The winning teams displayed and demonstrated their projects in Harrisburg on April 19, receiving honorable mentions and won People’s Choice awards.

The theme, “Innovating the Commonwealth through Collaboration and Computing,” challenged students to work together during the school year to research, design and then present a device or project that can help improve lives and fulfill real-world needs.

The trash can project, called Tiger Trash, was created by Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School students.

Johnny Bauman, Lucas Rivera, Cristian White and Mackenzie Hall, all 10th graders, along with Dylan Deur, an 11th grade student, designed and developed the smart garbage can with ultrasonic and load sensors that send signals to turn on an indicator light when the can is full, thus preventing the trash from overflowing.

Mirror photo by Cati Keith Central Cambria High School senior Annaliese Niebauer demonstrates the function of her device that harnesses the kinetic energy in water movements and converts it into electricity. She was awarded the People’s Choice Award for best in engineering and a “STEMmy” for best engineering project.

In a real-world application, the Tiger Trash can could help waste management companies manage effective garbage collection, their routing and help reduce carbon emissions, adviser Ben Fogle said.

This is the second time a Hollidaysburg team made it to the state contest, he said, noting he was impressed with the amount of work the students put into Tiger Trash.

“This is hands down the best team I have ever had,” he said.

The team won the People’s Choice award for the most eco-friendly, White said.

The project took about three months to put together, Rivera said, with Bauman noting they got the idea from going to different school events and noticing there was a big problem with litter, especially full trash cans.

“When we were presented with an opportunity for the governor’s competition, we immediately went to the trash can,” Bauman said.

The smart can is designed to be simple and budget friendly, Deur said.

Burgmeier’s Hauling partnered with the students on the project and offered pointers on how to improve their original design.

During the competition, the students were able to walk around and see projects from other teams. They also talked about their project and heard from others who said they could see it working in their own towns.

Rivera said it was cool seeing everyone working together to create a better Pennsylvania.

“When you go to competition, you get to see what everyone else thinks of your creative task,” he said.

The group continues to tinker with its design, working on a way to make it slimmer, hiding the wires or making it wireless.

Through the project, they all got to experience different types of engineering and have a better idea of what they want to focus on in the future, they said.

“I think we all have some interest in engineering and all want to do something in that field when we are older,” White added.

Fogle said STEM teams will be forming in November in preparation for next year’s events.

The four said they all plan to return next year, using this year’s accomplishment as motivation to do even better.

Central Cambria student finds success

A device that harnesses the kinetic energy in water movements and converts it into electricity earned Central Cambria High School senior Annaliese Niebauer the People’s Choice Award for best in engineering and a “STEMmy” for best engineering project.

Niebauer said the device functions by floating on top of the water, moving with the waves, currents or boat wakes, or pretty much any disturbance. Those movements are then captured by a bike chain-sprocket-generator combination, producing green energy that can be stored or directly sent to appliances for use.

“Because rivers and lakes never sleep, they are constantly moving and generating electricity,” Niebauer said.

While she has not been able to put it in water yet, from her calculations, using about 800 devices at a time would create enough electricity to power a football stadium twice over during a big event.

Niebauer first came up with the idea for the device in seventh grade, completing a project to improve humanity’s relationship with water.

Through research, she found the Pelamis Sea Snake deployed off-shore in Scotland but the company behind it went bankrupt before it was able to finish its work.

“I picked up where they left off,” Niebauer said.

Her device uses a direct kinetic energy conversion instead of hydraulics, and is smaller to capitalize on smaller water movements.

Ever since seventh grade, she has been working to refine her design.

One summer, she worked with a professor at Saint Francis University on underwater drones, she said.

The summer before her junior year, she proposed the idea of her kinetic energy device and he really liked it, she said.

They worked on that throughout the summer, and continued into her junior year as part of her AP research project.

Through the Governor’s STEM competition, she received a $600 budget in order to improve the device.

“The competition allowed me to gain more experience talking about my project in more depth and explaining it in terms that more people will understand,” Niebauer said.

She also got a lot of feedback from people who said the device is a great idea.

Niebauer will continue her studies this fall as she pursues a degree in mechanical engineering and possibly a minor in business at the University of Pennsylvania. She plans to continue developing the kinetic-energy idea.

Her mother and coach Heather Niebauer said she’s proud that her daughter took the device and continued to explore it to its fullest potential.

“I don’t want to say she was obsessed with it, but she has found her passion in renewable energy,” she said.

Mirror Staff Writer Cati Keith is at 814-946-7535.