Macomb, Mich., April 17, 2006 – Macomb Co. students use science, math to create real-world products

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI

FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

 

 

 

 

Christine Hirzel, 17, of Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores didn't like the amount of room her school supplies took up in her purse. So she invented the Pocket Nerd, which includes a ruler and liquid paper.

Toni Grittini, 16, of Warren decided people must be tired of fast food falling all over their cars while they eat on the road. So the Cousino High School junior invented a combination food and beverage holder that fits into a vehicle's cup holder.

Classmate Monica Tadros, 16, was disgusted by the trash that litters so many cars. So she invented a garbage-bag holder that would attach to the cup holders.

"Usually, in a lot of cars, people just throw trash around and that bothers me," the Cousino junior said.

Tony and Monica are part of a group of about 50 young inventors in the interdisciplinary science class at the Macomb Math and Science Technology Center in Warren. The center, run by Warren Consolidated Schools, accepts students from all over Macomb County.

Students must pass a test to get into the advanced program, which they attend part time along with attending their regular high school. Most of the students maintain a 4.0 grade point average, said teacher Mark Supal.

"They're kids who are highly motivated and strong in math and science," Supal said.

Supal teaches interdisciplinary science. The idea is that the students will take math and science at the center, plus an interdisciplinary class that tries to meld what they've learned into practical applications.

The students used a computer-aided design program called SolidWorks to create their inventions. They also had to do a marketing study to see whether there would be any demand for their ideas, and a cost estimate for their products.

Then they were able to make their inventions on a rapid-prototype machine, which prints out plastic products layer by layer.

"It's a chance to really be creative and out of the box," Christine Hirzel, 17, said of building their inventions. "To actually be able to hold it is very cool, after you've spent all this time thinking about it."

Not surprisingly -- since the inventors are all teenagers -- food and cars figured into many of the ideas. But some of the students had others as well.

Christine called her invention the Pocket Nerd. It's a Swiss Army knife-style contraption for school supplies, holding a ruler, scissors, pen and liquid paper.

"I usually carry my school supplies in my purse and they take up a lot of room," said Christine, a junior at Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores. "I was thinking, what if there was something small enough to fit in a corner of my purse?"

Andrea Prentkowski, 17, has a big family and noticed that the salt and pepper shakers are always at opposite ends of the dinner table. Her invention was a fork that holds seasonings in its handle. No more passing, said the Cousino junior.

Billy Jones, a 17-year-old junior at Sterling Heights High School, invented a finger for those who can't move their own fingers, with a pen on the bottom for writing and a clip on the top to hold tools or utensils.

His first problem was figuring out what finger to use. He settled on the thumb.

"I was thinking of a way they could hold it, and I thought maybe this was the easiest way," he said.

Contact: David Darbyshire at DASI Solutions
Phone: 248-333-2996 x 203

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-469-4681 or pwalsh@freepress.com.