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INVENTORS Jan-3-2006 (850 words) xxxn
Teen inventors hope to ease water carriers' burden in Third World
By Barbara Watkins
Catholic News Service
ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- Who says there's nothing new under the sun?
Not the 10 seniors at Nerinx Hall High School in St. Louis who came up with an idea that earned them a grant from Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program.
"It's a water transport/treatment apparatus" that would make hauling and purifying water easier for people in undeveloped countries, said Julie Sutfin, physics teacher at Nerinx Hall, an all-girls school sponsored by the Sisters of Loretto.
The students' proposal resulted in a $7,800 grant from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program to support development of the project. Nerinx was one of only 18 schools in the country awarded a grant.
Some of the students working on the InvenTeams project plan to major in science in college, but others are interested in political science, international business, accounting and languages, said Sutfin.
"But they're all highly creative and motivated and smart in many different ways," she said. "It's really fun to work with them."
The students started brainstorming about what to invent. "We talked about all kinds of things," from a better hair-straightening product to a sign-language translator, said Liz O'Brien. Then personal experience came into play.
Kevin Budd, chairman of the science department, told the students he'd read that, worldwide, hauling water was one of the jobs women hated most.
Mary Kate Hogan and Katie Kollef had taken part in a service trip to Mexico, a tradition at Nerinx. While working with rural poor people in the village of La Chinantla, the two saw firsthand how much trouble it was to get water. "It was probably the hardest physical labor I've ever done," Hogan said.
Both girls are athletes but were unprepared for the amount of hard physical labor involved in getting something people in the United States take for granted.
The water wasn't clean either, the two said. "We would drink bottled water. But I washed in the river and there was a horse a few feet away. The people drank that water. They would take it straight from the source without any purification of any sort," said Hogan. "It was very sobering."
The Nerinx seniors decided this would be their project. The InvenTeams program requires building a prototype of the invention, and they realized such a device, designed to be used by an individual, was doable.
"We knew it was feasible for our team to develop and build and within the budget," said Sutfin.
More than that, the students said, it was something their Nerinx education had prepared them for.
"When we thought about it, we realized this was so consistent with the Loretto values taught at Nerinx," said Molly Fitzgerald. The Sisters of Loretto founded Nerinx Hall in 1924.
The water transport/treatment apparatus is being designed for use by people in the Mexican village of La Chinantla. An advisory board has been set up to help the students with their design and review their progress.
The board includes Marianist Brother Robert Rapp, a liaison with the Marianist Rural Development Project in La Chinantla; women who have had to haul water for their families; current and former Peace Corps workers; and two women religious who can advise the students on how to gain small-business financing for the project.
The students also have a number of professional mentors helping them, including engineers, professors and water-analysis experts.
One goal is to have each device cost no more than $100 and to be made of local materials available to the people who will use it.
"We are trying to help people to be able to help themselves," said Kollef.
The prototype is developing as a three-wheeled cart, which will carry about 25 gallons of water. While the cart is pulled, the water will pass through something -- the students are experimenting with different substances -- to filter it.
One filter being tried is made from a mixture of used coffee grounds and clay, fired with a process that uses a fuel of cow manure and straw -- all materials available on-site. Water would flow through the filter as it is hauled from river to home.
The students spend about seven hours a week working on the project, outside of school hours, and expect to spend more as the project goes along. They will be working on it throughout the school year, planning and building models until they find an acceptable prototype.
"Most of the students are involved in clubs, sports, service clubs, jobs, theater, and of course college applications," said Sutfin. "They're really highly dedicated to this."
When the project is finished, Nerinx students on the spring break service mission will take a prototype to the Mexican village. "We'll leave that one there," said Sutfin. "We'll make any improvements we find we need on one here when we get back."
After the Nerinx students graduate, they will head to MIT with Sutfin to display their invention.
O'Brien summed up the team's feelings on being awarded the grant and being given the opportunity to develop an idea into something concrete that could benefit many people.
"We've already won," she said.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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