In preparation for the Year In Review and the BCGLP Symposium on May 23rd, the EDI Fellows put together blurbs about their projects to accompany their posters and presentations.  We are featuring one every day until May 23rd.  We hope you can join us. Here is Nik Yanek-Chrones ’20 and Leah Smith ’20 about their work on airtight acrylic boxes for Yson Wittmann ’19 with Sarah Haugh ’20 and Maguire McMahon ’20. 

This year, Tyson Wittmann ‘19 approached the 2020 EDI cohort and asked if we could design and construct clear, airtight boxes for an experiment. The experiment’s goal is to discern whether or not the temperature change from an enclosed greenhouse gas exposed to sunlight is great enough to generate electricity via a turbine. The greenhouse gases would be released into airtight acrylic boxes that contain a bluetooth temperature sensor. We took on this challenge and made an acrylic box with a removable lid. Our cohort was eager and constructed prototypes. We faced a few challenges such as issues with rubber to acrylic adhesion and creating an airtight seal. From this, we have learned the importance of research, prototypes, and team communication, as well as gaining the experience of working with professionals to cater to a client. However, through a combination of local resources and Norfolk Academy faculty advice, we found solutions.