Colorado Science & Engineering Fair  -   April 7, 2011 

Our chapter sponsors a special award at the Colorado State Science & Engineering Fair, for projects in physical sciences and engineering.   Prizes are $100 for first place and $50 for second place, in both Senior and Junior Divisions.  Prizes are awarded to each student and a matching award is given to each winner's teacher/sponsor.    We hope these awards encourage students to continue on to even more exciting careers in science & engineering.  Year after year, the level of these students' scientific understanding, their hard work, and above all, their curiosity and enthusiasm, are truly inspiring. 

This year's judges:
J Grant Armstrong - Carberry Technologies
Dan Bouillez - Plasma Process Group

This year's winning students and their projects:

Junior - First Place - Emma Frantz - 8th Grade
Does It Stick?  Viscosity's effect on Liquid Mediated Adhesion
North Middle School, Colorado Springs CO
Sponsor: Peter Frantz
Abstract— Liquid mediated adhesion occurs when a liquid in between two surfaces causes them to stick together. As more devices are miniaturized and improved for less power consumption, this creates a serious risk of failure. In 2008, Bhushan showed that the total adhesion force is made up of a viscous force plus a meniscus force. His model was tested at a microscopic scale. My experiments were done to test this theory on larger contacting surfaces. My hypothesis was that the adhesion force would be directly proportional to the viscosity. The actual viscous force depends on separation time; the harder you pull, the faster they separate. I could not control the separation time in the tests, so I decided to control the separation force and measure separation time. I constructed a “stickometer” to measure separation time. By using different weights, I showed that separation force is proportional to one over separation time. This means I can use a measurement of time to find the force. I then used fluids with different viscosities to show that separation time is proportional to viscosity, confirming my hypothesis. Next, I went on to verify the theory's prediction of the relationship between force and the initial distance of separation. Finally, I attempted to test the prediction that force is proportional to the contact area to the fourth power by using surfaces of different sizes. However, I had problems with particle contamination of the larger surfaces. 

Junior - Second Place - Alexandra McKenna - 8th Grade
The Effects of Cooling Rate on Crystal Growth
St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, Loveland CO
Sponsor:  Michael Estergard
Abstract— This experiment was designed to simulate molten rock escaping the earth’s surface and cooling at different rates. Since atoms arrange themselves layer-by-layer to make a crystal, a slower cooling rate should allow molten rock more time to produce larger crystals. If all other factors that affect crystal growth are kept constant (pressure, chemical conditions, and space), a slower cooling rate should result in larger crystals.  These experiment tests the effects of cooling rate on crystal growth by using three beakers filled with: boiling water, water at room temperature, and ice cold water. Placed in the beaker with boiling water were three test tubes filled with a mixture of crayon and mothball. Once the mixture in the test tubes liquefied, two of the test tubes were placed in the other two beakers and the third test tube remained in the beaker with the hot plate turned off. The test tubes remained in the beakers for 90 minutes. Then, the test tubes were removed from the beakers and the hardened crystal mixture was observed and recorded.  All mixtures from the beaker with boiling water showed significantly larger and more crystals when viewed under a microscope. All mixtures from the beaker with ice water showed the smallest and least number of crystals. Each of the six texts produced consistent and significant visible differences in the three crystal mixtures subject to different cooling rates.

Senior - First Place - Kerry Betz - 12th Grade
Constructing a Novel Cage Molecule for Use in a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
Fairview High School, Boulder CO
Sponsor:  Helen Petach
Abstract— The development of efficient organic dyes for use in dye sensitized solar cells presents a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to expensive silicon solar cells. This study’s goal was to construct an organic molecule for efficient use in a dye-sensitized solar cell. I synthesized a dye molecule that consisted of two porphyrin molecules inside a cage framework designed to separate the porphyrin molecules in order to prevent porphyrin aggregation. This separation between the porphyrins was constructed in order to slow the charge recombination process and therefore increase the efficiency of a solar cell using this cage molecule as the functional dye. The definitive process found for forming a porphyrin cage molecule includes forming a four-sided carbozole-porphyrin molecule. Another investigated process involves making a two-armed cage with early conversion of nitryl groups to acetone groups, before the porphyrin is formed. Nitryl and amino groups do not work in this cage formation process, nor does bromine-carbozole. Addition of electron-withdrawing groups such as amines and aldehydes interfere with the catalyst and catalyst activator in the alkyne metathesis reaction. The cage molecule was tested for performance in a dye-sensitized solar cell and compared with the performance of a porphyrin molecule not in this cage. Through the work done in this project, a definitive process forming a cage molecule was developed and refined, and since cage molecules are useful in many applications, the research done in this project is relevant to other fields of study as well as furthering research on organic solar cells.