Cristin Dorgelo:
Hi, this is Cristin Dorgelo.
And we're here live from the
third White House science fair.
This is our first live webcast
from the science fair.
And today we're celebrating over
100 students who are winners
from 40 states and 45
different science, technology,
engineering, and math
science competitions.
And I'm here right now with
Bill Nye the Science Guy,
and LeVar Burton.
Welcome, guys.
What are you excited
about for today?
LeVar Burton:
Science.
Bill Nye:
Science.
LeVar Burton:
I want to see the science that
these kids are working on.
Bill Nye:
They got some cool stuff.
I was walking around
just a few minutes ago.
This is the future!
And what I like to remind
everybody is the economic
benefit of science.
What is everybody talking about?
What are we obsessed with?
Three things.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Jobs and economy.
Bill Nye:
Jobs, jobs, jobs!
That's right.
So if you want jobs,
you got to have science.
You got to invest in science.
And these people are going to be
the engineers of tomorrow that
will, dare I say it,
change the world.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Thanks, Bill.
LeVar, what are you
excited about for today?
LeVar Burton:
Well, I think it's
remarkable, number one,
that the President is really
honoring these student scholars
very much the same way he would
if you were an NCAA sports
championship team.
Coming to the White House and
getting an opportunity to get
some face time with the
President is really big
for these kids.
I think that's great.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So do you think we should
meet one of these kids?
LeVar Burton:
I would love to.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
So we've got Sarah here.
Sarah, welcome.
Sarah Volz:
Thank you so much.
I'm so excited to be here.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So tell us about your project.
Sarah Volz:
My work is on algae biofuels.
So the idea with algae biofuels
is that algae actually produce
these oils that can be converted
into a field you can put
straight into you diesel engine.
So right now, the problem with
bioenergy is that it's not quite
economically feasible.
And we need a better source
of these oils than crops
like soy beans.
So that's where algae comes in.
And my work was focused on using
guided evolution to develop
populations of
algae with more oil.
So it's a better choice.
Bill Nye:
These are the same organisms
that make swamp gas, right?
Sarah Volz:
Yep, yep.
Bill Nye:
So instead of one carbon,
you get a whole -- somehow.
Sarah Volz:
Exactly, yeah.
So the idea is that,
you know, they're just
producing these fats.
That's exactly what
they are, these fats,
these long carbon chains.
And if you can just get them to
change their metabolism a little
bit, they'll produce
more of them.
Bill Nye:
How did you do that?
Sarah Volz:
So I actually took a sort of
different approach than some
other people have been taking in
that I let mother nature do all
the work for me.
I used a chemical that
killed cells with the low
oil production.
That forced cells to adapt
to produce more oils,
higher oil production.
Bill Nye:
What chemical kills cells that
don't produce a lot of oil?
Sarah Volz:
It's actually an herbicide that
I chose because it specifically
targets an enzyme in the
oil production pathway.
LeVar Burton:
Now, Sarah, I understand
you have kind of an
unorthodox laboratory.
Sarah Volz:
I do.
So my laboratory is
actually under my bed.
(laughter)
Bill Nye:
Your bed somehow, yeah.
Sarah Volz:
So I've got a loft bed and
then I've got a bunch of flasks
underneath it.
Cristin Dorgelo:
How did your parents
feel about that?
LeVar Burton:
Exactly.
Sarah Volz:
They're happy that I moved
everything out of the kitchen.
Bill Nye:
I'll tell you what else
they're happy about.
I saw you in science news.
You got $100,000 scholarship.
Is that right?
Sarah Volz:
That's right.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Where are you going to go?
Sarah Volz:
I'm going to MIT.
Bill Nye:
That's back east.
I hear that's a good school.
Sarah Volz:
I'm very excited to go to MIT.
LeVar Burton:
They're lucky to
have you, Sarah.
They're lucky to have you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Are you excited to be here
at the White House today?
What are you looking
forward to most?
Sarah Volz:
I'm so excited to be here.
I'm really excited to meet the
President again actually because
I saw him one time before.
I think just seeing all the
other young scientists from
across the nation
is just like really,
really awesome and inspiring to
see that other people beside me
care about this stuff.
LeVar Burton:
What grade are you in, Sarah?
Sarah Volz:
I'm a senior.
LeVar Burton:
A senior, on your way to MIT.
Good for you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
Well, thank you.
For those of you just joining,
we're here at the third White
House science fair, and we're
doing our first live webcast.
Sarah, congratulations on
getting to this point.
Awesome.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations, Sarah.
Bill Nye:
Cool.
Way to go.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
Next up we have
Easton LaChapelle.
How are you?
Nice to meet you.
Easton LaChapelle:
Great.
Thank you.
LeVar Burton:
Easton, how are you?
Good to see you.
You're from Colorado?
Easton LaChapelle:
I am.
LeVar Burton:
Indeed.
What's your project?
Easton LaChapelle:
I created this robotic
arm that's controlled
using your brain.
My end all goal for this is to
create an affordable prosthetic
for everyday use for really
anybody that needs it.
And actually, the main thing
that really got me toward
prosthetics was last year,
at the state science fair in
Colorado, this seven year old
girl came up to me and she had a
prosthetic limb from the elbow
to the fingertip with one motion
open, close, and one sensor.
I started talking to her
parents some more about this,
and just that alone was $80,000
which is a lot of money.
And she was seven at the time.
So she would need about two
or three of those within her
lifetime because
she keeps growing.
And that was kind of
the a ha moment for me.
I already started working with
robotic hands, robotic arms.
And I just crossed platforms
perfectly with that.
My end all goal is to create
an affordable prosthetic for
everyday use.
And it's all controlled
with your brain,
based off thoughts and also
facial gestures and blinking,
a series of patterns.
And also a muscle
sensor on the foot.
Combine all that together,
and you get a really accurate
control system that
you can really use to
control everything.
LeVar Burton:
So how many movements
does your arm have?
Open and close, but
more bells and whistles?
