STEAM Internship Spotlight: Hydrolysis
Kaily Metz and Rebecca Kowalczyk (both from Dow High School) have been conducting research on polyethyloxazoline and polyethylenimine (PEI) polymers in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the formation of the PEI product, which is used for gene transfection. Rebecca and Kaily are creating the PEI product through the process of hydrolysis and have spent considerable time examining the characteristics of…
STEAM Internship Spotlight: Bees & Miticide
St. Andrews campus is buzzing with excitement as Rebecca Henning (Midland High School), Jacqueline Laurin (Dow High School), and Trenton Mclean (Bay City Western High School) conduct research on a polymer-based miticide, which could help beekeepers with Varroa mite problems in hives across the United States. These interns have been investigating the effect of environmental conditions including humidity, temperature, and surface area…
STEAM Internship Spotlight: 3D Printing and Sensors
Stephen Gillman (Midland High School) is working on creating a 3D printed product that combines the properties of strength and malleability. Stephen’s experiments focus on the blend of graphene in the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS filament) and the manipulation of the 3D printer settings to optimize the resulting product. Noah Smith (Freeland High School) and Sam Shepich (Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy)…
Lewis Acids as New Refrigerants
The Lewis acids team was led by Jack Kruper, PhD. The team synthesized a new poly-chlorinated compound and crystallized it for x-ray structure and determination. Student researchers on the project were Kaylie Barton, Midland HS, Hannah Bartels, Midland HS, and Aditya Middha, Dow HS.
Wetlands and Water Purity
Team: Serena Fleming-Dittenber, Midland High; Callen Herst, Bullock Creek; Nicole Seiler, Bullock Creek; and Ris Agrwal, Great Lakes Bay Early College Mentor: Daniel Henton, Ph.D., with additional consulting provided by Greg Martin of Dow. The purpose of the project is to acquire data to help define the extent of the chemical plume (in part from activities on the base using perfluorinated compounds…
Saving Honey Bees from Varroa Mites with Controlled-Release Miticides
Team: Jason Harnick, Bullock Creek HS; Kaitlin Gandy, Midland HS; and Yuen Azo, Saginaw Arts & Science Academy (not pictured) Mentor: Edmund Stark, PhD The US beekeeping industry is in crisis, and with it those parts of the agriculture industry that are partly or entirely dependent upon honey bees for pollination. Honey bees are being lost at an alarming rate due to…
Biodegradable Hyperbranched Polyesters
Team: Brandon Zhu & Daniel Zhang Mentor: Patrick Smith, PhD Research Overview: The efficacy of active ingredients is often inadequate due to poor targeting and limited lifetime of the active at the receptor site. Designing smart delivery systems which are capable of controlled release of the actives is one route to increase utilization efficiency. Dendritic polymers, which include dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers,…
Programming in ‘Python’ and Synthesizing Biodiesel to Achieve NMR Spectrum Results
Team: Front L to R: Colin Witt, Dow HS; Derek Yan, Dow HS; Naoki Kihata, Dow HS; Mia Pardell, Midland HS; and Ashley Hammond, Bullock Creek HS. Back: Emily Bennett, Bullock Creek HS; Mitchell Hayes, Dow HS; Zachary O’Dell, Midland HS, Aaron Lehman, Lehman Academy; and Robert Heyart, Dow HS. Mentor (back, far right): John Furcean, MS Students spent the first few…
Developing New Chemistries and Materials for Redox Flow Batteries
Intern research participation makes an impact.
