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Chemists Help Local Students Win LEGO Robotics
Competition
Kim McDonald | December 11, 2006
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| From left to right: Nick Pankow, Tom Simpson (team coach), Anthony Santos, Tori Maches, Scott Maches (team coach), Andrew Benedict-Philipp, chemistry professor Michael Sailor, Zack Maches, Anna Kornfeld Simpson, Renee Brawley, UCSD graduate student Anne Ruminski, Sara Kornfeld Simpson and Kyle Marcotte. Photo / Jill Pankow |
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The subject of nanotechnology might seem a bit over
the heads of high school students, let alone middle
and elementary students. But a group of fifth- to
ninth-grade students from San Diego city schools managed
to employ one of the latest developments in nanotechnology
from UCSD to win this month's FIRST (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League
Southern California robotics challenge at Carlsbad’s
Legoland.
It all started when the students visited the laboratory
of UCSD chemistry professor Michael Sailor in October
to learn more about nanotechnology at a workshop he
sponsored.
“The purpose of the workshop was to explore the possibility of integrating nanosensors in the robots the students were building for the contest,” he said. “The students successfully integrated a porous silicon chip into a robot that sounded an alarm when it encountered vapors from a volatile organic compound, which in this case was rubbing alcohol.”
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| Credit: Michael J.
Sailor, UCSD |
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The students were aided by chemistry graduate student
Anne Ruminski, visiting scientist Corrina Thompson
and student researcher Stephanie Vinson from La Jolla
High School, who had been working in Sailor's laboratory
on silicon chips called photonic crystal gas sensors. These
materials change color when exposed to specific chemical
vapors. To get their robot to see the color change,
the student team used the light sensors that are sold
with the LEGO robot kits.
”Using your porous silicon chip, said the proud
parent of one of the winning students, Anna Kornfeld
Simpson, “Anna and the team wowed the judges
with a demonstration of a robot that started beeping
when the chip was mist sprayed with isopropyl alcohol,
and signaled a second robot to sound an alarm. The
demonstration was part of a research presentation
on porous silicon nanotechnology based on the workshop
and follow-up research. That presentation, along with
a robot that performed splendidly at the competition
table, earned the team the championship and an invitation
to compete at the FIRST LEGO League World Championship
in Atlanta this spring.”
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| Credit: Scott Maches |
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