‘We need scientists’
More than 190 projects entered in regional science fair
Lucas Penny envisions a day when being tested for cancer is so simple it won’t even require a visit to a doctor’s office.
The 18-year-old is currently working to develop the technology to make that day possible.
“A close family friend was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years ago, and I wanted shift my focus from my previous research to kind of be more directed at breast cancer and early diagnosis,” said the Grade 12 student with a 98.1 per cent average at Grimsby Secondary School.
Last year he developed a device to diagnose early stage breast cancer by testing a patient’s saliva. The invention earned him numerous awards, including a gold medal at the Canada Wide Science Fair in May, a national Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award, and a fifth place award at the Ontario Sanofi Biogenius Canada competition.
The computerized device uses a chemical reaction to test saliva for microRNAs associated with the presence of cancer.
“That takes about 90 minutes to run a test. It’s specific, but it takes a long time and it’s expensive,” he said.
Penny, who plans to student bioengineering at university next year, wasn’t finished with his project. He has continued perfecting the device, using facilities at McMaster University.
“I’ve been there (at McMaster) since about Grade 8 now. It’s been a few years. I’m getting old,” he said with a laugh.
His new device has significantly reduced the cost of tests and now only takes 20 minutes for result.
And because “microRNAs are affected by all cancers,” he said the same device can be revised to test for other forms of cancer, too. Ultimately, he said, he’d like to see his device available in places like typical pharmacies, where someone trained to use it could perform tests.
“All that it really requires is a saliva sample, and it would go into the device to study,” he said.
Penny’s revised device was one of 191 projects entered by students from across the region at the 55th annual Niagara Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held at Brock University during the weekend.
On Saturday a team of more than 100 judges comprising local scientists, engineers and business representatives assessed the student projects, while the community was invited to meet with the students and see their projects on Sunday.
Scientist Andrew Panko was amazed by many of the projects he was asked to judge.
“The kids are getting way more sophisticated than the judges. I’ve seen some pretty dandy stuff here,” said Panko, who has been a judge during the competition for most of the past 35 years. “Every year, it gets better and better. These kids, they know what they’re doing.”
Event chair Nancy Hermans said each of the students competing in the science fair start their project with an idea, but what sets them apart is the way they take their ideas and develop them while realizing the potential their ideas hold.
“They enjoy science so much that they want to do it again and again,” she said.
For instance, Saint Paul Catholic High School student Bethany Helaine-Poltl said the idea for her project was inspired by her love of ballet dancing.
The Grade 9 Niagara Falls student wanted to find a way to capture some of the energy dancers produce, and created flooring using piezoelectric technology to generate electricity from people walking over it. If, for instance, the flooring was installed in a school hallway as students walked from class to class, “energy would be produced which could be stored to power lights,” she said.
Cindy Toth from the Water Environment Association of Ontario was at the event, specifically assessing projects that deal with water quality and the environment. In addition to looking for innovative ideas regarding environment and water conservation, she said participating in the science fair is an opportunity to let the students know “there’s a career in it.”
“We need scientists, we need technologists, data analysts, mathematicians and physicists,” she said. “And the enthusiasm that you see in the room, and the energy and just how committed these kids are to the project gives as much back to me as they’re getting out of being here.”
Diamond Trail Public School Grade 8 student Richard Schaefer focused his research on determine ways of making LED lights shine brighter while using less electricity.
“Pretty much it all started with a flashlight that didn’t work,” the Welland student said.
He said he took the flashlight apart, which led to experimentation to determine if providing more power than normal to the LED bulbs would ultimately use less energy.
Winners will be announced Wednesday during a ceremony at St. Catharines Collegiate from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Top local winners will go one to compete at the national science fair taking place in Regina, Sask., in May.