2009 World Maritime Day Parallel Event

$500 1^st Place Winner - Justin Bunnell from Amity High School submitted his project entitled “The Effect of Mold and Decomposition on the Amount and Quality of Biodiesel Fuel Extracted from Hickory Nuts.”

Project Description:  Mr. Bunnell analyzed the oil from hickory nuts in varying stages of decomposition and in the presence of mold to determine availability and quality of biodiesel present.  His results indicated that fresh hickory nuts provided the most oil and highest quality biodiesel and declined from there.  Fully decomposed nuts did not produce any biodiesel.

$250 2^nd Place Winner - Laurence Pevsner from Greenwich High School submitted his project entitled “Fungal Remediation of Diesel-Contaminated Soil with the Oyster Mushroom.”

Project Description: Mycoremediation, using the Oyster Mushroom, offers a thorough and uninvasive alternative for the remediation of oil from soil.  The mushroom is able to break down organic contaminants to carbon dioxide whereby removing contamination from soil.  Using saw dust contaminated with diesel, Mr Pevsner’s analysis showed the mushroom was able to remediate half the oil content in only 16 days or a rate of 3.5% of the original concentration per day, or as much as 325 ppm per day.

 $100 3^rd Place Winner - Stephen Rubino from Greenwich High School submitted his project entitled “Can Jatropha curcas Provide Both Diesel and Light Hydrocarbon Fuels?”

Project Description: Jatropha curcas (JC), a shrub native to Central America, was used to determine if the shrub could provide diesel and light hydrocarbon fuels.  Using a Gas Chromatography Mr. Rubino analyzed the heated head space gases for the presence of diesel and light hydrocarbon fuels.  His analysis showed the presence of methane, ethane, and propane gases in a 29:2:1 ratio, respectively.  The concentration of the light hydrocarbons was markedly higher than the diesel fuel content.

Design Competition Awards:

$1000 1^st Place Winners - Lowell Dickerson, Amanda Malarkey, and Ian McCauley from the Webb Institute entered their project entitled “The Design of a Salvage and Spill Response Vessel for Use in the Aleutian Islands.”

Project Description: Their tug design focused on keeping the vessel economically viable and energy efficient with every possible consideration made to make the ship have the lowest impact possible on its surrounding environment.  The design used new technologies to reduce air emissions and reduce energy consumption, yet maintaining a high operational performance.

$500 2^nd Place Winners - Ensigns John DiNino, Kelly Prouhet, and 1/c Cadet Eric Johnson from the USCGA entered their project entitled “Resistance Testing of Bulbous Bows on the Offshore Patrol Cutter.”

Project Description: Their project included the design, construction, and testing of various bulbous bows in the Coast Guard’s tow test facility.  The test results indicated the reduction in resistance could allow for 10% savings on fuel cost.  It is estimated that the installation cost of the bulbous bows on all the cutters would be mitigated in a 2.5 year span.

$250 3^rd Place Winners - 2/c Cadets Greg Bredariol, Aaron Garnier, and Kevin Stevens from the USCGA entered their project entitled “Sailboat Integrated Hydroelectric Generator (SIHG).”

Project Description: Their project focuses on providing green power to a sailboat.  Electricity is generated by a hydroelectric generator mounted to the stern of the vessel.  Actual testing along the Thames River was conducted and data plotted at various speeds.  The data indicated that utilizing a hydroelectric generator to power a sailboat is feasible.