The research projects for QUT's 2015 Vice-Chancellor's STEM Camp will engage the Year 11 students in solving some of the major challenges facing our society and planet today. The research projects are based on the work of some of QUT's most renowned researchers.
Sourcing Solar
Physics; Technology; Mathematics
Solar energy involves capturing light energy from the sun and converting it to an electrical current. You can often see solar panels on rooftops all over the world, but what if, instead of just on the rooftop, every surface could be used to capture energy from the sun? In this project students will create solar cells from berries to power a helicopter, investigate solar cell efficiencies and analyse surface morphology of solar substrates to determine transmission and power generation. This will allow them to propose a design for efficient solar cells that can be incorporated in flexible electronics.
Fruitful Robotic Horticulture
Mechatronics; Computer and Software Engineering; Technology; Mathematics
Imagine a future where our fruit and vegetable farms use technology to optimise efficiency, worker safety and crop quality. In this project students will learn how to use the Python coding language to control the movement and behaviours of a NAO robot using the vision, navigation and sensory capabilities of the robot. Students will be challenged to program the robot to detect and track fruit, differentiate between different types of fruit and ultimately harvest the fruit autonomously.
Crops for the Future
Agricultural Science; Microbiology; Biotechnology
Current and future food security is threatened by the effects of climate change and various anthropomorphic factors that can lead to crop yield reduction or loss. In this project, students will understanding the mechanisms of the plant stress response and how specific traits can be developed to enhance stress tolerance to help them to survive in unusual conditions. Students will learn how structural and physiological parameters of plants can be modified to allow them to survive unforgiving conditions to provide a more stable food source.
Cold Case
Have you ever wondered how real the television portrayal of a crime scene investigation is? In this project students will learn the process involved from the initial recovery of human remains, to biological profiling, culminating in the use of biotechnology to identify an individual via DNA analysis to solve a mock crime. Students uncover bone fragments and determined their origin using DNA samples to determine the perpetrator of a crime and the identity of the murdered victim. They will analyse their results and present their findings to share the complex task of identifying victims of crime.
Encapsulating Precision
Pharmacology; Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pharmaceutics is concerned with the scientific and technological aspects of the design and manufacture of dosage forms of medicines. This research project will introduce students to the basic concepts and theories behind manufacturing tablets and explore how compounding can convert a drug into a medicine that can be delivered safely, effectively and conveniently to the patient. They will compare composition and delivery systems to understand how pharmaceutical products can be tailored according to a patient's needs.
3D Printing Body Parts
Medical Physics; Engineering; Biology
In the near future, custom functional replacement body parts will be '3D printed' to the specific needs of patients using their own cells. This will revolutionise the clinical treatment of serious injury, trauma, and organ replacement - and change the world forever! Students will learn about advanced 3D MRI imaging techniques and develop morphologically accurate 3D models of hypothetical replacement tissue constructs. They will design the optimal internal micro-architectures of biodegradable polymer scaffolds to support and guide tissue growth.
Engineering Envirofuels
Process Engineering; Chemistry
In this project students will be analysing different sources of fuels for engines to understand the past, present and future of fuels. Firstly, students will understand the production process by creating bio-fuels by extracting oil from seeds and fermenting sugars to ethanol. Secondly, they will experiment with transesterification of plant derived oils and test bio-fuels on an engine to analyse the efficiency data. They will use this knowledge to determine if the current fuels are cost efficient and propose future uses and improvements.
A Sensitive Investigation
Chemistry; Information Technology
Chemistry plays a vital role in all aspects of medicine, from drug synthesis to constructing implants and prosthetics. Students will synthesise salicylic acid, the active form of aspirin, then create a nanofiber-based polymer sensor and use it, in conjunction with an Arduino, to detect the presence of the salicylic acid based on its conductivity. They will use Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Technology to identify the framework of their molecules to understand drug synthesis and chemical pathways.
Robotic Surgeons
Technology; Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering
Surgery is a task that requires high precision where errors or misjudgements can often be fatal. Recent advancements in robotics have resulted in extremely accurate robotic tools, allowing for new and greatly improved forms of surgery. In this research project students will understand how robotic arms are constructed, their components and what they are capable of. They will program a robotic arm to conduct a precision task demonstrating how precise, compact and portable a robotic surgical system can be.
Catch Me If You Can
Mathematics; Technology
Mathematical modelling allows a mathematician to be an investigative scientist! In this project students will be introduced to the principles of mathematical modelling and formulate and analyse models for cannibalistic beetles, the spread of diseases, and predator-prey systems. Students will create a mathematical model to explore a real world problem and find solutions using MATLAB, a university-level computational software, to predict future outcomes.
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