Notre Dame senior Malini Mukherji won first place in the ”Energy: Physical” category at the Science and Engineering Fair of Metro Detroit and qualified for the Michigan Science Fair.
In addition to her first-place award and earning her entry to the Michigan State Fair, Malini also won the Great Lakes Water Authority cash award and luncheon; the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Professional Award; and the Yale Science & Engineering Association, Inc., Certificate and Pewter Medallion.
Last spring, Malini won a “Third Grand Award” in the best of Energy: Chemical category at the International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international high school STEM event, which was held in Los Angeles. She also picked up an honorable mention in the “Special Awards” category in L.A. for her project, which was called, “A Smart Light-Tracker Using Machine Learning and Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.”
A summary of Malini and Devarshi's award-winning projects is below.
Malini Mukherji (12)
Project Title: Increasing Hydropower Flow Rate Using a Non-linear Penstock
Abstract: The Brachistochrone Problem ponders the shape of the curve down which a bead sliding from rest and accelerated by gravity will slip, without friction, from one point to another in the shortest amount of time. The Brachistochrone curve has many applications in sports engineering, including downhill skiing, surfing, skateboarding and rollercoasters. After exploring the solution of the Brachistochrone Problem — a cycloid — I wanted to see how I could apply the Brachistochrone curve to something important that I was interested in: energy. As I looked at hydropower systems, regular and pumped storage, I realized that the penstocks (water pipes that lead the water from the reservoirs to the turbines) were all straight lines or L-shaped. Instead of the penstocks being straight lines or L-shaped curves, I thought replacing them with Brachistochrone curves (cycloids or parts of cycloids) would lead to more efficient resource use and higher power generation from the hydropower plants. I got results that showed not only a large increase in power generation from my newly shaped penstocks but also a reduction in production costs. In addition, different types of drainage systems like those in our homes, process plants and farms can benefit from the change from straight line and L-shaped curves to cycloids. This is a novel idea because I have found no work that has considered changing the shape of pipes like this with experimentation with water in the Brachistochrone Problem.
Awards:
First Place in the Energy: Physical category
Qualified for the Michigan Science Fair
Great Lakes Water Authority: Cash Award and Awards Luncheon
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Professional Award
Yale Science & Engineering Association, Inc.: Certificate and Pewter Medallion
Devarshi Mukherji, a 9th grader at Notre Dame Prep, brought home second place in the ”Computational Biology” category at the Detroit event and also qualified for the Michigan Science Fair.
Project Title: Unraveling Alzheimer's Tau Aggregates using CyP40 – A Computational Study
Abstract: Many diseases that captivate our world occur due to misfolded proteins. Scientists are discovering that misfolded proteins are the main cause of many serious diseases that affect millions of individuals each year.
In Alzheimer’s disease, proteins misfold and cause aggregates to form. These aggregates cause memory loss in these patients. In a healthy brain, there are microtubules inside of neurons that help with communication between neurons. These microtubules are held together by a protein called tau protein. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins become misfolded and detach from the microtubules. This causes tangles to form in the neurons, which not only stop communication with other neurons, but eventually kill the neurons. The tangles that form are aggregates or clumps of the tau protein. While proteins regularly misfold, chaperones help misfolded proteins to regain their proper folding states. Some chaperones such as cyclophilin 40 help to disaggregate misfolded protein clumps. Baker et. al. (2017) have found a chaperone, CyP40, that dissolves aggregates of tau in a mouse. This research has great potential in disaggregating the dangerous tangles in Alzheimer's patients. While recent studies are uncovering the importance of protein misfolding, advances in computational biology are allowing us to conduct some of the work computationally. In my project, I first analyzed computationally the interaction of CyP40 and the tau protein in a mouse. Using the PyRosetta and InteractiveRosetta software, I planned to analyze how the amino acids of the chaperone and the tau protein interact when they are docked. This analysis shows the portions of the two proteins that interact most strongly and allows us to computationally test some of the conjectures of the paper by Baker et.al. In addition, I plan to compare how the interaction changes when tau proteins of other organisms, such as humans, are considered. I will use NCBI’s BLAST to identify other similar proteins and examine how the CyP40 interacts with them.
Awards:
Second Place in the Computational Biology Category
Qualified for the Michigan Science Fair
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.