Easton LaChapelle:
It's a full robotic
arm up to the shoulder.
And it's comparable to human
strength-wise, weight-wise,
and functionality.
So pretty close to the
same degrees of freedom.
But during all this, I really
realized how remarkable a human
arm is and just how crazy
everything happens.
Bill Nye:
How complicated it is.
Easton LaChapelle:
Yeah, yeah.
Bill Nye:
And the sensors, it's amazing.
So what powers this thing?
Easton LaChapelle:
I actually use servomotors as
the main actuator for each of
the fingers.
Bill Nye:
But upstream, was
there a battery?
Easton LaChapelle:
Yeah.
That's all within a bicep.
All electronics, all the
batteries are within a bicep.
And I have about a 5,000
milliamp-hour battery within
a bicep.
And that could power the
arm for a good, you know,
half day to a day of continuous
use from all the motors.
Bill Nye:
Five thousand milliamp hours
in the bicep is what you got.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Amazing.
Did you have a 3-D
printer before this?
Was this your first
3-D printing project?
Easton LaChapelle:
No.
I actually have two 3-D
printers in my room.
I work out of my room.
I pretty much have a bed in
the corner and I could start
to expand.
But 3-D printer is
really, really cool.
It's a really cool technology
that's starting to get
really big.
And it's starting to
get more affordable.
Bill Nye:
So is the final product plastic?
Easton LaChapelle:
It's all made of ABS plastic.
But that's like the
best way, I think.
Either way, you have some type
of exoskeleton or some type kind
of skeleton that puts the
silicone skin around.
And it's just a light weight.
It's durable.
It's easy to replace.
It's affordable.
So yeah, I think
it's a good choice.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, thank you, Easton.
What are you excited about
here at the White House today?
Easton LaChapelle:
Well, this is actually the
furthest east I've been.
So just even being
here is an experience,
let alone the White House and
all sorts of different things.
And of course, meeting
these crazy awesome people.
LeVar Burton:
What are your plans
for college, Easton?
Easton LaChapelle:
Well, my business is actually
really taking off with all this.
It's kind of something
I never really planned.
But definitely college
is in the future.
I'm a junior right now, so I
think I need to start thinking.
LeVar Burton:
Venture capitalists knocking
on your door already?
Easton LaChapelle:
Actually, yeah.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations!
Congratulations.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, Easton, thank
you very much.
Bill Nye:
That's cool.
Way to go.
Way to go!
Cristin Dorgelo:
So for those of
you just joining,
we're here at the third
White House science fair.
I'm here with LeVar Burton
and Bill Nye the Science Guy.
LeVar Burton:
And it's Earth Day.
It's Earth Day, y'all!
Bill Nye:
Earth day!
Cristin Dorgelo:
It is Earth Day.
In fact, behind us right now
we've got a lot of earth science
projects and environmental
science projects that are going
to be really cool for the
President to check out in a
little bit.
We're ready to meet our
next student, Jack Andraka.
Amazingly inspirational story.
Jack, I'm Cristin.
Great to meet you.
Bill Nye:
Jack, hi.
LeVar Burton:
Morning, Jack.
How are you?
Bill Nye:
Saw your picture in Space News.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So tell us about your project.
Jack Andraka:
So essentially what I've created
is a three-step method to attack
pancreatic cancer, ovarian
cancer and lung cancer that
takes five minutes.
It's 100% accurate so far.
But also, you can detect the
cancers in earliest stages,
when someone has close to
100% chance of survival.
So it could lift the pancreatic
cancer survival rate from 5.5%
to close to 100%.
And it could be broadly applied
to really any disease ranging
from Alzheimer's to heart
disease, other forms of cancer,
including HIV/AIDS.
Bill Nye:
How does it work?
Jack Andraka:
So essentially what you have is
these long thin pipes of carbon,
carbon nanotubes.
And they're an atom thick and
one fifteen thousandths a
diameter of your hair.
However, despite their
size, they have these
incredible properties.
They're kind of like the
superheroes of material science.
So then I was actually sitting
in biology class reading about
these and there are these
things called antibodies,
essentially molecules that only
react with one specific protein,
in this case, a
cancer biomarker.
And what you do is you kind of
weave them into this network of
carbon nanotubes such that you
have a network that only reacts
with one protein.
But also, it will change its
electrical properties based on
the MAL protein
present, in other words,
a way to attack
pancreatic cancer.
And I just measured that with
an old (inaudible) and some
sewing needles.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So Jack, what was your
inspiration for doing this work?
Jack Andraka:
I actually became interested
in pancreatic cancer because a
close family friend died of it.
And then what I realized is that
85% of all pancreatic cancers
are diagnosed late, when the
patient has less than a 2%
chance of survival.
LeVar Burton:
Has an incredibly high mortality
rate, pancreatic cancer.
Jack Andraka:
Yeah.
It's the cancer with
the worse prognosis.
LeVar Burton:
That's right.
Bill Nye:
My uncle.
So you have nanotubes.
You know, I met Rick Smalley,
one of the guys who got the
Nobel Prize for that.
How do you configure nanotubes
to detect a specific protein?
Jack Andraka:
It's actually about as simple as
making chocolate chip cookies.
You start with some water.
You pour in the antibody.
Then you pour in the nanotube.
Then you sonicate it.
Bill Nye:
You sonicate it.
LeVar Burton:
Sonicate it!
That was the step I was missing.
Jack Andraka:
And then you just take
some paper, dip it --
Bill Nye:
What's sonicating?
Cristin Dorgelo:
Is that like baking
but different?
Jack Andraka:
Yeah, it's pretty much.
And you just shake it really,
really loudly or really --
LeVar Burton:
Vigorously.
Bill Nye:
Ultrasonic.
Jack Andraka:
Yeah, ultrasonic.
LeVar Burton:
Ultrasonic shaking.
Bill Nye:
And what makes it -- and so they
line up with the antibodies?
Jack Andraka:
They don't actually
have to line up.
It's just a random orientation.
I'm just disbursing them
throughout the solution.
