SME-PRSEF Student Award
Every year the Pittsburgh Section of SME presents an award at the Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair (PRSEF). The project that receives the award is related to the application of mining and mining engineering or the fields of geology or mineralogy, with a focus on creative or innovative uses of modern technology, such as electronics, computerization, and/or robotics, in mining, mineral exploration, geology, mining equipment, miner safety, or mine rescue.
2024
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Ariya of Shady Side Academy Senior School. Ariya's project is entitled, "Assessing Health of Lowber Treatment Site Runoff Water through Macroinvertebrates".
Abstract: This project focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of the Lowber Treatment site in sustaining macroinvertebrate life in water impacted by past coal mining. The treatment site is designed to purify iron-saturated water before it enters Sewickley Creek. I hypothesized that there would be very little macroinvertebrate life in the runoff water because the water still looks very orange after treatment, so it seems like it would be difficult for organisms to survive. To determine if the water quality could sustain macroinvertebrate life, I collected a sample using 3 1-minute kicks from the site and then identified them using microscopes and dichotomous keys. Using research from a study done at Lake Creek, a healthy and nonpolluted creek, as a control group it showed similar densities and EPT index values, suggesting positive water quality at the Lowber site. The EPT index for the Lowber site sample was 95.9%, and I found a total of 47 Caddisflies and 2 snails. The presence of caddisflies suggests a thriving aquatic environment because they are very pollution intolerant organisms, emphasizing the treatment site's effectiveness in preserving water quality. Based on the data the conclusion aligns with a null hypothesis.
Photo: Ariya (Student Award Winner) and her project "Assessing Health of Lowber Treatment Site Runoff Water through Macroinvertebrates"
2023
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Emma of Indiana Area Senior High School. Emma's project is entitled, "Abandoned Mine Drainage Water Bioindicators".
Abstract: When AMD water contains high levels of minerals like lead, copper, or iron, organisms cannot survive in the water, and therefore are not able to naturally filter the water. The purpose of this project is to make sure that high levels of limestone in the water will not affect microorganisms that live in the water. Research has shown that Daphnia are helpful bioindicators of water pollution because their rate of reproduction changes when they are in different qualities of water. Last year, this project was started by filtering AMD water using a lime softening method and aeration. This year, the focus is to repeat the method , but also use reverse osmosis to reduce the limestone concentration in the water to observe if there is a difference in the Daphnia's rate of production. The data will compare the Daphnia's production in the water that is filtered using reverse osmosis with the untreated AMD water and the treated lime
softened water. The Daphnia grown in the reverse osmosis filtered water is expected to reproduce more than when living in the AMD water and the lime softened water. Data collected will be the amount of Daphnia produced in each water sample. No conclusion has been drawn yet.
2022
The PRSEF was conducted at the Carnegie Science Center this year. The students and staff were happy to attend the fair in-person once again. The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Thomas of Pittsburgh Colfax School. Thomas' project is entitled, "Remote Rescue Robot - Inexpensive Robotic Hand Platform Controlled by Human Motion".
Abstract: It is obviously the case that search and rescue missions, emergency response, and remote exploration expeditions are inherently dangerous. Robots have been used for these situations, but their use is not widespread due to the limitations of robots and their control, and the cost of attaining the machines for these purposes. There should be no trade-off between efficiency, accuracy, or cost in using robots to carry out dangerous tasks previously done by people. To fix this problem, I designed a 3D-printed robotic hand and sensing glove to reduce costs and increase intuitive control. The hand will be connected to the glove, which will read the position of a human hand's fingers. The robot then will match the position of the glove. This project will create a robotic hand controlled entirely by the motion of a human hand that is both easy to use and inexpensive to produce. This will allow the user to keep the focus on the task at hand, not the control of the robot, thereby improving outcomes in these situations.
2021
The PRSEF was conducted virtually this year. The students and staff adapted wonderfully to the change. The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Pratham and Milun of North Allegheny High School. Their project is entitled, "ADRBot: An Arduino Disaster Relief Robot".
Abstract: In recent years, natural disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, and forest fires have increased significantly, causing serious devastation. In these natural disaster settings, rescuers are responsible for locating survivors and moving them to safety. They must manually search through rubble, debris, or flood conditions to locate survivors, which poses risks to their health and safety. To address this problem, an approach is needed to increase safety for both rescuers and those in need of rescue. The aim of this project is to develop an assistive rescue-aid platform called RescueBot. RescueBot travels autonomously through a disaster-stricken area, searching for human presence using infrared thermography and concurrently assessing any dangerous obstacles obstructing the paths using ultrasonic sensors. Once the area has been assessed, a route maximizing efficiency and safety will be produced using a shortest path algorithm. This route will provide those in need of rescue a path to safety or shelter, as well as rescuers an efficient route to rescue as many people in the quickest and safest manor. Using sonar technology, RescueBot then guides the user to safety or to locations of others in need of rescue, alerting the user to avoid unsafe obstacles along the way. Data generated through natural disaster simulations will be used to test the platform.
