UT Dallas NanoExplorers Present Summer Research

The 2011 Summer NanoExplorers (from left), Top row:  Nihal Koduri, Peter-Michael Webb, Kelvin Wang, Karthik Ravikumar, Shelby Steaphen, Alex Biju, Evan Baum and Kevin Chen.  Third row:  Sumanth Madhugiri, Cary Kuo, Michael Trinh, Alex Baughman, Bhavaish Sharma,  Rusheel Guduru, Alex Hong and Rebecca Fang. Second row: Tyler Hostetter and Stephen Goss. First row: Raahil Sha, Aileen Huang, Nimi Bhattatiry, Sakthi Rajendran, Alexa Nightingale, Roshni Janakiraman, Jamie Stone, Celeste Huang, Denise Lee, Helen Xiong and Galen Gao.

UT Dallas NanoExplorers Present Summer Research

Local High School Students Participate in Third Annual NanoExplorers Symposium

A group of local high school students accepted a rare opportunity to participate in a summer of high-tech research at UT Dallas.

They took part in the George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers Program focusing on nanotechnology research in such areas as biomedical research, armed forces protection, solar energy and water purification.

Jamie Stone, a senior at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, and Helen Xiong, a junior at Allen High School, examined how to use nanotubes to improve the efficiency of organic solar cells.

“Not all of the experiments were successful, but it was fun and a great learning experience,” Stone said.

Stone and Xiong, along with 33 fellow participants, shared their experience and findings at the ‘Third Annual NanoExplorers Symposium’ last month. They were selected out of a group of 130 applicants.

Dr. Ray Baughman

Dr. Ray Baughman, director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute and the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, opened the symposium.

“I’m very proud of this year’s group. They’ve started a journey of discovery, which for some may last a lifetime,” Baughman said. “The consequences of such a short period of research may not be immediately obvious but will have an impact. It will be a reminder of the importance of beginning and the excitement of new, unknown areas.”

Baughman encouraged the teen scientists to seize the challenge of research.

Participants received a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the symposium. Some NanoExplorers may have the option to continue working with their faculty mentors during the school year.

The UT Dallas Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute was launched in September 2001.

Baughman founded George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers Program in 2002. The George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers program is directed by Dr. Steve Collins and facilitated by Enedina Rodriguez. The goal of the program is to inspire high school students to become productive scientists and engineers by enabling them to do original research work.