SCI & TECH
SIEMENS SUCCESS
Lauryn Wu and Yoshihiro Saito Samantha Yap || Staff Writer
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ophomores Lauryn Wu and Yoshihiro Saito worked for almost a year researching topological insulators. Their project sparks new possibilities for topological insulators, exotic materials that simultaneously conduct and insulate electrons. “My partner and I discovered some new topological insulator materials, which can theoretically be used [at] room temperatures,” Wu said. Since the only topological insulators discovered so far require low temperatures, Wu’s breakthrough has real world applications in quantum computers and spintronic devices, used to study the movement of electrons. The began to garner attention after three topologists won the 2016 Nobel Physics Prize. “We wanted to do a topic related to physics, so [our mentor, physicist Xuan Luo,] pointed us in the direction of topological insulators because she knew it was a hot topic,” Wu said.
PHOTO // Samantha Yap
Sophomore Lauryn Wu researchedd topological insulators this sum-
Wu and her partner computed their significant results using ABINIT, mer at the National Graphine and Devlopment Center (NGRD). a software that allows one to calculate the total energy, charge density, and electronic structures of systems composed of electron and nuclei. protection.” “It was hard in the beginning, because the software is something that PhDs use. A lot of the chemistry behind it was stuff I hadn’t learned,” Wu said.
Wu and her partner labored over their project during an 11 week camp at National Graphene Research and Development Center (NGRD).
Topological material, when a magnetic field is applied to it, conducts electrons around its boundaries. No matter how they are deformed, their boundaries remain conductors, hence the term “topological
“I spent eight to ten hours every day over the summer working on the project, so it’s not like you can find some cancer cure in two weeks,” Wu said. “You actually have to work on it.”
Kelly Cho and Harriet Khang
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Natalie Homnyom || Staff Writer
fter making it into the regional finals round last year in the 2015 Siemens competition, juniors Kelly Cho and Harriet Khang competed again this year, becoming finalists, winning $1000 in scholarship money and earning the chance to represent the Georgia Institute of Technology region in the national competition. Their research focuses on creating effective biosensors to prevent arrhythmias, irregular heartbeats which affect blood clotting.
“We listened to this lecture talking about how because the method right now is not great, it takes a long time for it to work; [it] takes around thirty minutes, whereas ours takes around two minutes,” Khang said. “[The doctors] don’t know how much medicine to give to the patient based on their blood coagulation,”
The pair started their work on developing biosensors during last year’s competition, but came across the idea to detect blood coagulation factors after a visit to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
then we would be able to get funds for our mentor and ourselves to actually develop this biosensor more easily and quickly.”
Cho and Khang hope not to be limited by the results of the competition and to continue their work throughout the year. They aim to eventually publish their work and provide a quicker, more “[The] biosensor tracks, in simple terms, molecules in the blood in affordable alternative to the current tests implemented in hospitals. your body, the coagulation factors. We created a fast cost-effective “I think the main reason why we went to Siemens is because simple biosensor,” Cho said. “Right now, on the market, there aren’t we wanted to feel satisfied with our work; we wanted to be any sensors that can test the coagulation factors in a matter of acknowledged,” Cho said. “We really wanted to share our project minutes or indirectly quantify the coagulation.” and maximize its volume. If we got recognized in this community,