Student Research Poster Competition Winners / Abstracts - Technology

Headphones and Hearing Damage
Deonasia Abel and Aduai Arop
Mohawk Valley Community College

This project seeks to determine whether headphones affect hearing in young teens and cause hearing loss. Document research was conducted, and research specified that many teenagers have experienced hearing loss with increased headphone use. The increase in headphone use can be attributed to increased accessibility to iPods and
similar technology. Cory Portnuff states that “damage to hearing occurs when a person is exposed to loud sounds over time.” This directly supports our hypothesis that high volumes from earphones on a regular basis can damage hearing.

Hybrid-Green Energy: Combining the Old with the New
Nicholas Barlow and Kylie Jones
SUNY Buffalo Biomedical Program

There are numerous ventures directed toward creating hybrid forms of green energy. This type of innovation and improvement is crucial for steering communities into an era where they are self-sufficient in providing for individual neighborhoods and caring for the natural environment. This project will combine existing forms of solar power, revisit and revitalize energy capturing techniques, and bring grey water into a single green system. In the future a home, clinic, or hospital may be able to have a constant supply of resources for power, and this can help to reduce energy costs by using nature and its elements in a self-sustaining system.

Abstract: Train Gap Solution
Christopher Guerrero
Hostos Community College

One of the main problems of the subway system in New York City is the gap between the train and the platform. This gap becomes a danger for everyone. Over the last decade the number of passenger injuries has increased, with greater than five injuries per million rides occurring every year. The objective of our research is to find the most
efficient way to eliminate the gap. Our project consists of designing a mechanism with a slit that fills the space between the platform edge and the train car door. The gap filler will be designed to activate when the doors of the train cars open and close, which will make entering and exiting the train much safer. Our solution will help to minimize accidents at the subway station, and will help the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to “GO GREEN” by spending less money on yellow warning signs that state “WATCH THE GAP.”

Functional Efficiency of Methanol Injected Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Jancarlos Guzman and Mohan Sean
Farmingdale State College

Increasing the efficiency of fuel cells is a major area of research in engineering. This study presents the results of one approach that involves a methanol injected hydrogen fuel cell. This project presents the study of the proton exchange membrane based fuel cell that uses methanol to increase functional efficiency to offer environmental advantages. The results of experiments that demonstrate the enhanced functional efficiency of fuel cells is also presented. Experiments were done using the methanol injected fuel cells, and it was found that they were not operating efficiently enough to be economically viable fuel solutions. The experiments using the initially tested prototype revealed design flaws, and this led to the formation of a series of hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested by experiments, and the results of the study led to a major change in the design that improved the efficiency of the fuel cell.

Increasing Laptop Efficiency Through Improved Cooling Technology
Gar Kong and Janson Fong
Borough of Manhattan Community College

Energy efficiency and green technology are the most intriguing topics discussed globally. Many companies look toward producing revolutionary energy efficient devices that will reduce their environmental impact. Unfortunately, these solutions are not yet practical for consumer use. Rather than trying to make great leaps, it is wiser to take smaller steps by addressing smaller energy issues. Laptops are often overlooked, but are getting more powerful with every new product design. However, increasing processing power also increases energy consumption and heat output. This experiment was administered by employing the concepts of thermodynamics to achieve greater efficiency using practical methods of cooling a laptop. Voltage was monitored to determine energy consumption with respect to temperature. Lab results lead us to conclude that a more efficient cooling system benefits energy consumption rates.

Identifying the Variation in Sound Quality of Guitars
Brittany Mierzejewski and Kelsey Kelly
Clarkson University

Why do some guitars sound better than others? We hypothesize that guitar sound quality influences construction and price. The physical characteristics of guitars were measured and compared using a sample of high and low range guitars. We will administer an online survey using samples from a consistent recording environment where participants will differentiate between variables by completing an ABX listening test, and answering a battery of questions on their musical background. We seek to determine the background of listeners and if factors in guitar construction affect their ability to discern between the guitars.

How Can We Generate a Long Lasting, More Efficient Pacemaker?
Trudy Sharpe and Kaitlyn Lowe
Medgar Evers College Jackie Robinson Center

Challenges in manufacturing pacemakers—an electronic biomedical device that can regulate the human heartbeat when its natural regulating mechanisms break down—can be summarized into three categories: the motherboard, the lead, and the batteries. Most recent studies are geared toward the first two components.

The objective of this study is to find types of batteries that will power the pacemaker longer, thereby making it more efficient. The researchers tested the concept of a remote monitoring and control system for pacemakers through wireless devices connected to the internet (which is similar to home security monitoring systems).

Based on the comparison results, a suitable battery was discovered; moreover, using computer testing and simulations, an efficient remote monitoring system was found to be feasible.

Examination of Wind Energy for Small-Scale Urban Electricity Generation
Mazhar Siddique, Marcus Barrett, and Linang Jin Jiang
Borough of Manhattan Community College

Wind energy represents a largely untapped resource in North America. While urban regions may possess substantial potential for wind energy, they are generally unsuited for the large-scale efforts that might be possible in rural regions. Micro-generation of electricity using small wind turbines is a real possibility in cities. Lower Manhattan
experiences almost constant wind due to its proximity to the ocean. In conjunction with Apple Corporation and the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), we constructed and mounted a small wind turbine capable of recharging personal computers, mobile phones, and other micro-consumers of electricity. We feel that while
individual consumption of power by these devices is small, they are so ubiquitous that such charging stations would cumulatively combine to afford a significant reduction of power usage in urban areas. In addition, such stations could be constructed such that when not in use, electricity generated could be fed back into the power grid.