Videos

AP Physics students in Kurt Etter's classes are hard at work solving tomorrow's environmental problems today. As a state finalist in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest, the Fairfield High School scientists have submitted a project to reduce the amount of pollution emitted into the environment. Their entry, called "Operation Thaw," requires the students to solve a community problem using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) concepts. Their idea is to defrost the windshield of a car without starting it and polluting the environment. Instead, the heater will be started remotely using a phone app. These high school scientists received guidance from an assigned Samsung mentor. So far the class has won technological equipment for placing in the top five in the state. They are in line to receive additional technology valued at up to $50,000 and a trip to Washington D.C., depending on how far the group advances. The top three in the nation can receive $100,000 to use for STEM-related equipment in the classroom. "I think it is important to stress that while this was done with physics students, it could not have been done without the development of these students from K-12 in the Fairfield school district. The entire district should take pride in what we have produced." Operation Thaw design team: Katarina Putnick, leader, project administration team; Alex Quedens, leader, software team; Jack Biondo, leader, hardware team; Megan Barth, Bryce Behr, Ryan Brown, Jared Cusick, Jackson Cowan, Michael Ryan, Haley Durbin, Cheryl Appel, and Ethan Crittenden.