A1 Solar Scholarship 23/24 report: Results and best parts

Michael T. Schoff

Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering club’s member

After graduation, I aspire to work in the climate technology field with a focus on renewable energy. The decarbonization plans that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put forward are reliant on technology that is still in the design and development stage, particularly with carbon capture and storage. Thus, there is a great and urgent need for engineers to help create new technology that will mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. I want to help fill that gap and prevent further damage to the environment in New Hampshire and beyond.

Sergey Fedorov

Co-founder & CTO

On the one hand, we believe that solar energy is a big part of the solution to climate change and we feel that we have to contribute to solving this problem. On the other hand, for us this scholarship was a chance to learn what the students think, meet new friends, partners and possibly future colleagues.

Capps Amir

Amite High Magnet School

It is summer 2053 in Lousiana, it is 108 degrees. The news is warning that New Orleans flights are delayed due to heat. I go on my weekly grocery trip for my ration of two 24-pack cases of water for $25 each.

We have been in the water crisis for 15 years. Years back, the United States water infrastructure started reaching dangerous lead levels. The people who could afford it would consume more bottled water. Those who couldn’t afford the rations risked jail time and fines by capturing rainwater. The government made rainwater capture a crime. It is considered aquifer theft. The governments seized any property with a well or borehole. Many kids are born with birth defects due to drinking lead-contaminated tap water.

Katerina Soroka

Georgia Institute of Technology

If climate change were to keep escalating, I can imagine that in 30 years by the time I’m living in Colorado the outbreaks of wildfires in the mountains would be more violent and frequent. The rising temperature as a result of the Greenhouse Effect would increase the chances of wildfires and as a result, wreak havoc on the air quality in the state and surrounding regions. My family would have to undergo evacuations because of the poor air quality that harms the lungs, eyes, and cardiovascular systems if exposed long enough at high concentrations.

However, it is not only the Western United States that is dealing with the effects of climate change, it is the whole world. While not every country encounters wildfires some are suffering from rising sea levels that drown the land. Some beautiful tourist spots such as the Maldives are drowning while Greenland and Antarctica’s glaciers are melting.

Manoj Nath Yogi

Howard University, Washington, DC

Growing up in Nepal, surrounded by the beauty of snow-capped mountains and green hills, I have seen changes in our environment. The world I've known is evolving, and my stance on climate change reflects concern and responsibility. In my homeland, where nature once thrived, the effects of a changing climate are evident—hotter summers, colder winters, and the gradual disappearance of trees and vanishing snow from the mountains. The picturesque landscapes are slowly giving way to the harsh realities of black rocks. Mount Everest and the Himalayas, once covered in pristine snow, now tell a tale of environmental degradation. These changes go beyond the environment, impacting the very essence of our lives.

Michael T. Schoff

Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering club’s member

Having lived my whole life in New Hampshire – a state that has warmed twice as much as the rest of the contiguous United States – I have experienced the harmful repercussions of climate change firsthand. Outdoor activities that I love, such as skiing and fishing, have faced great challenges from the warming temperatures and sporadic precipitation patterns that climate change has brought.

For over 30 years, my extended family had a tradition of going to Maine’s Moosehead Lake region in June to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Recent degradation of the ecosystem, however, led to reduced tourist demand and the subsequent closure of my family’s go-to lodging site. The tradition has since died. If global warming continues unmitigated for the next 30 years, I fear that many other human connections with nature will be severed. 

Manoj Nath Yogi

Howard University, Washington, DC

During the summer, I immersed myself in anaerobic digestion research. This technology converts organic waste into energy, addressing waste management, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and generating energy from waste—an incredible prospect. Developing machine learning models to optimize and automate the system, my work aimed to enhance efficiency and provide a scalable solution to environmental issues.

Сhloe DeKorsey

Roanoke City Public Schools

I went to the state science fair last year and am continuing work this year on a robot that could autonomously paint roofs white in order to reflect sunlight back into space. There is a paint made of barium sulfate crystals that reflects up to 99% of sunlight, while black can absorb up to 90% of it. This absorbed sunlight can increase city heat anywhere from 2-12 °C, and though reflecting it would not significantly affect global warming, it would prevent city heat from reaching dangerous levels. This also serves as an inspiration for how light reflection could be used to help decrease climate change, replacing the role of disappearing ice and snow cover.

Andrey Gorichenski

Senior Editor

As is always the case with projects like this, we had an extremely hard time making the final choice — there were just so many good applications. Well, it is what it is. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to relaunch this program in the future and do it all over again.