Bill Nye:
So you have antibodies
attached to nanotubes.
Jack Andraka:
They don't have to attach.
They just kind of lay on them.
LeVar Burton:
They just have to be
in the environment.
Jack Andraka:
Yeah, um-hum.
Bill Nye:
And then when the pancreatic
cancer marker shows up,
what happens?
Jack Andraka:
Then the protein essentially goes into this network
and it slams --
Bill Nye:
So then it changes its connectivity because
they're nanotubes.
Jack Andraka:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bill Nye:
That's cool, man.
That is cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
I think you just blew Bill
Nye the Science Guy's mind.
Pretty awesome.
So what are you excited for
here today at the White House?
Jack Andraka:
I'm really excited to talk with
all the other young researchers
because I really love
working with other people.
And right now, I'm actually
working on the $10 million
Tricorder X PRIZE.
LeVar Burton:
Are you really?
Jack Andraka:
And so I'm gathering a team.
So looking for some
new candidates for it.
Cristin Dorgelo:
That's fantastic.
If you guys want to
join Jack's team,
I think he just put
out an open call.
All right.
Well, thank you, Jack.
It's great to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
Jack Andraka, wow!
Brainiac on the loose.
Bill Nye:
Nicely done, man.
Jack Andraka:
Thank you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Good to meet you, Jack.
Jack Andraka:
You too.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right, everybody.
We're back at the third
White House science fair.
One of the things that we'll
be announcing today are new
commitments to the President's
Educate to Innovate campaign
which is trying to inspire more
kids to get involved with STEM;
Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math education.
So what do you guys think
the future of stem is?
How do we get more kids like
these excited about science?
Bill Nye:
Well, this event is fantastic.
Celebrating, just as
LeVar said earlier,
just as you would have the World
Series winner here or the Final
Four winner here, you
have these people here.
LeVar Burton:
We are to grow this
talent from the inside.
It has to be homegrown talent.
If we are to really make good
on the promise to educate our
nation's children and provide an
educated workforce that's going
to solve the
problems of tomorrow,
we have to begin at
these lower levels.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, that's great.
So let's meet some of our
youngest students here.
Hi, guys.
How are you?
Students:
Good.
LeVar Burton:
Gentlemen, gentlemen,
good morning!
Bill Nye:
Some more vision, yes!
Cristin Dorgelo:
Tell us your names.
What are your names?
Evan Jackson:
Evan Jackson.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Evan.
Caleb Robinson:
Caleb Robinson.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Hey, Caleb.
Alex Jackson:
Alex Jackson.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And Alex Jackson.
Wow.
What did you guys do
to get here today?
LeVar Burton:
What's your project?
Students:
COOL PADS.
Cristin Dorgelo:
COOL PADS.
Is that something you wear?
Student:
Yes.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And where do you wear it?
Students:
In football.
Evan Jackson:
And you can use it in military
and a firefighter and a police.
Bill Nye:
What does it cool off?
LeVar Burton:
Is it a cool pad that
you put in a helmet.
Evan Jackson:
In the shoulder pads.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Like in your protective
shoulder pads?
Caleb Robinson:
Yeah.
And it has Gatorade attached
to it that the players can
drink out of.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So it's basically about
keeping them cool and hydrated?
Why did you guys come
up with that project?
Evan Jackson:
To keep athletes from
overheating and dying.
Bill Nye:
Did you know somebody
that overheated?
Cristin Dorgelo:
You did?
While you were running
around just playing sports?
Evan Jackson:
When I was in my football
game, I overheated.
LeVar Burton:
You overheated.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what are you guys most
excited for today at the
science fair?
Caleb Robinson:
To see Barack Obama.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Oh, you're looking forward
to seeing the President.
Bill Nye:
He may get a chance to shake
hands with him if he plays
his cards right.
LeVar Burton:
I would be shocked if
that didn't happen.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So how hard was it
to build COOL PADS?
Evan Jackson:
It was medium.
LeVar Burton:
Medium hard?
Not really hard?
What was the biggest challenge?
What was the biggest challenge
you had to making this project a
successful one?
Evan Jackson:
Keeping the parts on
our sample together.
LeVar Burton:
Keeping the samples together.
Bill Nye:
The prototype?
Yeah.
So you did this
with ExploraVision?
Students:
Yes, sir.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Pretty cool.
Well, I hope you guys have
fun at the science fair.
You guys got anymore
questions for these kids?
LeVar Burton:
Can I get one?
Bill Nye:
Yeah.
Evan Jackson:
Yes, sir.
LeVar Burton:
How soon will it be
in on the market?
Do you know?
Students:
In 20 years.
LeVar Burton:
Twenty years.
So I have to wait a while.
Evan Jackson:
Or less.
LeVar Burton:
Or less.
That's a good answer.
Twenty years or less.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, it's great
to meet you guys.
Congratulations on being here.
Bill Nye:
Nicely done.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations, fellas.
Well done.
Well done.
Bill Nye:
Great to see you guys.
The idea is in ExploraVision,
you come up with an invention
that you think will come into
existence in the next 20 years.
LeVar Burton:
Oh, I see.
Cristin Dorgelo:
That's awesome.
Bill Nye:
It's part of the overall
effort for science, technology,
engineering, and math.
It's great.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, thanks guys.
Bill Nye:
You guys look pretty sharp.
Cristin Dorgelo:
It's great to meet you.
Take care.
All right.
So here at the third
White House Science Fair.
LeVar Burton, Bill Nye the
Science Guy and are talking to
some really amazing winners
of science, technology,
engineering, and
math competitions.
We're also talking about
ways to get more students
interested in STEM.
One of those commitments we're
announcing today is around
US2020 which is a project to get
more mentors helping kids in
the STEM field.
So tech companies
like SanDisk, Cisco,
Cognizant have made commitments
to get 20% of their workforce
devoting 20 hours to helping
kids get interested in STEM.
So thanks to those companies for
stepping up and helping kids get
interested in STEM.
