The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett students produce scientific breakthough
Internship leads to experimentation and possible publication.
The days of interns getting coffee, running errands and learning very little about the industry they’re working for have no place in today’s work-ready world. Just look at the two Gwinnett County high school seniors whose performance at a local business brought about a manufacturing breakthrough.
Micromeritics, a 55-year-old Norcross- based manufacturer of scientific instruments, has partnered with Gwinnett County Public Schools for years. The company stepped up its longtime commitment to student development by opening two spots for high school students in a high-level research department.
Elizabeth Karivelil and Patrick Aghadiuno, both graduating seniors at Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology, came aboard shortly after Labor Day.
“I was a little nervous at first,” said Karivelil. “I hadn’t taken AP Chemistry and I was afraid that it would be over my head.”
But Simon Yunes, senior application scientist at Micromerit- ics, didn’t want to scare the students off.
“I had to assess whatthey knew and then help them learn what they didn’t yet know,” he said.
Yunes had published a book that he had the students study. The first few weeks involved more discussion than actual hands-on experiments.
Erin Hendrix, head of the apprentice program and educational partnerships at Micromeritics, was concerned that after a day of classes, the off-campus lectures would lessen the students’ enthusiasm for the internship.
“I peeked in one day and both Patrick and Elizabeth were on the edge of their seats,” she said. “They were taking in everything Dr. Yunes was telling them and it looked like they were engaged in lively discussion.”
Yunes said he had no doubts about the two. “I could tell early on that they were catching on well,” he said. “They progressed quickly week after week.”
Eventually, the lessons were
over and the actual work began.
The team of three was trying to make a certain process more efficient without the catalyst it involved having a negative effect. After painstaking trials, they began to see a pattern.
“Each experiment had four steps,” said Aghadiuno, adding that each part could take six to 30 minutes. “So it was slow-going. After about the third try with a new formula, we saw that it was working.”
After many more trials, they realized that they had done it.
They had developed groundbreaking guidance on the effects of flow rate on temperature in catalytic reactions. They subsequently published two notes on how to apply their discovery for use among Micromeritics customers worldwide and have already received accolades from other international researchers.
“Nobody could believe that these were high school students,” said Yunes. “There are post-graduate students who may not have solved this.”
Yunes is exploring opportunities for publication in scientific journals because nothing has been published previously on work of this nature, said Hendrix.
To celebrate, the company gathered Micromeritics team members, the interns, their parents, families, and the GSMST coordinators for a ceremony where Yunes, Karivelil and Aghadiuno signed copies of their published notes to be framed for display.
Jeff Sherman, ‎vice president of business development, said the company encourages other businesses to similarly grow local talent.
“Any successful business has embraced diversity of all kinds,” he said. “You can’t have a roomful of people with the same backgrounds, same age, same gender, etc. and expect to have fresh ideas and new perspectives.”
With 15,000 customers in more than 65 countries worldwide, he said Micromeritics personifies the cliche “think global, act local.”
But for every company like Micromeritics there are dozens right in the same neighborhood who don’t realize the valuable resources walking the halls at local high schools.
Kerri Napoleon, GSMST internship coordinator, spends a large part of her time showing how a small investment of time and resources can pay off many times over. Companies can tailor the program to their needs, she said.
“We have partners with as many as 10 interns, some require a one-on-one dynamic,” she said. “We plan and design to the fit the internship company’s needs.”
Both students agreed their time at Micromeritics was invaluable.
Aghadiuno has already accepted a full four-year scholarship to Rice University, where he plans to study chemical engineering. Karivelil hasn’t decided. She’s torn between environmental science and engineering but hasn’t decided on a school yet. She said she plans to stay in Georgia, though.