2019
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Meghna of North Allegheny High School. Meghna's project is entitled, "RescueBot: An Integrated Search and Rescue System to Assist in Natural Disaster Settings".
Abstract: In recent years, natural disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, and forest fires have increased significantly, causing serious devastation. In these natural disaster settings, rescuers are responsible for locating survivors and moving them to safety. They must manually search through rubble, debris, or flood conditions to locate survivors, which poses risks to their health and safety. To address this problem, an approach is needed to increase safety for both rescuers and those in need of rescue. The aim of this project is to develop an assistive rescue-aid platform called RescueBot. RescueBot travels autonomously through a disaster-stricken area, searching for human presence using infrared thermography and concurrently assessing any dangerous obstacles obstructing the paths using ultrasonic sensors. Once the area has been assessed, a route maximizing efficiency and safety will be produced using a shortest path algorithm. This route will provide those in need of rescue a path to safety or shelter, as well as rescuers an efficient route to rescue as many people in the quickest and safest manor. Using sonar technology, RescueBot then guides the user to safety or to locations of others in need of rescue, alerting the user to avoid unsafe obstacles along the way. Data generated through natural disaster simulations will be used to test the platform.
Photo: Michael Keener (Left, SME Pittsburgh Section) and Meghna (Right, Student Award Winner)
2017
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Nikhil of North Allegheny High School. Nikhil's project is entitled, "An RFID-Based Indoor Mapping Tool for the Visually Impaired".
Abstract: Spatial and navigational awareness are critical skills for an efficient and productive lifestyle. Unfortunately, such essential tasks are often difficult, dangerous, or impossible, especially in crowded indoor areas, for the visually impaired. Therefore, the goal of this project is to create a cognitive assistance tool to enhance spatial visualization ability for the visually impaired. To achieve this, a phone-based application will be developed that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, GPS-based location tracking, and native activity monitoring software to help enhance navigational awareness, avoid dangerous situations, as well as improve the lives of visually impaired individuals.
Photo: Jeffery Kravitz (Left, PCMIA) and Michael Keener (Right, SME Pittsburgh Section) stand with Nikhil (Center, Student Award Winner)
2016
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Vedant of Upper St. Clair High School. Vedant's project is entitled, "'Breathing' Battery".
Abstract: Global Warming is a huge environmental issue faced today and is caused by greenhouse gases. About 72% of the total emitted greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide. My purpose was to collect this carbon dioxide (eliminating it from the air) and use it to produce electricity. I hypothesized that CO2 gas can be used to run a wind turbine to generate electricity before finally being used as a carbonic acid solution in the electrolyte of a galvanic cell to again produce electricity while also ensuring removal from the air.
Photo: Michael Keener (Right, SME Pittsburgh Section) and Jeffery Kravitz (Left, PCMIA) stand with Vedant (Center, Student Award Winner)
2015
The SME Pittsburgh Section is pleased to present the SME-PRSEF Student Award to Shanelle of North Allegheny School District. Shanelle's project is entitled, "Novel Nano-Encapsulation for Rapid CO2 Capture and Emission Reduction".
Abstract: At a time when climate change is becoming a growing national concern, the reduction of carbon pollution from coal-based power plants is gaining increased interest (as shown by the EPA's Clean Power Plan). Current attempts at carbon emission reduction involve Carbon Capture Systems (CCS), however the chemicals currently being used for these systems are toxic amine solutions. Ionic liquids have recently emerged as promising amine replacements, however their characteristically high viscosity slows carbon capture. In an effort to overcome the high viscosities and slow uptake kinetics of ionic liquids, the study aims to confine sorbent ionic liquids within specific nanobubbles, yielding accelerated CO2 capture. Thermo-gravimetric and uptake kinetic analyses are performed to determine the efficacy of this method.
Conclusions:
- Ionic Liquids (IL) are thermally stable
- As viscosity of IL increases, rate at which CO2 capture occurs decreases
- Nano-encapsulation increases rate of CO2 capture two-fold
- Nano-encapsulation allows for IL to reach constant mass faster (since small drop of IL is accommodated)
Photo: Heather Trexler, P.G. (SME Pittsburgh Section President) and Shanelle (Student Award Winner)
Photo: Award winning poster "Novel Nano-Encapsulation for Rapid CO2 Capture and Emission Reduction"