So right now -- hi.
I see a hurt leg.
And nice to see you.
Brittany Wenger:
Nice to see you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
How are you, Brittany?
Brittany Wenger:
I'm good.
How are you?
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what's your project?
Brittany Wenger:
So what I did is I created an
artificial neural network which
is a type of program that
actually models the brain's
neurons at interconnections.
So it can detect patterns that
are far complex for humans
to detect.
Now, I applied this to breast
cancer because breast cancer
inflicts one in eight women.
These statistics
are just startling.
And, when you know somebody
who has the disease,
they're even more personal.
So using my program, the
fine-needle aspirate,
which is the least
invasive test,
the cheapest and the
quickest test becomes really
accurate as well.
So my program is 99% sensitive
to malignancy which is huge.
And then I deployed it to the
Cloud because the Cloud is just
this incredible elastic entity
that can scale the support usage
by every hospital in the world.
And in the future, I'm proving
that the same tactics can also
work with leukemia diagnostics
and perhaps provide insight on
what proteins can
be drug targeted.
Bill Nye:
So what is this most reliable
test for breast cancer?
Fine needle?
Brittany Wenger:
Well, the fine-needle aspirate
is actually so inconclusive that
a lot of doctors
refuse to use them.
Bill Nye:
Yeah, yeah.
Brittany Wenger:
So the purpose of my project is
to really revive the fine-needle
aspirate so that they can be
used again and so they can
be accurate.
Bill Nye:
So you just talk a few cells?
Brittany Wenger:
Yeah.
It causes the patient about
the level of discomfort of
a blood test.
A few cells are extracted,
looked at under a microscope.
And then traditionally a doctor
would say whether they thought
those cells were
cancerous or not.
But using my program, different
attributes are analyzed so that
subtle patterns
can be picked up.
LeVar Burton:
Have you had any response from
the breast cancer community?
Brittany Wenger:
Yeah.
So it's been really exciting.
I won the Google Science Fair,
and since then everybody's been
really supportive.
I got to speak at
BreastCancer.org.
LeVar Burton:
Wow.
Brittany Wenger:
Yeah.
And Lincoln Medical Center has
provided me with more samples.
And I'm also working with an
institute in Italy to test my
program's capabilities
against 400 samples.
LeVar Burton:
Are you a senior?
Brittany Wenger:
I am.
LeVar Burton:
And where are you
going to college?
Brittany Wenger:
I actually just made this
decision two days ago.
So I'm going to Duke University.
I'm going to be part
of the A.B. program.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Whoo!
So exciting.
Brittany Wenger:
Yeah.
I got a full scholarship
in research funding.
Bill Nye:
I'm shocked.
Boy, didn't see that one coming.
Brittany Wenger:
And I'm very excited about that.
LeVar Burton:
Good for you.
Brittany Wenger:
Thank you so much.
Bill Nye:
My grandfather taught at Duke.
Brittany Wenger:
Really?
That's very cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So I've seen you here before
on the White House campus.
What brought you here last time?
Brittany Wenger:
So I was also part of Science
Talent Search which is a program
that is based on your
science potential as well as
your research.
So that was a lot of fun.
It was an absolutely surreal
experience to meet a bunch Of
other kids who are also
into science like I am.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And post college, what
are you going to do?
Brittany Wenger:
So I want to be a
pediatric oncologist,
but probably an M.D., Ph.D. sort
of situation because I want to
do research and primary care.
LeVar Burton:
You know what, young lady.
You better get a good
pair of sunglasses.
Your future is so bright, you're
going to have to wear shades.
(laughter)
Brittany Wenger:
Thank you so much.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations.
Brittany Wenger:
Thank you so much.
Bill Nye:
Change the world.
Nicely done.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Thanks, Brittany.
Great work.
Good to see you again.
Brittany Wenger:
Thank you.
Good to see you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what do you guys
think about this?
Bill Nye:
So traditionally the doctor
would look at it under a
microscope, or a
skilled technician,
and looking for the pattern.
But she's got it automated.
It's brilliant!
It's brilliant!
LeVar Burton:
Science.
Cristin Dorgelo:
It is science.
LeVar Burton:
Science.
Cristin Dorgelo:
The miracle of science.
Are you guys ready to meet yet
another inspirational scientist?
LeVar Burton:
Absolutely.
Bill Nye:
Bring it on.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Hi, Jonah, nice to see you.
I'm Cristin.
Jonah Kohn:
I'm Jonah.
Nice to meet you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
LeVar and Bill Nye
the Science Guy.
LeVar Burton:
Good morning, Jonah.
How are you?
Jonah Kohn:
I'm good.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So tell us about your project.
Jonah Kohn:
So my project uses tactile sound
to improve the experience of
music for people
with hearing loss.
LeVar Burton:
Wow.
Cristin Dorgelo:
What's tactile sound?
LeVar Burton:
Describe tactile sound.
Jonah Kohn:
Tactile sound is sound through
vibrations that are in contact
with your body.
LeVar Burton:
Right.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So are we going to
get a demo later?
Jonah Kohn:
Sure, if you want to, although
it does not work for people with
normal range hearing because
of something actually
pretty interesting.
You're already hearing the same
frequencies through your ears.
So your brain kind of discards
the tactile information.
LeVar Burton:
Interesting.
But it is absolutely detectable
by someone who does not have
that range of hearing already?
Jonah Kohn:
Yes.
At one instance, I had
one of my subjects,
they were able to hum
the melody of a song.
Bill Nye:
Even though they can't hear it.
Jonah Kohn:
Even though they can't hear.
Just through the tactile device.
Bill Nye:
So then people who are Deaf
could learn to speak without
that accent, or whatever that
expression is, that affect?
Jonah Kohn:
I think so.
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure exactly how much
better they are hearing.
But I know that my target
group, from the experiment,
which were cochlear implant
users under the age of 55,
they had an
improvement of 93.5%.
That's 5 out of 10 to a 9.675
out of ten on the 1 to 10
quality scale I gave them.
