Meghana Rao:
I built the top of
an updraft stove. The President:
Okay, nice. Meghana Rao:
And performed pyrolysis so I
made biochar out of feed stock and I did tests in a lab to see
how fast it degrades because you want it to last in
the soil the longest. The President:
Right. Meghana Rao:
So I did different tests to see
how they break down in soil -- The President:
So you treated and tried
different materials to make your biofuel to see which
one would be optimal -- Meghana Rao:
Uh-huh, uh-huh. The President:
And what were your results? Meghana Rao:
I saw that Douglas fir
was the best material. The President:
Douglas fir was the optimal. So what would these, as
a practical application, assuming that we continue
to pursue the fuel -- Meghana Rao:
Uh-huh. The President:
-- what would be
the potential use? Meghana Rao:
It would be put in the soil as a
soil remnant again because it is a really good neutralizing
pH and it also works as a magnifying remediation of
storm water so you have two different applications. Uh-huh. The President:
How did you get into science? Meghana Rao:
Well, because I always
hear about the increasing carbon dioxide emissions so
I wanted to look into that. Uh-huh. The President:
That's wonderful. Congratulations! Meghana Rao:
Thank you, so much. It's so nice to meet you. Thank you. The President:
It's my pleasure. All right. I'm going to go see some of
your, some of your fellow -- Meghana Rao:
They're really impressive. The President:
I know they are. All of you are impressive. What you are talking about? Julie Xu:
Hi, Mr. President. The President:
What's your name? Julie Xu:
I'm Julie. The President:
Hey, Julie, how have you been? What's your last name? Julie Xu:
Julie Xu. The President:
Where you from, Julie? Julie Xu:
I'm from Williamston, Michigan. The President:
Williamston, Michigan. Spencer Ottarson:
Hi. I'm Spencer Ottarson. The President:
Spencer, are you
guys part of a team? Spencer Ottarson:
Yes. Julie Xu:
Yes. The President:
So you go to the
same high school? Julie Xu:
Yep. The President:
What grade are you guys in? Spencer Ottarson:
I'm actually a freshman
at Michigan State now. So I graduated last year. The President:
Oh, okay. You just graduated? Okay. Julie Xu:
I'm a senior in
high school right now. The President:
All right. So what have we got here? The Williamston High
School InvenTeam. Julie Xu:
Yep. The President:
What did you invent? Julie Xu:
We invented the ORCA system. The Offshore Rip Current
Alert System for short. And basically we found that,
you know, being from Michigan, we have all those Great
Lakes around us -- The President:
Right. Julie Xu:
-- and we go swimming
in the summer. We found out that rip
currents were like a surprisingly big problem. The President:
Right. Julie Xu:
Last year about a hundred
people drowned, and a third of them we're due
to rip currents. And a lot of it's from
lack of education. People panic and it doesn't
end well and everything. The President:
Right. Julie Xu:
And so we wanted to invent
something that would alert people if they were
in the rip current. The President:
If there was a rip
current coming up. That's a great idea. Julie Xu:
Yeah. And there's not anything
really in place right now. The President:
Nothing on the market, I bet. Julie Xu:
Yeah, just a little flag that
is saying like when there is dangerous weather conditions and
when you shouldn't be swimming. But people ignore that. The President:
Well, because it's not
specific to rip currents. Julie Xu:
Exactly. The President:
And that sort of thing. Julie Xu:
Yeah. The President:
So what have you got? Spencer Ottarson:
So this is our
work sensor module. In here we have a
flow meter and -- The President:
So would we submerge this? Spencer Ottarson:
Yeah, this whole sensor module
would be down in this part in the buoy. The President:
So the buoy, we're dropping
off the buoy in here. This just sits in the water. Spencer Ottarson:
This is just a standard marker
buoy that you see along a public beach and the idea is to sort
of replace those current markers with our buoys spaced
out every 50 feet or so. And so as the water flows in we
have our sensor detects how fast the water is moving through and
when it's moving fast enough it flashes a light and beeps the
siren to alert swimmers that there's a rip current there. The President:
That's great! Julie Xu:
Yeah, solar powered, too. The President:
And solar powered! Julie Xu:
Yeah. The President:
Well, we -- so when are we
going to start getting this adapted around the country? Spencer Ottarson:
We still have a
few problems so far. We've tested this in a flume at
the University of Michigan and we sent water through
it and measured the speed and determined that
this works properly. The next step is to put this
in the buoy and test the entire buoy in a wave tank and then
in a real life-like situation. The President:
