JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — By a show of hands, most guests at the Chattahoochee Inventeam’s presentation Feb. 27 use gas stoves, the source of methane and nitrogen dioxide.
An invention is underway to address that.
Not only do the constant leaks increase the risk of developing respiratory diseases, but Sophie Lin, the team’s administration student lead, said two decades of gas stove emissions equates to 20 million cars on the highway emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
“Virtually, no solution actually exists to address these interior leaks inside of our homes, and thus, with our problem defined, we stepped aside to find a solution,” Lin said.
Members of the Chattahoochee InvenTeam, aka the “GasBusters,” is composed of about a dozen mostly 11th graders. They were the only group in the Southeast this school year to receive a $7,500 grant through the Lemelson-MIT program — an annual research initiative out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology geared toward high schoolers to invent technological solutions to real-world problems.
The group is making progress since they “jumped on the train” a year ago, having drafted one invention concept on physics homework, sourced materials and developed an innovative way to test the device. The prototype is currently being finalized.
But, beware of scammers, the Inventeam said those details are “top secret,” privy to the eyes and ears of the small crowd who attended their presentation in Chattahoochee High School’s media center.
For their presentation, the group broke down what it took to get the ball rolling, how they keep it going. The project is multifaceted, each student playing a specific role.
Some students work to get the word out as part of a communications team, others search for ways to finance the project, and some are more…
Read the full article here