LeVar Burton:
Is that both speech
and music recognition?
Jonah Kohn:
No.
My project was only about music.
I'm looking into speech as
one of my future ventures.
But this experiment was about
music because many people with
hearing loss are already
able to communicate.
The ones with cochlear
implants can talk fairly well.
The ones with hearing aids can
also interpret and read speech
through lips and hear it.
But music, because it is so
many frequencies and so many
different ranges and everything
in music and a lot of things
going on at once, many people
with hearing loss can't really
experience music
the way that we can.
So I tried to improve that.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So who have you piloted
this technology with?
Jonah Kohn:
I had 14 subjects.
Twelve of them had hearing loss.
There were six with cochlear
implants and six with
hearing aids.
Cristin Dorgelo:
What did they think?
Bill Nye:
Has a manufacturer contacted
you or a medical --
Jonah Kohn:
Not yet.
I do have it for a
filed patent though.
LeVar Burton:
Good for you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
What's next for you
after this project?
Jonah Kohn:
I really, really want to look
at the neuroscience of this,
see what tactile sound
actually does in the brain.
Bill Nye:
So you want somebody to get
an MRI while they're listening?
Do you use your hand?
Jonah Kohn:
Well, the contact points that I
used were the hand, the sternum,
and the back of the neck.
Bill Nye:
Why did you pick those?
Jonah Kohn:
They were shown to be extremely
conductive in previous tactile
sound research.
And they also are some of the
places that wouldn't cause
bone conduction.
Now, bone conduction is
something kind of similar to
tactile sound, but it's really
just vibrations going through
your skull, moving your eardrums
to the same frequencies that you
would be hearing the music.
Bill Nye:
Like when a dentist is drilling.
Jonah Kohn:
Exactly.
That would be bone conduction.
Cristin Dorgelo:
None of us like that
feeling or that sensation.
Jonah Kohn:
Yes.
LeVar Burton:
Making the world a better
place through science.
You rock.
You rock.
Bill Nye:
Nicely done.
Way to go.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Congrats, Jonah.
Great to see you here.
Yeah.
Bill Nye:
See you again in a few minutes.
Very cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
We're here at the third
White House Science Fair.
Bill Nye:
Reminds you of how little
you've accomplished.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Really mind blowing
students, aren't they?
Bill Nye:
Cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Amazing.
So we're going to keep
celebrating these students.
Next up, Super-Awesome Sylvia.
Hey, Sylvia, good to see you.
Sylvia Todd:
Hello.
LeVar Burton:
Super-Awesome
Sylvia, good morning.
Sylvia Todd:
Good morning.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Tell us about your project.
Sylvia Todd:
Well, I have the
WaterColorBot.
It's a robot that paints
with water colors.
It's really neat.
LeVar Burton:
I saw a demonstration of this
just the other day and it's
pretty spectacular.
How do you program it?
Sylvia Todd:
My dad did most of
the programming.
We have a Raspberry Pi which
has a Wi-Fi dongel on it.
So the Wi-Fi is
connected to the EBB.
And the EBB --
Bill Nye:
The EBB is what?
Sylvia Todd:
Eyebot board.
It controls the servomotors and
the stepper motors which move
the metal rods and
the stringer rods.
Bill Nye:
XY thing.
Sylvia Todd:
Yeah.
It sends XY coordinates
to go to different points.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So are you giving a demo of
this painting at the White House
Science Fair today?
Sylvia Todd:
Yes.
I'm probably going to have it
so, when you doodle on the iPad,
then it's going to
doddle on to the paper.
LeVar Burton:
Little match move there.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what's the cooler
project you've seen here,
other than yours so far?
Sylvia Todd:
I have walked
around a little bit.
I saw the International Space
Station thing where they grab
the thing and they put it up.
That was pretty cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
The space elevator,
I love that project.
Sylvia Todd:
That was really cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Are you going to join
their team next year?
Sylvia Todd:
I'm not really sure.
They were really cool.
Bill Nye:
So on your XY --
what do we call it?
Sylvia Todd:
WaterColorBot.
Bill Nye:
WaterColorBot.
You can magnify
or shrink, right.
Sylvia Todd:
Yeah, sure.
Bill Nye:
Like a pentagraph,
you know what I mean?
You can write real small, and
it will come out real big,
and so on.
Sylvia Todd:
Yeah.
Bill Nye:
That's very cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So Sylvia, you consider
yourself a maker.
Is that right?
Sylvia Todd:
Right.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what are makers and how
do we get more of them?
Sylvia Todd:
Well, makers are people
who like tinkering.
They have their own hobbies.
They like doing their own stuff.
Just to be a maker, you really
get out there and just do
something, like actually
put something together and,
you know, have fun.
LeVar Burton:
What are the applications
for your robot?
Sylvia Todd:
What do you mean?
LeVar Burton:
I mean, how might we use it
in say a commercial sense?
Or would it be
developed as a toy?
Or would it have a
more practical use in
the marketplace?
Sylvia Todd:
Well, I was just thinking it's
available for kids to program,
engineer, and learn
how to use robotics.
We hope for it to be a
kit later on in late May.
I just like really want to
inspire kids out there to just
make something.
LeVar Burton:
So what you've created
is a teaching cool.
Sylvia Todd:
Yeah, practically.
LeVar Burton:
Yeah.
Good for you.
Well done.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So what are you going to
build next after this device?
Sylvia Todd:
Not really sure.
We're pretty busy.
But I hope to kind of hack my
RC Helicopter and have some
fun with it.
Cristin Dorgelo:
A hacked RC Helicopter.
That sounds fun.
Will you send us a
video when we do it?
Sylvia Todd:
Maybe.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Maybe.
I hope to see it.
Bill Nye:
The helicopter will be taking
a video of you and transmitting
it to you.
That's cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
Great to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations.
Bill Nye:
Nicely done.
This is great.
Great!
Cristin Dorgelo:
So makers like Sylvia are going
to get some new opportunities to
play and make at new maker
spaces that the Maker Education
Initiative is helping to set up.
