CEPi1 (23)

The CEPi1 team (#23) is from Albuquerque. This year they've submitted a project titled Effects that Pollution Have on us from the Rio Grande.

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=23

Proposal
Our team is purposing to experiment with Rio Grande water, fresh water and the fish native to there environment. We will be observing and testing our collected fish in our natural Rio Grande water and filtered water. We want to see what different reactions there are and collect the data. We are curious to see if Rio Grande fish will survive in clean water and if fish that are used to living in clean water will survive in Rio Grande water. Our team will be testing the different waters to include PH balance, Phosphates, chlorine, Nitrate, Nitrite and at least three other testing materials. Our team has put together a fish tank divided into two separate sections for each type of water. In addition, we are creating a simulation model of our fish tank.

Our team would like to make a special thanks to our sponsor. Thank you for supporting us with our project. Your generosity is helping us get a good head start to further our education. Thank you again its greatly appreciated!

Sincerely, Jenelle Martinez, Allie Stern & Danielle Romero.

Team Members

 * Jenelle Martinez
 * allie stern
 * Danielle Romero

Sponsoring Teacher
Jerry Esquivel

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=23

Problem Definition
Rio Grande water a major part of resources we use for every day living. Many people treat the Rio Grande as a big trash can, throwing numerous things in it with no concerns. This is a major threat to our community’s environment because the water is polluted. The reason this is such a huge threat to our community is because many farmers get water straight from the Rio Grande without any worries of pollution, the Rio Grande water is also used for numerous every day use. This causes a problem because we can get ill from exposure to this pollution.

Problem Definition
Our team was purposing to experiment with Rio Grande water, fresh water and the fish native to there environment. We observed and tested our collected fish in our natural Rio Grande water and filtered water. We saw that there were different reactions but not major ones. We were curious to see if Rio Grande fish would survive in clean water and if fish that are used to living in clean water would survive in Rio Grande water. Both fish actually in each water environment survived.

Progress to Date
Our team tested the different waters to include PH balance, Phosphates, chlorine, Nitrate, Nitrite and at least three other testing materials. We started with a computer computational model of our fish tank/ environment using star logo. We completed the star logo simulation, and are currently challenging ourselves to build the same model in net logo. In our model we are using all the data we have collected including test strips and daily observations of our fishes environment.

Expected Results
The resources our team used have been very helpful in our experiment. A member of our group works at Explora, a science museum, and we have had opportunities to use resources there and other mentors knowledge to help us out. Explora helped provide us with test strips and more knowledge of pollutions effects. We were also able to actually collect water straight from the Rio Grande. More expected results will conclude different variables and how pollution destroys the natural environment of the water resource.

Team Members
Allie Stern, Danielle Romero & Jenelle Martinez

Sponsor Teacher
Mr. Esquivel

Introduction
Hello Team 17! My name is Ruben Guadiana and I've been involved with the Supercomputing Challenge for about ten years. I started out in High School as a participant for two years and then helped with mentoring and judging through college as well as now that I've started my career. I currently work in Albuquerque for the US District Court as a Network Administrator.

Progress
You've chosen a very interesting project idea and I can't wait to see how your program turns out. It sounds like the fun experimentation is complete and even a program built as well. At every review it's important to submit everything that you've worked on thus far. It would have been great for me to review your code so I could critique it as well. Another general rule is that at every review things should be presented as if it were your final review. Simple grammatical errors can be distracting for a reviewer and should be avoided always.

Mentors
Your report states that you've got at least one mentor but doesn't explain who they are, what they do and how they've contributed to your project. It's important to communicate these details to the judges because it can really help them understand that you know what you are talking about having researched and talked to the right people. Be sure to talk about your mentors in length whenever possible.

Model
Part of this evaluation focuses on your math model and actual source code. It sounds like you've got a great simulation running already and I'd really like to see it. Switching between programming languages can be fun but if you're not looking to leverage unique features of opposing languages it's better to stick to one and work on improving accuracy and features. Be sure to bring all the work on your source code and if possible a running model to the upcoming evaluations.

Face to Face Evaluation
Later this month you've got another review coming up and it will be a great opportunity to show the hard work you've put in and practice your presentation skills for the final evaluation later this year! Work hard for the next few weeks to have as much as possible to present to the judges for the best feedback and direction as possible.

To better prepare you for the upcoming review I wanted to share with you the judging rubric which will be used at the final judging. Review it throughout your preparation to understand what the judges will be looking for. http://www.supercomputingchallenge.org/archive/05-06/expo/poster_session_rubric.html Presenting your project as if it were final in the upcoming interim review will better prepare you for the final judging in April. If you have any questions or comments please email me at rubane@gmail.com

Well done so far, I look forward to seeing your final product!