Mid-Technical Grant Review

Last month was a rather stressful month for us but this month we became a lot more productive. Our first prototype, which was built using a 3D printer, was able to run successfully. Also, we built a second prototype, this time using plexiglass. The beauty of using plexiglass is that it is transparent; therefore, you can see the trash being vacuumed up. The team is currently working on the larger prototype. Just recently, we attached aluminum extrusions using right angle connectors. The aluminum extrusions will serve as the frame for our storage space. 

This month, we had an abundance of mentors coming in to meet with us. We met up with Doug Scott over our winter break. Doug Scott was an amazing teacher with a lot of enthusiasm, and he showed us an amazing way to brainstorm our ideas. He also provided many interactive activities which made learning a lot easier. Dan Ronan of the MTA was extremely helpful to us by providing lots of statistics of the MTA. For example, 50,000 tons of trash end up in the stations every year, 325 tons of trash are handpicked and there were 7,200 delays related to trash in 2013. Our team was really lacking in statistics so we were extremely thankful for the new information. Also, Dan gave us a very detailed explanation of how the third rail works, the mechanics behind the train and he even offered to take us on a trip to the transit museum. Ben Greenberg from Cooper Union also stopped by, and he gave us a lot of pointers on how we can improve our prototypes, and he suggested that make charts and graphs of all our information. We were also able to skype with Dyson, a company specializing in vacuum technology as well as our school's physics teacher, Mr.Zimmerman who is currently on sabbatical. They answered a lot of our questions regarding brushes, suction power, wetvac, liquids and so much more. Two engineers from NYU came in and looked at our invention with a critical eye providing lots of feedback. Clemens Wan helped us organize a lot of our information and suggested we split up into different teams, each one focusing on a different aspect.

This month was also our mid-technical grant review. This was the event we had been planning for and anticipating. It was on Tuesday at 5pm, at the same time as our school's PTA meeting. A lot of our mentors, parents and principal came to support the team. We gave a brief formal presentation using Prezi, then we had them look at our three stations (first prototype, plexiglass prototype, 80/20 prototype). They filled out surveys asking them for comments on our design as well as our presentation. The team was really nervous because this was our first time presenting in front of a big audience. However, practice makes perfect. We are planning on presenting at the end of March for our school's BCSM (the annual mathematics conference run by students); this will give us another chance to perfect our public speaking skills.