West Potomac Whiz Catie Liebeck Creates Renewable Energy

Whiz Kid:  Catie Liebeck

 Age:  17

 School and Grade:  Junior at West Potomac High School

 Accomplishment:  Winner of Science Fair in Environmental Science Category

Fort Hunt Patch:  What was your project?

Catie:  I wanted to do a project in renewable energy, so I made an oscillating water column.  It’s a way to generate electric power, using aerodynamics.  I made column out of a 10-foot pipe.  When a water wave enters the pipe, air is forced up the pipe and turns a turbine at the top.  This is a way to generate electric power.

Fort Hunt Patch:  What materials did you use?

Catie:  I used PVC pipe and two different fans, one with a two-inch diameter and the other with a four-inch diameter.   I used a voltmeter to measure the energy.

Fort Hunt Patch:  How did you choose this project?

Catie:  I was reading an article online about an oscillating water column.  The article described a 50-meter model in Europe that didn’t work.   I wanted to apply this idea to a smaller scale and see if I could make it work.

Patch:  How long did it take you to do it?

Catie:  It took about three weeks, working two to three days per week.

Patch:  How did you do it?

Catie:  I conducted the experiment off a dock at the Potomac.  I would plunge the pipe in at different heights, between one and five feet, and then I measured the energy output from the fan.  I had a voltmeter to measure how many volts it produced.  My dad read it out and wrote it down.  I did fifty trials per day, to try to get the most accurate volt measurement.

Patch:  What was the outcome of your project?

Catie:  It produced 1.5 volts, enough to power a compact fluorescent light bulb when the wave is consistently at five feet and the diameter of the fan is at two inches.

Patch:  What were some challenges?

Catie:  One of the biggest challenges was that I couldn’t just put my project somewhere and leave a laptop hooked up to it, to collect the data.  I had to go to the river and simulate each wave myself.

Patch:  What were some rewards?

Catie:  I just thought it was really cool to work with renewable energy.

Patch:  Have you always had a special interest in science? 

Catie:  I’ve been interested in science since freshman year in high school.  It’s because of my science teacher, Ms. Erin Sykes-Thurston.  She’s a great teacher and she inspired me.

Patch:  What are some other interests you have?

Catie:  I row crew and play golf, as extracurricular activities through the school.  I’ve been doing these since freshman year.