Stage 2: Research

Due Beginning of class May 18th

Fill this out for each solution and then put info on poster

Lexi

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a

lack of cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid. People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights.
Additionally, many people leave lights on during the night or for extended
periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of energy being consumed
for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would solve this problem as well
by consuming less energy.

Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

This is currently limited by the current level of light that biofluorescence produces
and the perspective of humans trying to solve the problem(most focus on an
alternative power solution rather than a full scale lighting replacement).

\
Proposed solution. More detail the better

Our aim is to use plants to create light, essentially. Since plants are
autotrophs, the plants are able to autoluminescent. By taking advantage of this, we
can genetically modify plants to make light using a modified pGLO technique,
where pGLO would be prepared for insertion into an already-grown plant. In order
to do this, we can use multiple different plants to find the ones that best accept the
pGlo gene. Examples include daisies, cacti, watercress, and carnations, as they are
succulents and will grow the fastest. With this quick growing, we can also make
multiple tests given a limited amount of time. To transport the glowing element
into the plant we’d use agrobacterium so that the pGLO get into the plant, and
apply the plasmid to the plant, making it glow. But by using pGLO, UV light
would we required to make a plant grow. Another bioluminescent chemical that
could be used might be luciferase, found in fireflies, and only require an oxidation
process to create light, or the following bioluminescent genera: ​vibro,
photobacterium, ​and ​Xenorhabdus​. Different mediums of transport can be
incorporated, including injecting solutions with the glowing medium into water,
for the plans to accept it through their xylem.

Mentor, why did you choose them, their credentials and contact info.

Thomas J. Lobl, PhD

Entrepreneur In Residence
Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering
at the University of Southern California
1042 West 36​th​ Place, DRB-101
Los Angeles, CA 90089

We choose him since he is Rachel’s grandpa and he is willing to help us. He is

very qualified in the biomedical field and worked for years on insulin pumps.
Therefore, He also has experience with consumer goods which is helpful for this
project since we want to make the plants be a nightlight.
Citations
https://makezine.com/2013/05/16/diy-synthetic-biology-making-your-own-glowin
g-plants/

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015461

Rachel

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a

lack of cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid.
People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights.
Additionally, many people leave lights on during the night or for extended
periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of energy being consumed
for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would solve this problem as well
by consuming less energy.

Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

We are not able to find large amounts of alternative energy. It is hard to switch
since we are so reliant on coal. Additionally, power is hard to get to remote places
since you have to have a power plant run run electricity lines.
Proposed solution. More detail the better

I want to redesign houses so they are able to function with less electricity. I would
like to put solar panels on remote locations so that those places can be energy self
sufficient. I would try to maximize the use of windows and skylights so that people
can turn on their lights less. I would also ban the use of non LED lights. LED lights
are considerably more efficient and less dangerous since they don’t heat up. I
would put a cap on how often people can turn on their air conditioning and heater.
This would depend on the area. I also would make houses smaller so that their is
less area to heat. Finally, I would require houses to have really good insulation so
that when people do use the heating or air conditioning it is used as efficiently as
possible. I also would consider using the waste heat from the air conditioning to
heat mini greenhouses attached to each house. This reduces energy used to bring
fresh food to houses, especially ones in remote places.

Mentor, why did you choose them, their credentials and contact info.

Nick Williams
Physics and Engineering teacher
At San Marin high school in Novato, California

He conducts a project with his freshman where they have to redesign a building to
be more energy efficient. Therefore, he would already have an idea of what is
reasonable and what is not.

Citations

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-efficient-home-design

Tiny house project in Freshman STEM engineering

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-efficient-home-design/ultra-efficient-
home-design

Greenhouse on side of house harnessing waste heat

Nihal

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The use of traditional energy sources are harmful to the environment, and
non-renewable. With nuclear reactors harming nearby streams and water-life, as
coal and factories bring out carbon in the air, which also is ​bad ​for the
environment, causing ocean acidification, changes in plant growth due to a
changing climate, affecting animals, affecting us.

Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

Electricity is expensive, and with surface instability, the probability of earthquakes

are more realistic. It also high-maintenance as the fluid is removed faster than it
can be depleted. Also coals and oils (fossil fuels) are mainstream sources of power,
which make alternative energies harder to compete.
Proposed solution. More detail the better
Geothermal emissions are low, with few atmospheric or liquid emissions
discharged by the geothermal plants, salt fluids and excess water can be returned to
the reservoir, below groundwater aquifers. Also it has long-term sustainability. It
can harness the heat of the earth to drive steam to create electricity. It also has the
capability to desalinate water to get more potable water

Mentor, why did you choose them, their credentials and contact info.

Prof. Dr. Martin O. Saar

Geothermal Energy & Geofluids
Institute of Geophysics
NO F 51.2
Sonneggstrasse 5
CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland
“My research interests are in geophysical fluid dynamics of subsurface multiscale,
multiphase, multicomponent, reactive fluid (groundwater, hydrocarbon, CO2) and
energy (heat, pressure) transport, such as water- and CO2-based geothermal
energy utilization, geologic CO2 storage, grid-scale energy storage, enhanced oil
recovery, and groundwater flow. Methods include computer simulations,
laboratory experiments, and field analyses”

Sources
Geothermal Energy Information and Facts | National Geographic
https://geg.ethz.ch/martin-saar-mentoring/
Careers in Geothermal Energy : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Advantages of Geothermal Energy - Conserve Energy Future

Matt

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better
The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a lack of
cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid. People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights. Additionally, many people leave lights on during the
night or for extended periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of
energy being consumed for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would
solve this problem as well by consuming less energy.
Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?
Rising consumption of fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere, expense of
replacing an entire energy grid with a cleaner source, pollution from collecting
resources
Solar only works under certain conditions.
The dyson sphere requires at least a type 1 civilization(a civilization that can
harvest the entirety of their home planet’s energy) to construct (humans are almost
type 1)

Proposed solution. More detail the better

Construct a dyson sphere This will reduce all fossil fuel based consumption of
electricity and shift to the cleaner source of the entire sun. A dyson sphere is a
super structure constructed around the entirety of the sun and theoretically absorbs
the entirety of its energy output. This structure, while a mighty construction
project, would produce enough energy to sustain the human race for as long as we
remain in the solar system.