I got you. So we haven't gotten
to that phase yet. Julie Xu:
Right. The President:
And would we anticipate, that
assuming this worked in a lake situation that this might
have application to oceans and beaches? Julie Xu:
Oh, yeah. Spencer Ottarson:
Absolutely. There's some differences
involving like freshwater versus saltwater but we can
adapt it to that and definitely get it on the ocean as well. The President:
Well, this is great. Congratulations! Spencer Ottarson:
Thank you. Julie Xu:
Thank you, so much. The President:
So you are a freshman where? Spencer Ottarson:
Michigan State. The President:
Michigan State. Spartan? Spencer Ottarson:
Yep. The President:
So are you going to
continue to pursue your scientific interests? Spencer Ottarson:
Yeah, I'm studying
computer science. The President:
Excellent. And where are you
going to school? Julie Xu:
I'm weight-listed at the
University of Chicago. The President:
Oh, yeah? Julie Xu:
So that's where I
would like to go. The President:
Maybe I'll see you
over in Hyde Park. Julie Xu:
Maybe, yeah. The President:
Well, congratulations. We're very proud of you. Julie Xu:
Thank you. Spencer Ottarson:
Thank you. The President: Congratulations! All right. Hi! How are you? Payton Karr:
Hi. Kiona Elliott:
We're wonderful. The President:
What's your name? Kiona Elliott:
My name is Kiona Elliott. The President:
You are IvenTeam from where? Kiona Elliott:
Northeast High School. The President:
And what's your name? Payton Karr:
Payton Karr. The President:
Good to see you, Payton. Northeast High School in? Kiona Elliott:
In Oakland Park, Florida. The President:
Fantastic. Kiona Elliott:
It's a little chilly
out here for us. The President:
All right, so what
have we got here? Kiona Elliott:
Well, our project
is an emergency water sanitation station. Basically the idea of our
project is to provide clean water to tropical areas in the
event of a natural disaster. The President:
Right. Kiona Elliott:
It was actually inspired after
the earthquake in Haiti when one of our team members went on
a missionary group there, a missionary trip there and she
told us about the problems that she faced because she could only
drink bottled water and to take a shower she had to keep her
face away from the water to avoid bacterial infections. The President:
Right. Kiona Elliott:
So while I explain it really
quickly, you're welcome to try this out if you'd like. It's all powered by
this bicycle here -- (laughter) -- which is steady. The President:
All right. Kiona Elliott:
Yay. The President:
Only because these guys
really want this photo. All right. All right. Kiona Elliott:
So, basically as you're riding
this bike here you're producing kinetic energy. The President:
Yep. Kiona Elliott:
And that kinetic energy is then
being converted into electricity by this hub motor and
powering this battery here. The President:
All right. Kiona Elliott:
And the battery in turn powers
our entire electrical component of the invention which is
a water pump and then two ozone generators, plus a water
filtration process in that tank. Payton Karr:
I can show you how this works. The President: All right. Payton Karr:
Keep pedaling. The President:
Okay. Payton Karr:
Basically what we did was we
put the water over here in the filter and filtered out sand
and six other different types of debris. The President:
All right. Okay. Payton Karr:
Now it's being pumped
through here by the energy in that battery. The President:
Right. Payton Karr:
The ozone from this generator is
ozonating that water which is killing the bacteria than is in
there and then it is being put into that tank. Once it gets into that tank
and it fills up, we turn on the second generator which
continues to ozonate the water so something can't
be recontaminated. This process takes -- I'm sorry. Kiona Elliott:
Basically this is the ozone
diffuser so as the water is in here it is continuously just
diffusing ozone so that it won't get recontaminated. The President:
Okay. Payton Karr:
And this whole entire tank is
$50 and will work in about 20 minutes and you can continue
doing it all day and you don't have to ride the bike
all day because you have to ride the bike -- The President:
To charge up the battery. Payton Karr:
-- to charge up the battery. The President:
Okay. I think it's all charged up now. (laughter) Well,
this is outstanding. So potentially then this would
have broad-based applications in a lot of countries where there
is water but it's contaminated water and the idea would be
using this and it's relatively efficient to use. Payton Karr:
Thank you. The President:
I'm so proud of you. What grade are you in? Payton Karr:
Eleventh grade. The President:
Eleventh grade. How about you? Kiona Elliott:
I'm a senior. The President:
You're a senior? Kiona Elliott:
Yes. The President:
Where are you going
to school right now? Kiona Elliott:
I'm going to the
University of Florida. The President:
All right. You guys want to keep up
on your scientific studies? Kiona Elliott:
I'm going into
environmental sciences. The President:
Okay. All right. Well, I'm very proud of you. Kiona Elliott:
Thank you. The President:
Keep it up. All right. Oh, this is not a display. Okay. How are you? Bridget Zarych:
Hi! Jon Kubricki:
Jon Kubricki. The President:
Jon. Bridget Zarych:
Hi, I'm Bridget. The President:
Bridget. Bridget Zarych:
Bridget Zarych. The President:
Good to see 'ya. Do you guys both go
to the same school? Bridget Zarych:
Yeah. Jon Kubricki:
Yeah. The President:
Okay. what is the name of the school? Bridget Zarych:
We're sophomores at
Pinelands Regional High School. The President:
Fantastic. Bridget Zarych:
Thank you. The President:
All right. So what have we got here? Bridget Zarych:
Okay. So, in 8th grade we took a
science and we learned about deforestation and how it
affects the world and we learned that using wood for
cooking and heating in third world countries in-house was
one of the main factors of deforestation in the world. So -- The President:
Also a major contributor
to carbon and things? Bridget Zarych:
Uh-huh. The President:
And respiratory disease
because people are inhaling the hot smoke. Bridget Zarych:
Yeah, so we invented
three different presses. The single lever, the caulk gun
and the double lever press to create these biomass material
briquettes that are made from pine needles, peanut
shells, banana peels, corn stalks and sugarcane. And it takes 30
seconds to make one. It burns for 20 minutes long. It creates less toxins in
the air than wood like CO2 and carbon dioxide. And it saves the forest. The President:
That's great! So what's the advantage? Because I see you guys have got
pine needles here and you've got peanut shells. What's the advantage of it
being pressed into a briquette? Is it just it's easier to
gather, store, et cetera? Or does it actually
change how it burns? Bridget Zarych:
Well, in the briquette shape,
since it's more dense, it will burn longer than if you just
throw pine needles into a fire because they are
more of like a starter. And these burn as
if they were wood. The President:
As if they were wood. Bridget Zarych:
Uh-huh. The President:
And so you have a more
concentrated flame, it's more compact,
and it burns longer. Bridget Zarych:
Yes. The President:
So it becomes a replacement
fuel; is that right? Bridget Zarych:
Yeah. Do you want to see
one being made? The President:
Yeah, come on. Let's check it out. Bridget Zarych:
Okay. So we have three presses. This is the caulk gun. That makes briquette this size
but they're really small and they don't work that well. Then we went to the single lever
which it provided some amount of pressure but not as
much as we wanted. So then we went to
the double lever. It's two levers so it creates
more pressure than the single lever or the caulk gun. The President:
It's a very simple
piece of machinery. Bridget Zarych:
Yeah, it is. So we made them
all by ourselves. The President:
I know you did. Look at that. Bridget Zarych:
So you press down like this. The President:
Watch your fingers. Okay. Bridget Zarych:
And then the farther like
you pull it the more pressure. The President:
The more it condenses. Bridget Zarych:
Uh-huh. And the water
drains to the bottom. You need to pop it
right at the bottom. The President:
And there's your briquette! Bridget Zarych:
Yes. The President:
Nice! Bridget Zarych:
Yes. The President:
That's very, very thin. Good job. All right. So you have guys aren't finished
college yet so you have got two more years to attend that stuff
before you head off to school. What a great job. Bridget Zarych:
Thank you, so much. The President:
All right. Okay. Keep it up. Thank you. All right. What's your name? Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
Catalina Rincon-Arcila. The President:
Catalina. Amanda Gonzalez:
Amanda Gonzales. Emily Ocon:
Emily Ocon. The President:
Good to see 'ya. All right. So what have we got over here? Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
(indiscernible) and there's
ten of us in the group. (indiscernible) The President:
Tell them I said hey. What grade are you guys in? Amanda Gonzalez:
(indiscernible) The President:
(indiscernible) Amanda Gonzalez:
The challenge this year was
stormwater so we created these roads that act as a filtration
so when the rain falls the water will filter naturally through
a filter cavity and then the carbontain is as carbon fiber so
it's impervious to concrete so it's stronger. It goes through a compressed
sand and it has aggregates so that -- The President:
So this would be
driving on top of it? Emily Ocon:
Yes. The President:
This is what would
you think of as -- Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
That's like our road right now. The President:
That's like a road. Except this that made out of
cardboard (indiscernible) ? Emily Ocon:
Yeah. Amanda Gonzalez:
Yeah. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
Exactly. Amanda Gonzalez:
So it creates a head of water
in the injection wall to pump it to the aquifer so that's
where we basically store it. And it's great because we don't
have to use drains or tension ponds, water
treatment machinery. And we're moving from
the natural water system. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
Our road is basically like a
drain in itself and then it also acts like a bridge because with
the carbon fiber it's heavy enough to sustain all the
vehicle weight and then like the compression is an additional,
like, feature to help it. And then we have different
landmarks throughout our city, one of our landmarks is
the historical area which is Fort Santa Monica because the
founder was of Spanish descent. And then we also have the arena
which is also our world champion women's basketball team and
then we have a parking tower that automatically parks
our transporters -- The President:
Really. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
And then our transporters can
expand and contract so it can go from like an 8-seater
car to a 2-seater car. The President:
I see. I would think that
would be something. Amanda Gonzalez:
That's exactly one
of our advantages. And that by storing so many cars
in one area then you are then you are reducing spaces. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
And we also have automatic
levitation train which we on the levy chore and it connects
us to cities like Orlando, Cocoa Beach and it also takes
us to (indiscernible) . Emily Ocon:
And this city was built as a
role model for other cities so other cities can come and
see all how it manages the storm water. The President:
It looks great! I'd love the live there. This is like the Jetsons. (chuckles) So now has this inspired any of
you guys to want to be engineers or architects? Emily Ocon:
Absolutely. We've met so many
different engineers. And it has taught me that like
you can be any type of engineer and there are just so many
fields that it takes to put a city together and I have
just learned so much in the past few years. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
I never knew anything before I
started future city about like how hard it was to run a city. The President:
Right. Amanda Gonzalez:
And then we have to use Sym
City at the beginning of the game, at the beginning of the
competition because there is not only the model that does the
aspects so then it is so hard to try to like build your own
city and keep it running without the budget and everything. But now like I appreciate
everything, like the people that build the city do. And then I think I want to
become an engineer now I'd like to see how cool it is like
how you can make up a city. Emily Ocon:
And in Miami you always pass by
places that are storm water and like the storm water on there
because the rains flood so every time I see storm water
I'm, like, oh, look, we need to fix that. I know (indiscernible). The President:
Well, I'm very
proud of you guys. Girls in unison:
Thank you. The President:
All right. Excellent presentation. All right? Good luck to you. Catalina Rincon-Arcila:
Thank you. Emily Ocon:
And nice to meet you. The President:
Tell the rest of your
teammates I said hi. Girls in unison:
Okay. The President:
Great. Hey, guys. Wesley Carter:
Hey, how you doin'? The President:
How you doin'? Wesley Carter:
Great. The President:
What's your name? Wesley Carter:
Wesley Carter. The President:
Good to see you, Wesley. What's your name? Darius Hooker:
Darius Hooker. The President:
Great. Nice to see you. Where are guys from? Wesley Carter:
Memphis, Tennessee. The President:
Memphis, Tennessee. What's the name of the school? Darius Hooker:
Wooddale High School. The President:
Wooddale High School. All right. So what have we got here? You guys were in a
rocket competition? Darius Hooker:
Yes, sir. A 17-minute rocket challenge. The President:
Fantastic: Darius Hooker:
And the rocket had to go 800
feet and 43.7 seconds carrying two raw eggs. The President:
Carrying two raw eggs? And the eggs come out okay? Wesley Carter:
They came out just fine. The President:
Congratulations! That's what I was saying, is
this the actual rocket or is this sort of a model of
what you did as a setup? Darius Hooker:
We had a competition for a
year and then for the first two rockets we ever designed
and assign to our team and the rockets are a little more
sophisticated than the rockets we have here. The President:
Those are some
big rockets there. Wesley Carter:
Actually, the big rocket
you can see on the top there. It's almost -- Darius Hooker:
As big as this sign. The President:
That's a big rocket. Absolutely. Well, congratulations! And what grade are you guys in? Darius Hooker:
Oh, we actually graduated. Wesley Carter:
(indiscernible) The President:
That's great. Where do you go to school? Wesley Carter:
Middle Tennessee
state University. The President:
Excellent. Darius Hooker:
Tennessee Tech. The President:
What are you boys studying? Wesley Carter:
License for air traffic
controller and do Air Force ROTC and I'm going to be a
fighter pilot when I got out. The President:
Well, there you go. Darius Hooker:
And I'm getting AMT
I'm going Carolina area raw nautical engineering. The President:
So this has inspired
you continuing in the flying business. Darius Hooker:
(indiscernible) The President:
Outstanding. I'm very proud of
you, congratulations! Darius Hooker:
Thank you, sir. The President:
Tell everybody back
home I said that. Darius Hooker:
I will, sir. The President:
All right. Hi, how are you? Girls:
Hi. The President:
What's your name? Catherine Rousculp:
Catherine Rousculp. The President:
What's your name? Summer Bronson:
Summer Bronson. The President:
Good to see you, Summer. Where are you guys from? Summer Bronson:
Los Almos, New Mexico. The President:
Fantastic. And so what have
we got going here? You have got your
robotics going on? Summer Bronson:
Yes. Summer Bronson:
So we're part of a team called
the Atomic Flying Pickles. The President:
Okay. I like the name. Summer Bronson:
So first Lego lead. So first Lego lead is
split into three parts. The first part is robot game. The second part is core value
for things like the basic rules and like teamwork. And then there is the project. The President:
Okay, so what was your project? Catherine Rousculp:
So our project was -- so this
is the theme and so we decided to solve insomnia in the elderly
and having trouble falling sleep and staying sleep. The President:
Right. Catherine Rousculp:
And so when you cool the front
of brain the activity will slow because when you have insomnia
it's going really fast and it will let you go to
sleep faster and easier. And so there are some people
at the Pittsburgh School of Medicine who ran a trial on a
full type cap, the whole brain. The President:
They had like some
sort of cooling process? Catherine Rousculp:
Yeah, and it is filled with
water and we found it costs about $300 we found
this and it is $5. The President:
Much cheaper! Catherine Rousculp:
Yeah. And you soak it in water for
ten to 15 minutes and there are little beads in there
turn into a gel and stay cool all night long. And we brought it to our local
senior center and presented an opera that we sang
about our idea. (chuckles) The President:
That's great. Catherine Rousculp:
And 80% of the people
said it worked for them. The President:
Is that right? Catherine Rousculp:
Uh-huh. The President:
So you guys get a
patent on this thing? Catherine Rousculp:
Not yet. The President:
Well, you better before somebody
gets an infomercial selling this thing and it was your idea. But that's outstanding! Congratulations! Summer Bronson:
So this is the robot
part of the competition. So that picture right
there shows the mat of the competition. So the robot needs
a time necessary to complete the different -- The President:
The various obstacles. Summer Bronson:
Like by flipping a switch
or something like that. So this is -- The President:
This is your robot. Summer Bronson:
-- a demonstration of
what the robot can do. So this is the color sensor
and this is the light sensor. The President:
Uh-huh. Summer Bronson:
And it's going to follow the
line until it sees 3 and then it is going to turn
and bring it over here. The President:
Well, look at that! Ho-ho-ho. See? Flawlessly. Huh? Congratulations! You guys have done great work. What grade are you
guys in, did you say? Catherine Rousculp:
Sixth. The President:
Sixth grade. That's so impressive. We're very proud of you. Congratulations! Keep with the science
and math, huh? You guys can invent
great things. You already have. I know you can do better. The world is open so keep it up. Easton LaChapelle:
Easton LaChapelle. The President:
Good to see you. What grade are you in? Easton LaChapelle:
I'm a junior in high
school right now. The President:
Okay. What have we got here? Easton LaChapelle:
This is a brain-powered
robotic prosthetic arm. And so I was on a sports
team and that was kind of an inspiration. I came up with this idea to
create this robotic hand that is controlled by a
wireless control glove. So with your hand
you can control this. Then about a year ago
I had an a-ha moment. I was at the State Science Fair
in Colorado and a seven-year-old girl came up to me and she had
a prosthetic limb from the elbow to the fingertips, one motion,
open and close on sensors. That alone was $80,000
which is expensive. And she was seven at the time so
she was probably going to need about two or three of
those in her lifetime. That was really inspired