That's one of the commitments to
STEM and our Educate to Innovate
initiative we're
going to see today.
So who's our next
student we get to meet?
Hi.
I'm Cristin.
Shaquiesha Davis:
Shaquiesha.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Shaquiesha, good to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
Shaquiesha, good morning.
You're from Chicago.
Shaquiesha Davis:
Yes.
LeVar Burton:
Yeah.
Represent.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Tell us about your project.
Shaquiesha Davis:
I have developed an
app called Baby B 4 Me.
It's a mobile application that
connects parents and care
providers outside
each other's presence.
LeVar Burton:
Wow!
Bill Nye:
So what, does it have a camera?
What does it do?
Shaquiesha Davis:
It has a real-time chart
update, a support net list,
video, and text.
The chart is where the parent
goes in and put information such
as take a nap and at what time
they want their child to do
this activity.
And the care provider marks
off when the activity is done.
And the parent can check
the chart at any time.
Bill Nye:
All from my phone.
Shaquiesha Davis:
Yes.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So how long have
you been coding?
Shaquiesha Davis:
I have been coding since my
freshmen year of high school,
so about 14.
Cristin Dorgelo:
How did you get interested?
Shaquiesha Davis:
My school actually,
Chicago Tech Academy,
they teach us coding from
the first day we walk in
through the door.
LeVar Burton:
The Chicago Tech Academy.
Shaquiesha Davis:
Yes.
LeVar Burton:
Where is that?
Shaquiesha Davis:
It's on the Southwest
side of Chicago.
LeVar Burton:
On the Southwest side.
Shaquiesha Davis:
It's a fairly new school.
This is its fourth year,
first graduating class.
LeVar Burton:
You're in the first
graduating class?
Shaquiesha Davis:
No.
LeVar Burton:
No?
Shaquiesha Davis:
I'm only a junior.
LeVar Burton:
Wow!
All right.
One more year before you
inherit the senior status.
Bill Nye:
Pretty cool.
So what language do you code in?
Shaquiesha Davis:
I code in Objective C.
But I've also used ACML,
C-sharp, CSS, JavaScript.
Bill Nye:
So what do want to do
if you go to college?
Computer science?
Is that your thing?
Shaquiesha Davis:
It's not my first, but I would.
Bill Nye:
What's your first?
LeVar Burton:
What's your first love?
Shaquiesha Davis:
My first love is nursing.
I just love children, which
is the idea behind the app.
But I would like to get a
minor in computer programming.
LeVar Burton:
I have no doubt that
that is in your future.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Definitely.
What inspired you to build
this app in the first place?
Shaquiesha Davis:
Well, the first time
I baby sat my nephew,
his mom left so fast that
she didn't leave a note.
And I knew that he
was on a schedule.
I just didn't know
what the schedule was.
So she came back to pick him up
and she asked what time did he
take his nap, which is
why I keep saying nap.
And when I told her, she just
was so frustrated because he was
going to be up all night.
So I realized that -- I knew that I wasn't the only person
being faced with this problem.
So I just decided to make an app
for it and solve the problem.
Bill Nye:
How many lines of
code in this app?
A hundred, a thousand,
20,000, 50,000?
Shaquiesha Davis:
Between 100 and a thousand.
It just depends on what type
of thing you want to do.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So how do you think we get more
girls interested in coding?
Shaquiesha Davis:
Well, at my school, we
have a 50/50 ratio between
boys and girls.
And I believe that all the girls
at my school are interested
at coding.
So just come to
Chicago Tech Academy.
LeVar Burton:
Come to Chicago Tech.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Go to a good school.
I like that answer.
So thank you.
What are you looking forward
to at White House Science
Fair today?
Shaquiesha Davis:
I'm looking forward to
networking with other students
that have an interest in me
and presenting my business to
the President.
Cristin Dorgelo:
That's fantastic.
Congratulations.
LeVar Burton:
Shaquiesha, congratulations.
Bill Nye:
That's just cool.
Way to go, Shaquiesha.
LeVar Burton:
Amazing!
Good for you.
Good for you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
We're still here at the third
White House Science Fair,
first time we've been live
from the science fair.
I'm here with LeVar Burton
and Bill Nye the Science Guy.
What do you guys think
so far of these projects?
LeVar Burton:
I'm blown away, I
got to tell you.
Bill Nye:
I wanted my nephew
to take a nap,
so I wrote a thousand
lines of computer code.
Okay.
Yeah, Of course you did.
It's just cool!
It's fantastic!
LeVar Burton:
I am not an engineer.
I play one on TV.
I barely understand what most of
these kids are talking about.
Very impressive.
Very impressive.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So the President is going to
get a chance to look at the 30
exhibits that are here today.
And I know he will also be blown
away and is very committed to
seeing more students pursuing
STEM through our Educate to
Innovate initiative.
What do you guys think we can do
to spread the word about these
types of program that are out
there and get more kids involved
in these types of STEM programs?
Bill Nye:
Well, this is exactly
what we should be doing,
having events like this,
celebrating it so that people
want to be involved
or want to try it.
LeVar Burton:
So if you're out there and
you have a mind for science,
get busy.
There will be another
one of these next year.
You could be here at the White
House showing off your project
to the executive branch.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And we hope that you continue
to spread the word about the
science fair today using the
hashtag WhiteHouseScienceFair.
Spread the word.
How are you guys doing?
LeVar Burton:
Good morning.
Bill Nye:
Good morning.
Cristin Dorgelo:
I'm Cristin.
Nice to meet you.
Julie Xu:
Julie.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Julie.
Spencer Ottarson:
Spencer.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Spencer.
Great to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
Where are you all from?
Julie Xu:
Michigan.
Williamston, Michigan.
LeVar Burton:
Williamstown, Michigan.
Julie Xu:
Yeah.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Tell us about your project.
Spencer Ottarson:
Well, we've created
the ORCA system.
It's a buoy that is designed
to detect rip currents in
the Great Lakes.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So are you demonstrating
it in a tank today?