Mentor, why did you choose them, their credentials and contact info.

These people were chosen as mentor as they are both a capitalist company and an
educational service. They can serve both of those purposes for advising us.

Solar Energy International

SEI Training Facility
39845 Mathews Lane
Paonia, CO 81428
1-970-527-7657
Citations
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=solar_home
https://www.solarenergy.org/careers-job-board/

Taylor

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a lack of
cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid. People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights. Additionally, many people leave lights on during the
night or for extended periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of
energy being consumed for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would
solve this problem as well by consuming less energy.

Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

We want to focus on wind power because it is a clean alternative to other energy

sources because it does not pollute the air. Depending on how energetic the wind
site is it might not be cost competitive. The most energetic wind sites are far from
developed areas, but transmission lines are expensive which makes it difficult to
have wind power be cost effective.
Proposed solution. More detail the better

We were going to develop smaller wind turbines so they could be located in

cities on top of roofs where there would be a lot of wind. These wind turbines will
be able to sit on houses. The smaller turbines will allow for residential scale use.
This takes the cost away from laying transmission lines because fewer lines will be
going into cities. Small wind turbines created 17.3MW of generation captivity in
the United States alone last year.

Mentor, why did you choose them, their credentials and contact info.
Tom Kiernan
Chief Executive Officer
American Wind Energy Association
Sources
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy
https://www.solacity.com/small-wind-turbine-truth/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_wind_turbine

Robert

Stage 2: Research

Due Beginning of class May 18th

Fill this out for each solution and then put info on poster

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a lack of
cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid. People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights. Additionally, many people leave lights on during the
night or for extended periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of
energy being consumed for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would
solve this problem as well by consuming less energy.
Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

Nuclear power plants can be very dangerous and have very negative effects to the
surrounding ecosystem if not protected. They can result in dangerous mutations or
even death when the radiation is spread through water or just passed on after it is
radiated. There have been a few nuclear - related crises such as Chernobyl.
However, nuclear power plants are increasingly becoming applied more and
greater security measures are being implemented, so as time goes on this solution
will become more feasible.

Proposed solution. More detail the better

My proposed solution is to have the government focus on routing money and

resources to scientists in order to expand the development of nuclear power plants,
to make them more safe and more efficient. One idea to fix waste would be to
jettison radioactive water into space so that we don’t have to worry about storing it.
We could store a ton of water in some kind of rocket and send it into space, and we
could even have a tank of water as a payload. Since the technology to have rockets
return to Earth and land safely is still in development, but works, we should
implement that as soon as possible. Another micro-solution would be to combine
the fission that occurs with fusion to get even more energy out of atoms that would
otherwise not be able to perform that process. This would be done by taking high
energy neutrons from fusion and blasting them into other isotopes so they can
fission. This also increases the amount of fission we can perform, as we are a little
less limited by resources.

Citations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion%E2%80%93fission_hybrid
https://en.wikipedia.org​Potential Role of Lasers for Sustainable Fission Energy
Production and Transmutation of Nuclear Waste C.D. Bowman and J.
Magill​/wiki/Fusion_power#Energy_capture
Mentor:
Maria G. Korsnick
President and Chief Executive Officer

We chose her because she is the president and chief executive officer of the
Nuclear Energy Institute, and will surely be knowledgeable about the issue, and it’s
pros and cons.

Morgan

What is your problem (at least 2 paragraph)? More detail the better

The problem we are trying to solve is alternative, reliable power. There is a

lack of cheap, reliable power that does not rely on fossil fuels. We are focusing on
electricity that is used for lights. Currently, lights rely on connection to a power
grid.
People who live in rural area or in an area that just experienced a natural
disaster are not able to receive this power. Sometimes in the case of Puerto Rico
and hurricane Maria people are without power for months. This means that they
will also not have any lights. Additionally, many people leave lights on during the
night or for extended periods of time like a night light. This is a large amount of
energy being consumed for nothing. We wanted to look for a solution that would
solve this problem as well by consuming less energy.

Current limitations, why has it not been solved already?

It is currently being solved but because of the large amount of energy people use,
using just one source is not enough. A limit with hydropower is that it can only be
in a place where there is a large river, which has the capability to turn the large
turbines. Also some people argue that the dams affect the wildlife around the dam,
which can sometimes be true, so that is another limitation to hydropower
Proposed solution. More detail the better.
Our current solution is to figure out a way where smaller rivers can turn smaller
turbines, while still getting similar levels of energy. We will do this by creating
turbines that are not as resistant as those for the larger dams, so the rivers with less
force can still generate some power. This solution also has to be able to withstand
droughts and floods because during a flood the river would move faster and we
don’t want the turbines to break. We can create a model of it to see how much
water the turbines can take before they break.

Citations
Hydro:
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=hydropower_home

Mentor
Richard Taylor, CEO, International Hydropower Association

We choose him because he is the highest in his field and he would know what is
possible with hydropower