me to, you know, help and try on the prosthetics side
of things to try and create something that would help
people with this problem. This is what I made. This is, everything is designed
and installed here with a CAD program and everything
is pretty -- The President:
Okay. Easton LaChapelle:
So in three minutes you're good. The President:
Yeah, I see. Easton LaChapelle:
(indiscernible) The President:
(indiscernible) Easton LaChapelle:
It's all work and
all sorts of stuff. The President:
So this is a prototype
that you built and -- Easton LaChapelle:
This is the second
generation of the arm, yeah. And my goal was to keep it, you
know, as close to human weight. This actually weighs
less than a human arm. The arm pretty well nine pounds. The robot is seven pounds. Keep it looking like human
and in functionality. So, you know, we'll offer it
like a human arm with all the fingers and all different
sorts of stuff like that. But the main thing behind this
is that this whole physical model and via headset you
control each individual movement just picks up
thoughts, brain waves. The President:
Right. Easton LaChapelle:
It costs about three or $400
so a lot less than $80,000. The President:
Absolutely. So is this working now? Easton LaChapelle:
Yeah, I actually had it working
about two minutes ago, yeah. The President:
I know. But up until two minutes ago -- Easton LaChapelle:
I had it ready to
shake your hand. The President:
It was operational? Easton LaChapelle:
Yeah, it was. I had it and it shook your hand. The President:
Because it was working? Easton LaChapelle:
Oh, definitely, yeah, yeah. The President:
Well, that's outstanding. So and so are you tinkering
with this all day long? Easton LaChapelle:
Yeah, this is what I
do when I get bored. I mean, I go in my room. But in actually two weeks or so
I'll be going out to California with this and I
will (indiscernible). The President:
That's great. Easton LaChapelle:
(indiscernible) The President:
I'm glad. You should get in touch with
our folks at (indiscernible). Easton LaChapelle:
Definitely. The President:
Because obviously they're
constantly developing state-of-the-art prosthetic
construction and I'm sure they would love to see
what you you're doing. I'm very proud of you. Easton LaChapelle:
Thank you. The President:
Thank you. Hey, guys! Guys:
Hi. The President:
What's your name? Evan Jackson:
Evan Jackson. The President:
Evan Jackson. And what's your name? Alec Jackson:
Alec Jackson. The President:
Alec Jackson. Caleb Jackson:
Caleb Jackson. The President:
Good to see you. So you guys are brothers
and then you're a cuz. So where are you guys from? Guys:
McDonough, Georgia. The President:
Well, it's so nice to meet you. And what's the name
of your school? Guys:
Flippen Elementary School. The President:
Okay. So what have you guys got here? What -- Guys:
COOL PADS. The President:
COOL PADS. Okay. So tell me, explain
to me what you've got. Jackson:
Our idea is to have solar pad
with an ice pack built in for heat exhaustion. The President:
I see. So how does it work? Master Jackson:
It works by basically it
compresses shorts and shirts, the shoulder pads and the groin. The President:
Okay. Master Jackson:
The sensors are in the body
and it keeps the body at 98.6 degrees and you have to be
wearing this for the shoulder pads to be activated. The President:
Okay. Master Jackson:
The shoulder pads have an
ice pack in them and when they activate the shoulder pads
it cools down, it spreads out all around over the shoulder
pads and cools the football player down so that he
won't get overheated. The President:
Okay. Master Jackson:
Shoulder pad (indiscernible). The President:
Okay. Jackson:
(indiscernible) The President:
This is a pretty
spiffy invention you guys have got here. Master Jackson:
Thank you. The President:
Absolutely. The Jackson:
And the helmet has a sensor
inside for cooling down, too, and it has the sticker on the
front and lets the coaches know what the athlete's body
temperature is changing. The President:
So it would be color coded,
it would change colors. Master Jackson:
When it's green it means keep
playing and when it's red it means stop and take a drink. The President:
Oh, well, congratulations, guys! What grade are you guys in? Master Jackson:
The fourth. The President:
You're third, You're second. Master Jackson:
in fourth. The President:
You're fourth grade. Well, what are you
going to call them? Master Jackson:
COOL PADS. The President:
Oh. Master Jackson:
We're all kids in
athletics and science. The President:
And science! I like that. Well, I'm proud of you guys. Congratulations! All right. I hope you stay with
your science, all right? Not just athletics. I'm proud of you guys. That's excellent. Hi, how are you doing? Brittany Wenger:
Good. How are you? The President:
What's your name? Brittany Wenger:
Brittany Wenger. The President:
Brittany, what have we got here? Brittany Wenger:
All right. So what I did is I took an
artificial neuro mapping program which is actually modeled to
map brain cell neurons so we can learn to detect patterns that
are far too complex for humans to detect. Now, I applied this to breast
cancer because one in eight women are affected with the
disease and it becomes even more personal when someone you know
is diagnosed with breast cancer. So my concept is I'm trying
to refine a needle aspirant. This test is the least invasive
procedure a woman can have. It's also the cheapest
and the quickest. But right now it's so
nonspecific that a lot of doctors refuse to use it. By using my artificial algorithm
we can diagnosis it 99% of the time in cancer patients. The President:
So have you had it tested yet? Brittany Wenger:
Yes. So I got 680 samples from the
University of Wisconsin because it was public domain but after
the Google Science Fair I had so many people to help me so health
center to get more samples. So I am actually working with
an institute in Italy as well to test it against dubious samples. The President:
So explain to me what it is that
is allowing you to get a more conclusive result that
wasn't previously available? Brittany Wenger:
Yeah, so the way it works is
instead of doctors just looking at the cells and trying to
make the diagnosis right, they quantify afterwards
(indiscernible) so there are things like
something are the cells mono or multi-layers because if they are
mono layered that might not mean that's cancer whereas
multi-layers is more of an indicate for of cancer. So there are nine different
attributes but what's really difficult is these maximums
which are pictured up there can exhibit both cancerous
and noncancerous attributes. The President:
Okay. Brittany Wenger:
So my program is able to come
up with the optimal algorithm, the optimal mathematic algorithm
formula to apply to these inputs so it can reach
the desired output. The President:
So the same data, just
because of your algorithm, different analysis, more final,
and more refinable analysis of the data. Brittany Wenger:
Yes. The President:
Analysis of the data. So it's not that there
is a different testing; it is just that you can
analyze it more effectively. Brittany Wenger:
That's it, exactly. The President:
That's great. What year are you in school? Brittany Wenger:
I'm a senior. The President:
Are you? Brittany Wenger:
Yes. The President:
Where are you from? Brittany Wenger:
Florida. The President:
And where are you
going to school? Brittany Wenger:
I just committed to Duke, I just
got a full scholarship and a lot of support for my research. I'm really excited. The President:
Well, you're going
to do great stuff. Brittany Wenger:
Well, thank you, so much. The President:
Well, in the meantime
(indiscernible). Brittany Wenger:
(indiscernible) The President:
Okay. (indiscernible) Brittany Wenger:
Will do. The President:
You will probably figuring some
algorithm while you are running. You have got to watch
where you're running. Congratulations! Brittany Wenger:
Thank you. The President:
You're going to do great things: Brittany Wenger:
Thank you so much for
meeting with us today. The President:
Fantastic. You bet. How are you, sir? Thomas Shields:
Thomas Shields. The President:
Very nice to meet you. Victoria Fletcher:
Victoria. The President:
Good to see you, Victoria,
what's your last name? Victoria Fletcher:
Fletcher. The President:
Good to see you. Rush Lyons:
Rush Lyons. The President:
Good to see you. Where are you guys from? Thomas Shields:
Mobile, Alabama. The President:
What grade are you in? Thomas Shields:
Seventh and eighth. The President:
Seventh and eighth grade. So what have you got here? Thomas Shields:
Well, this Vator robotics and
they look (indiscernible) and give us a batch of raw
data so we had to build this robot by hand. And click it back with us. The President:
That's great. But what was the task? It involves a Wiffel ball? Thomas Shields:
Yes. The President:
Okay. Thomas Shields:
As far as cargo. The President:
All right. Thomas Shields:
As far as cargo to the space
station, it represents the space elevator. The President:
I got you. Victoria Fletcher:
After they gave us the raw
materials we only have 42 days to build the robot. The President:
Okay. Rush Lyons:
This represents the space
elevator (indiscernible). The President:
(indiscernible). Thomas Shields:
So do you want to
see how it works? The President:
Absolutely. Let's test this sucker out. Oh, careful! Be careful with that. Rush Lyons:
This will take the cargo
up to the space station. The President:
Look at that! I'm just sayin'. It worked flawlessly. That's outstanding! What have we got here? Rush Lyons:
We're swapping. The President:
They're swapping
out the demotram. (laughter) Oh, oh, nice! Look at that!