Julie Xu:
No.
We didn't get to
bring our tank today.
But we have tested our actual
flow meter and everything.
So we know that
that is operational.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And have you deployed
it in the lake?
Spencer Ottarson:
No.
We have not deployed
it in the lake yet.
It's still a work in process.
At this point, the only thing
that's been in the water is the
flow meter.
LeVar Burton:
What's the value and the
benefit of the technology that
you've invented?
Spencer Ottarson:
Well, last year, over 100 people
drowned in the Great Lakes.
And almost a third of those
were due to rip currents.
LeVar Burton:
Really.
And so our invention is designed
to help save those lives.
Bill Nye:
So these are people
swimming near shore and they
get swept out.
Julie Xu:
Yeah.
And you can't see rip currents
from the surface of lakes,
which is what catches people off
guard because often they're just
swimming along and they look up
and they're in the middle of a
lake and they panic.
LeVar Burton:
So the idea would be to deploy
a couple of these in any given
lake area and that information
would feed back to the lifeguard
staff on shore?
Spencer Ottarson:
Well, our buoy is actually a
modified swim area buoy or swim
area marker.
So the idea is to replace the
current swim area markers on
public beaches.
And each of the buoys
is a standalone system.
So when it detects
a rip current,
it just lights up the light
on top and beeps a siren.
So each buoy along the lake,
you'll know exactly where the
current is.
Bill Nye:
How far apart are they?
Julie Xu:
We are thinking
about 40 feet apart.
Bill Nye:
That's typical for a swim area.
Julie Xu:
Right.
Bill Nye:
So if a person's getting swept
out, whoop, whoop, whoop,
then here or she knows,
then everybody knows.
Julie Xu:
Yeah.
Get out of there.
Don't go over there.
Bill Nye:
And plus maybe then to alert
somebody on shore to come help.
Julie Xu:
That too.
Yeah.
Bill Nye:
The whole thing is
to swim sideways.
That's the deal.
Cristin Dorgelo:
To get out.
LeVar Burton:
And not get sucked out to sea.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So how did you guys get
inspired to build this?
Is this part of a program you
got involved with at school?
Julie Xu:
Yeah.
We're actually a part of the
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program.
And InvenTeam are groups of
students, teachers, and mentors.
And we're awarded up to
$10,000 to make our inventions
a reality.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Wow.
That's amazing.
So it's partner organizations
like that that help students
like you get a chance to
get hands on with science
and technology.
What kind of science and tech
had to go into this project?
What did you use in terms
of science, technology,
engineering, and math skills?
Spencer Ottarson:
Well, there's a lot
of electrical systems.
And the buoy, our
sensor, our flow meter,
we have to send a signal to the
electronics box and process the
signal and figure out when
there's a rip current and when
there isn't.
Bill Nye:
And it looks like
it's solar powered.
Spencer Ottarson:
It is.
It's also solar powered.
So you can just leave it
in the lake for all year.
Bill Nye:
But then there's a
battery system probably.
Julie Xu:
Yeah, 12-volt battery.
Bill Nye:
And it's got to be durable.
Julie Xu:
Oh, yeah.
Bill Nye:
Waterproof, I hope.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Oh, yeah.
With the waves.
LeVar Burton:
And corrosive insulated, yes?
Spencer Ottarson:
Right.
Right now, it's mostly designed
just for the Great Lakes which
is fresh water.
But the plan in the future is
to also adapt it for salt water
because there's a lot of rip
currents in the oceans as well.
Cristin Dorgelo:
So is this your first
time at the White House?
Julie Xu:
Yes.
Spencer Ottarson:
Yes.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Are you excited?
Spencer Ottarson:
Oh, yeah.
Julie Xu:
So exciting.
Cristin Dorgelo:
What are you excited for?
Julie Xu:
Just everyone, all these young
people that are getting involved
in science because, being
from a smaller community,
we don't get to see this
kind of stuff often.
And it's great to see everyone
that's getting involved.
Bill Nye:
The President may get a
chance to shake your hand.
Julie Xu:
I mean, that's pretty
exciting too, I guess.
Bill Nye:
He can hope.
He can dream.
What I can't get over, Cristin,
is the diversity of science
programs that are
represented here.
LeVar Burton:
In these projects, absolutely.
Bill Nye:
What's the name of yours, sir?
It's going real fast.
Julie Xu:
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam.
Bill Nye:
InvenTeam.
That's cool.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Making ideas a reality
through that $10,000.
Julie Xu:
Yeah.
Bill Nye:
So what year are
you in high school?
Spencer Ottarson:
I'm a freshmen at
Michigan State University.
Julie Xu:
I'm a senior at
Williamstown High School.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Where are you planning
to go to school?
Julie Xu:
Well, I'm wait listed at
the school that I would like
to go to.
So if anyone from the University
of Chicago is watching right
now, I would really love to be
a part of your great school.
LeVar Burton:
Come on, admissions!
Get on the stick!
Bill Nye:
Chicago guy, yeah.
What more do you need?
She's at the White House.
What time is it?
They'll call any minute.
Cristin Dorgelo:
That's right.
They'll be calling.
Julie Xu:
I hope so.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, I hone you guys enjoy
the nice weather out here today.
You guys are in the East Garden.
Get to hang out outside
and demonstrate your
project outside.
And so I hope you have
a great trip to D.C.
It's been great to meet you.
Julie Xu:
Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
Spencer Ottarson:
Thank you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Thanks.
Bill Nye:
Change the world.
LeVar Burton:
Congratulations to both of you.
Congratulations.
Julie Xu:
Thank you.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
Hi, guys.
Welcome.
How are you liking the third
White House Science Fair?
Kiona Elliott:
We're loving it.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And your names?
Kiona Elliott:
I'm Kiona Elliott.
LeVar Burton:
Hi, Kiona.
Payton Karr:
I'm Payton Karr.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Peyton, it's good to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
And you're both from the
Lemelson MIT InvenTeam.
