- April 26, 2024
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Local Spruce Creek High freshman, Scott Tobin, is one of two students from Florida competing in the 7th annual Broadcom MASTERS at the end of October.
The top 30 finalist, and former Creekside Middle student, will be competing in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics middle school competition for several awards, including the top prize of $25,000. This award will be given to a student who "demonstrates mastery of all STEM fields and exemplifies how research, innovation and teamwork come together to impact our everyday lives," according to the organization's website.
The competition is produced by the Society for Science and the Public and includes students representing 30 schools from 17 states.
Tobin was chosen by a panel of scientists and engineers from more than 2,000 applicants in 37 states in addition to Puerto Rico and the overseas Department of Defense. Nominated applicants placed among the top 10 percent of middle school competitors at regional and state science fairs, including the Tomoka Regional Science and Engineering Fair, affiliated with the Society for Science and the Public.
Tobin won first place in environmental engineering at the Tomoka Regional Science and Engineering Fair in January.
Tobin's project centers around finding a new way to make water safe to drink and is titled 'By Using A Solar Powered Tesla Coil Can Water Be Made Potable Through Ozonification?'
Through his research, Tobin realized just how high the number of people who lack clean water is.
The idea came to him last year when Hurricane Matthew hit.
"I didn't have power or water or anything like that and that was only for a couple of days," Tobin said. "Then I realized there's over a billion people that don't have access to clean water and don't have good power on a daily basis."
Tobin said it was because of this information that he decided he wanted to find the most efficient method for fixing that problem.
"I just wanted to do something about it," he said.
Tobin found a solution.
He would use ozone to purify the water. According to Tobin, ozone is capable of purifying water three times more efficiently than current chlorination methods.
The next question was finding out how to make the ozone. The answer came in an invention made in the late 1800s by inventor Nikola Tesla — the Tesla coil, which transfers electricity wirelessly.
It took about two to three months, but Tobin's Tesla coil project, which is solar-powered, was complete.
Now, Tobin just has to prepare for his trip to Washington D.C. where he will compete in the final competition.
"I'm really glad I made it this far," Tobin said. "I was pretty ecstatic. It felt like all of my work finally paid off."