Yeah. Well, this is outstanding. How long have you guys been
interested in robotics? Victoria Fletcher:
I've been in it for three years. The President:
Three years. Rush Lyons:
Hum-hum. The President:
Yeah. Thomas Shields:
The same. The President:
Okay, so does this spark
an interest where you guys want to get into
engineering or something? Group:
Yes. The President:
All right. Well, we need more engineers. So we're very proud of you. Congratulations! And I know your folks are, too. Congratulations! Really proud of you. Great job. Hi! What's your name? Sylvia Todd:
Sylvia. The President:
Sylvia. Good to see you. What's your last name, Sylvia? Sylvia Todd:
Todd. The President:
And where are you from? Sylvia Todd:
California. The President:
Okay. What part of California? Sylvia Todd:
Sacramento area. The President:
All right. Well, what have we got here? Sylvia Todd:
This is the bar-code bot. It paints with watercolors
by using motors, strings and pulleys. The President:
Fantastic. So the idea is is that you --
I can basically, if I draw something here, it gets
duplicated on the paper? Sylvia Todd:
Uh-huh. This is called
the Raspberry Pie. It's like a mini computer. The President:
Okay. Sylvia Todd:
And it has a WiFi toggle on it
so and the iPad is connected to the WiFi since the Raspberry
Pie since it's connected to the I-bot port and the I-bot port
is practically the brain of the entire of the watercolor bot. The President:
Okay. Sylvia Todd:
If you put this all together
you're able to draw onto the iPad and it will draw onto here. The President:
Fantastic. Sylvia Todd:
You could draw on
it if you wanted to. The President:
Do you want me to model this? Sylvia Todd:
Yeah, sure. The President:
Okay. So do I press like a color first
to determine what color this is? Sylvia Todd:
I've already got
the color in there. The President:
It's all set. So all I have to do is -- you
just want me to -- what would you like me to draw? Sylvia Todd:
Anything as far as your
signature or something. The President:
Signature is kind of dull. All right. We'll just do a rowboat. All right? Okay. See there? Now, what grade are you in? Sylvia Todd:
Sixth grade. The President:
Sixth grade. Sylvia Todd:
Uh-huh. The President:
So how did you get
interested in doing this? Sylvia Todd:
I got to go a Maker Faire where
a whole bunch of people bring all of their inventions and
experiments and show them off. And I was very inspired. And my dad helped me and my mom
helped me get into science and I learned how to solder and making
lots of interesting inventions. The President:
That's great. Well, you did a great job. Sylvia Todd:
Thank you. The President:
So has this made you
more interested in like computer science? Sylvia Todd:
Uh-huh. The President:
I notice you made a
White House logo, too. Everybody see this, by the way? (cameras clicking) Excellent! Are you thinking about
continuing to pursue computer science? Sylvia Todd:
Yes. The President:
And maybe combining
that with graphic arts? Sylvia Todd:
Uh-huh. The President:
All kinds of things
you could do there. Sylvia Todd:
Uh-huh. The President:
Congratulations! I'm really proud of you. Sylvia Todd:
Thank you. The President:
All right. Take care.