Kiona Elliott:
We're from the Northeast High
School Lemelson MIT InvenTeam.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Northeast High School where?
Kiona Elliott:
In Oakland Park, Florida.
Cristin Dorgelo:
I see.
So tell us about your project.
Payton Karr:
We can actually show you our
project if you want to see it.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Awesome.
We're going to walk
right over here guys.
Wow.
Bill Nye:
Buckets of water.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Nobody trip on any wires.
Bill Nye:
Here.
Turn around.
Let the cameras see you.
Kiona Elliott:
Our invention is an emergency
water sanitation station.
Basically the idea of it is to
provide clean water for tropical
areas in the event of a natural
disaster such as Haiti or really
any tropical area.
Bill Nye:
Why does it have to be tropical.
Kiona Elliott:
Well, we made it for tropical
areas because it was actually
designed after -- not the
hurricane but the earthquake
that happened in Haiti.
Our team member was on
a mission group there.
And so we were thinking more,
because we're in Florida and
hurricanes are a big problem
there and in a lot of other
tropical areas.
So it's really designed to be
an emergency water system for
tropical areas
after a hurricane.
Bill Nye:
It's bicycle powered.
Love that.
LeVar Burton:
Show us how it works.
Walk us through the process.
Bill Nye:
I'm stepping back.
Payton Karr:
Well, one thing you did mention was that the bicycle powers
the whole thing.
We have a hub motor here on
the back of the bicycle which
charges the battery, powers
everything here in the
electrical box.
It starts over here where you
can add water into this 200 and
100 micron mesh that will filter
out basically sand and sticks
and different things.
LeVar Burton:
Large particles.
Payton Karr:
Then it's pumped through this box and into that container
over there.
When it's being pumped
through the box,
it is being sanitized
by ozone generator here.
And once it gets inside the box,
the second ozone generator is
turned on to continue
cleaning the water so it's
not recontaminated.
Bill Nye:
So why this big metal
container -- enclosure?
Face the camera, please.
Kiona Elliott:
Well, the big container
is basically the way --
all of this is easily
transportable and
can break down.
Bill Nye:
Oh, this collapses.
Kiona Elliott:
It collapses, and can be
placed inside this container.
Then we close it up and, not
only does our bike power our
system but it can also
transport our system.
It can be hitched to this big
trailer thing and then taken to
whatever area that
you need it to be in.
LeVar Burton:
That's ingenuous.
It's a delivery system and
a filtration system in one.
Kiona Elliott:
And it can also charge
cellphones or any electricity
that you need.
So if you need a laptop -- I
don't know why you would need a
laptop in the middle
of that area.
Payton Karr:
For communications.
LeVar Burton:
Who doesn't want to be
connected these days?
Absolutely.
Who doesn't want
to be connected.
Bill Nye:
Plus you want to be
online if you can be.
LeVar Burton:
And that's run off
the battery as well.
Kiona Elliott:
And the battery is
just rechargeable,
straight from the bike.
Bill Nye:
And this is all
commercially available stuff,
so it's going to be high
reliability, we think.
LeVar Burton:
Ingenious.
Bill Nye:
Is this commercially
available, this bucket?
Kiona Elliott:
Yeah.
We just bought it
right off line.
Payton Karr:
The only thing we added to it
was the mesh filter which we
kind of designed after
an embroidery hoop.
Kiona Elliott:
We took inspiration -- our box
is actually designed after a
pizza box.
Fourteen teenagers working over
a box of pizza, things happen.
(laughter)
LeVar Burton:
Pizza boxes as inspiration.
Bill Nye:
While they're needle pointing.
Eating pizza and
needle pointing.
LeVar Burton:
Well done.
Payton Karr:
Thank you.
Kiona Elliott:
Thank you.
LeVar Burton:
Well done.
Bill Nye:
So you identified a need
and you addressed it.
Payton Karr:
Yes.
Bill Nye:
And any minute, it's
going to come up.
Has anybody approached you about
manufacturing these things?
Payton Karr:
Well, we actually talked
to the Red Cross about it.
We still have to get back
to them and answer some of
their questions.
But also, a missionary
group approached us.
They wanted to use it on
their next mission strip.
Bill Nye:
Fantastic.
LeVar Burton:
Amazing.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right, guys.
Well, thank you.
Kiona Elliott:
Thank you.
Payton Karr:
Thank you.
Bill Nye:
You see, we're all speechless.
Wow, what did I
do in high school?
Cristin Dorgelo:
We're so impressed.
So what are you guys going to
do next, post science fair?
Kiona Elliott:
Well, we -- I'm graduating.
Bill Nye:
Where are you going
to go to school?
Kiona Elliott:
I'm going to the
University of Florida.
Bill Nye:
Oh, great.
Cristin Dorgelo:
And you?
Payton Karr:
I'm not graduating yet.
I'm still a junior.
I plan to continue this.
I really want to make it
available to the third-world
countries after disasters so
that we cannot just make it but
actually have it put into use.
Kiona Elliott:
We're trying to get into contact
with the Red Cross more so that
they can actually mass produce
this and then have their groups,
whenever there is a disaster,
they can just take this
along with them.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Well, thanks guys.
I appreciate you
showing us your project.
Great to meet you.
LeVar Burton:
Most impressive.
Most impressive.
Congratulations, ladies.
Congratulations.
Bill Nye:
Cool.
Change the world.
Kiona Elliott:
Thank you.
LeVar Burton:
Changing the world with science.
Unbelievable.
Cristin Dorgelo:
All right.
Well, thank you for joining us
from the first live webcast of
the White House Science Fair.
Thank you, LeVar and
Bill for joining us.
It's been great.
Bill Nye:
It's an honor.
LeVar Burton:
Pleasure.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Keep watching.
We're going to have more
coverage of the White House
Science Fair today.
And spread the news with
#WhiteHouseScienceFair.
LeVar Burton:
White House Science Fair.
Peace y'all.
Cristin Dorgelo:
Bye-bye.
