High school student works on nanotechnology project, wins science fair

Blacksburg, VA, May 7, 2002 –– Shivan Sarin is only a high school sophomore. But he is already a master in the emerging field of nanotechnology.

Sarin recently won one of two grand awards in a science fair competition based on work he conducted to create a solar cell using the art of nanotechnology.

Sarin, who attends William Flemming High School and who is also a student at the Roanoke Valley Governor’s School, learned about nanotechnology by reading scientific papers from technical publications such as the Journal of Physics and Chemistry and a world conference proceedings on the subject of photovoltaic solar energy conversion.

Sarin, first in his class of some 360 students at William Flemming, had his interest in nanotechnology peaked when he read an article in the Roanoke Times describing the activities of a Blacksburg, Va. company, NanoSonic, Inc. The company was in the initial stages of developing a prototype of a nanotechnology school kit for middle school children. The U.S. Department of Education was funding this work.

Subsequently, Sarin approached Richard O. Claus, president of NanoSonic, as well as the director of Virginia Tech’s Fiber & Electro-Optics Research Center (FEORC) to determine if he might be able to pursue an independent nanotechnology project with FEORC.

Claus agreed, and Sarin spent three to four days a week for several months visiting the Virginia Tech lab. A Virginia Tech chemical engineering graduate student, Jean Huie, assisted Sarin with how to use the lab’s instrumentation and some additional background research.

"Shivan is a highly motivated student who worked hard and learned a great deal to take part in the research at NanoSonic. His work with NanoSonic represents a great example of a student doing quality research, motivated by his own interests and desire to learn," says Aaron Schuetz, a physics teacher at the Governor’s School, and described by Sarin as “his mentor.”

But even mentors know their students’ limitations. "Shivan made my job as his teacher very easy. He worked hard, learned a lot, and performed some excellent research. All that was left for me to do was nag him about turning in papers," Schuetz smiles.

In the FEORC lab, and working in conjunction with the NanoSonic project, Sarin created nanocrystalline titanium dioxide-based

dye-sensitized solar cells. These cells use nanotechnology methods to complete a circuit and to create a voltage. The energy comes from the transformation of light into an electrical current.

“I attempted to optimize the solar cells’ efficiency by changing different parts of the solar cell. In some cases, I changed an element. For example, there are dyes used in the solar cells, and the dye allows the electrons to flow through the cell and release electrons into the titanium dioxide. When the dye is excited, it can release more electrons,” Sarin explains.

FEORC researchers patented an electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) process used in nanotechnology that, among other characteristics, is able to operate at room temperature for most manufacturing needs, and one that is environmentally benign. NanoSonic has licensed this and other related patents from Virginia Tech.

Sarin hopes that this ESA process combined with his novel approach to making solar cells will provide a more economical manufacturing procedure in the future. He is competing in the Intel International Science Fair in Louisville later this year as a result of his winning the regional fair.