MHS students place in SUU science and engineering fair
CEDAR CITY—What does a prototype for a 4-wheel-drive car and an automated medical bed have in common? Both are projects created by Manti High School students for this year’s Southern Utah Science and Engineering Fair (SUSEF).
The fair was held March 6 at Southern Utah University. Baden Poulson and Porter Mikesell, students of Manti High School engineering teacher Dean Olson, won significant prizes. Baden took second place in robotics while Porter Mikesell took first in medical engineering.
Baden’s project involved using LEGO Technic to create a prototype car with full suspension and four-wheel drive. Another impressive detail? The car was created from scratch with no prior research. “I actually created a better one two days after the contest.”
(LEGO Technic is a type of Legos that interface with motors and computers.) While explaining the second model was created in a day, Baden explained the fundamental component of the car was a universal joint which allowed the axles to spin at an angle.
Poulson is also a member of the school’s drone club, which is currently disassembling motors from old drones in order to create newer models.
Porter Mikesell moved from Maine about six months ago and is already putting his name on the map. For his medical engineering project, Porter displayed thorough research and knowledge on bedsores in hospitals.
“…They cost the medical industry $27 billion in 2019, just from bedsores,” he said. “It is a much bigger issue than I realized when initially starting the project.
His solution? Inflatable stocks set under each corner of a mattress that allow for automatic adjustment. The variable amounts of air put into each stock alleviate pressure on the patient, which in turn prevents breakdown of the skin. Porter also designed his project to be self adjusting, significantly reducing costs for the medical industry.
Dean Olson, the engineering teacher, remarked, “…Open their minds. Learn new things. Build projects, blow them up… Just getting the kids to work is really what I do.”
Olson wanted people to know it was purely the effort of the students that allowed them to succeed at the science and engineering fair. He said he just creates an environment for them to do so.
When Porter Mikesell was asked if there was one thing he wanted to tell readers, he said, “Critical thinking is the most important skill you can have.”
When asked about support for STEM at their school, the students said it could be improved. If not for Olson, they said, they would not really have a place in school to work on projects. They also talked about how it was completely up to them to research, fund and build them.
“Maybe it’s because I moved from a bigger school, but the support for engineers here seems considerably less,” Mikesell said.