Daniel Burd, 17

First steps: In 2006, Burd was moved by clutter at home to study plastic-eating
microbes. “I just got tired of all the plastic bags falling on my head every time I
opened the closet,” he says.

The Challenge: Millions of plastic bags clogs our landfills, often finding their way into
the oceans and strangling marine life. Scientists estimate that it can take a
hundred of years for a plastic bag to completely break down. Burd decided to see if
he could isolate naturally occurring plastic-munching microbes and get them to
work more quickly.

The solution: Using supplies and equipment acquired mostly through eBay, Burd
collected soil samples, isolated candidate microbes, and grew each in culture. Then
he quantified each organism’s ability to degrade plastic by exposing it to plastic
strips. Burd isolated four microbial strains that could degrade plastic, including one
that worked particularly well. He experimented with different temperatures and
various mixtures of strains until he was able to degrade up to 43% of his strips in six
weeks- a dramatic improvement over the years it could take in a landfill. Burd’s
research won first prize in Canada-wide science fair last spring.

What’s next: Burd is continuing his work at his high school, Waterloo Collegiate
Institute, where he is a senior.

Eric Delgado, 18

First steps: Delgado’s curiosity was sparked when, after 10th grade at Bayonne High
School, he worked with Jersey City Medical Center researchers investigating the
MRSA bug, a cause of antibiotic-resistant infections, especially in hospitals.

The Challenge: Fighting antibiotic-resistant germs means coming up with a way to

counter the tricks bacteria use to thwart antibiotics. One trick used by some
bacteria is to eject antibiotics through so-called efflux pumps embedded in their
cellular membranes. Delgado wondered: Was there a way to disable these pumps?
And how could he do such complicated research in a high school lab?

The solution: Working with pathogenic bacteria would be far too dangerous in a
school setting, so Delgado focused on disabling an efflux pump in the common
bacterium E. coli. Marie Aloia, a teacher, helped Delgado contact researchers across
the country for advice and supplies. One helped him identify lab techniques that
would allow him to avoid hazardous chemicals. Another supplied a plant compound
(diosmetin) known to disable efflux pumps in other bacteria. “The internet has
definitely made it much easier. You can do things kids from to years ago wouldn’t
have been able to do,” Delgado says. After school and on weekends for two years,
Delgado measured how much antibiotic the organisms pumped out and how much
was needed to kill them off after exposure to diosmetin and other candidate
compounds. Delgado’s work won fifth place at the Intel Science Talent Search in
2008.

What’s next: Delgado is currently attending Yale University. “I’ve always been
interested in the health sector,” he says. “Having real-works applications helps”

Anastasia Roda, 19

First steps: For almost as long as she can remember, Roda has loved Bernegat Bay,
the coastal area of New Jersey where she spent her summers. At age 15, when she
realized just how close the bay as to the Oyster Creek Generating Station, the
nation’s oldest nuclear power plant, she swung into actions.

The Challenge: Did Oyster Creek have an impact on the bay’s ecosystem? Roda’s
goal was to raise awareness in the public and among engineers who design nuclear
power facilities. “Once we know about our impact, it’s easier to lessen it,” she says.

The Solution: She spent the next three summers comparing creaks near the power
plant with a control creek about seven miles away. She measured water properties
from temperature to clarify and did a detailed analysis of microbes and other
organisms. Roda found that, compared with the control creek, creeks closest to the
power plant had higher temperatures and faster currents, and further downstream
they had bacterial levels. She remembers how warm the water near the power plant
was compared with other parts of the bay. “It was like bathwater,” she says, adding
that the creek’s ecosystems do remain functional, in that they are still host to many
organisms. Roda’s work has won her numerous honors, including an American
Museum of Natural History’s Young Naturalist Award and a spot in the Intel Science
Talent Search Finals last spring.

What’s next: Now at Harvard University, Roda plans to focus on environmental

studies, marine biology, and possibly law.