Throughout the past year, current San Marino High School freshman Nathan Deng’s science project has gone from just another entry in the Huntington Middle School Science Fair to his earning a national award for “creating a promising solution to a real-world problem.”
Nathan, 14, recently won the $7,500 Lemelson Award for Invention at the Broadcom MASTERS 2016 National Middle School STEM Competition in Washington, D.C. for his project, “Drop by Drop: Manipulating the Surface Tension of Water to Find the Best Way of Cleaning.”
The competition involved the finalists explaining their science projects to a panel of judges and to the public during a showcase in addition to competing in various STEM-related challenges.
Nathan said the award was unexpected and he’s very excited to have won it.
“This was beyond our expectations,” Nathan’s father, Steve Deng, said. “We are so proud of him. This is so exciting. It was so eye-opening to see all those kids who were able to work together and do the challenges. They really bonded together.”
The Lemelson Award for Invention is new this year at the competition and Nathan is its first ever recipient.
“We are here because we believe in a common ground between our work to support invention and the work that the Broadcom MASTERS plays in inspiring middle school students to become scientists and engineers of the future,” said Dr. Carol Dahl, executive director of the Lemelson Foundation. She said the Lemelson Award for Invention is given to “the finalist who displays extraordinary problem-solving by identifying a critical problem and then applying STEM knowledge and an understanding of the people who will benefit most to develop a creative, user-centered tangible invention that takes into account environmental sustainability.” Dahl said, “In keeping with the vision of the inventor Jerome Lemelson, our founder, the finalist developed this invention to solve a critical societal problem and improve the lives of others.”
Nathan also won a team award for the challenges during the competition.
During this past September, Nathan was named one of 30 finalists to win $500 and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 for the final competition.
“It was exciting and a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Nathan said.
He said his fellow finalists were all very smart, and shared the same interest in science and math.
It was Nathan’s first trip to Washington, D.C. and he traveled with his parents, Steve and Millie Deng, and his 10-year-old brother, Christopher. He did some sightseeing with his fellow competition finalists. Nathan said he liked the World War II Memorial the best.
During the Broadcom MASTERS competition, the record number of 2,343 applicants was narrowed down to 300 semifinalists and then 30 finalists. Nathan’s science project placed first in various categories in the HMS Science Fair, Los Angeles County Science & Engineering Fair and the California State Science Fair. Throughout the competitions, he continued to improve his project and delved deeper into his topic. Nathan found that people could use less surfactants – or surface active agents – if they added a little bit of salt with them. He said adding salt to a surfactant would allow people to use less surfactant, saving money on it and causing less environmental impact. A surfactant, such as detergent, reduces the surface tension of liquid. Nathan also created his own apparatus, consisting of a scale, syringe, beaker, tubing and containers.
Nathan thanked the Broadcom Foundation, Society for Sciences & the Public, Broadcom MASTERS and the Lemelson Foundation for the opportunity. He also expressed appreciation to his parents and teachers for their support.
