Roslyn High School juniors Timothy Wang and Lindsay Fabricant have each been awarded a 2021 Mini-Research Grant from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). The grants will be used to offset expenses with carrying out their research.
Wang’s proposal, students’ attitudes towards different proposed physical education classes, stems from a concern that teens, especially teen girls, are not getting sufficient exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle. While students in most local high schools are required to enroll in physical education classes that meet every other day, Wang’s observations and other students’ anecdotal reports suggest that many students do not seek to capitalize on this opportunity and, instead, often try to avoid exercising during these classes. His project looks to explore how schools might be able to combat this problem and help promote more positive student experiences in physical education classes. Dr. Allyson Weseley, Coordinator of Secondary Research at Roslyn High School, supported his grant application and will serve as his mentor for the project.
“It’s a project that addresses an important issue,” Dr. Weseley said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the results.”
Fabricant’s proposal, the effect of the spirit bomb origami design on the grasping capability of a pneumatic soft robotic gripper, has an engineering focus. Working from home with support from Roslyn High School science teacher Lisa Spyridon, Fabricant created a soft robotic gripper that incorporates a “spirit bomb” origami design to improve grasping capability using accessible and affordable materials, with applications in both manufacturing and prosthetics. The “spirit bomb” origami design is structurally oriented to curl into a ball, like a human finger. The goal is to create grippers that are as dexterous as human hands, improving the flexibility of four-fingered pneumatic soft robotic grippers, while maintaining their stiffness and ability to grasp objects.
“A brilliantly innovative, self-motivated, driven young woman, Lindsay displays a level of passion, curiosity, and commitment unmatched by many students her age,” Lisa Spyridon, teacher and faculty advisor said.
—Submitted by the Roslyn School District