SOPHOMORE ORAL

DEFENSE
SCIENCE FAIR 2021-22
BEE HIGHTOWER
 • My engineering goal this year was to create a smarter safety device
that combined both a personal alarm and GPS tracker.

• I took my idea from both my personal experiences with walking

alone at night/my general fear of walking alone, as well as the
IDEATION collective fear surrounding sexual and physical assault.

• I started my project by looking at, and taking ideas from pre-existing

safety devices, such as Tile trackers and personal alarms.

• While I did enjoy challenging myself with Engineering, next year I

do plan on staying in a field I know more about.
 • The main article that I pulled information on was about the decrease
and removal of the iconic blue-light call boxes we used to see
scattered across all college campuses. They sparked the creation of
many other safety and emergency devices, especially after issues
arose with pranks and the call-boxes. The Peace of Mind device, or
“POM” was a GPS tracker created with the call-boxes in mind, using
them as inspiration.
RESEARCH • Last year, I would’ve said that the Lit Review wasn’t very beneficial,
but I would disagree with that now. The Lit Review helped me gain a
better understanding of the sources I was using, as well as giving me
the building blocks for my trifold board.

• I do plan on starting my project earlier next year, and would like to

spend more time on my Lit Review, which wasn’t as detailed as I
would’ve liked.
 • I started my project by researching pre-existing safety devices, and
then took the best parts of a few of those, and found a way to put
them together. I then disassembled said devices, taking pieces from
them and merging them together. Tests were then run on the new
device, and data was collected.
PROCEDURE • This was my first time working with electronics, which was much
more confusing than I thought it would be, and was ultimately my
biggest challenge.

• I’ll definitely be more careful with time next year, as that’s something
I struggled with throughout my project.
 • My Lit Review was much easier than it was last year since I’d
already done it once before, but I still struggled with finding sources
that related to my topic. Nothing seemed to be exactly what I was
looking for.

• GSEF paperwork went smoothly this year, which I was extremely

pleased about!

PAPERWORK • I always seem to have trouble keeping up with journals in general, so

staying on top of my research journal was quite a challenge, but
better than last year!

• Layout was something I spent hours on when it came to my trifold.

Nothing looked exactly how I wanted it to, or just looked off.

• I would wholeheartedly say that time management is the single most

important part of keeping Science Fair stress-free.
 • My project ended up being a success, and taking me to Regionals!
The prototype looked exactly how I wanted, and I am very pleased
with how all of my papers, data, and trifold turned out.
SCIENCE FAIR • Science Fair being in-person this year as opposed to virtual was a
wonderful experience, especially being able to talk to the judges in
person. I’ll make sure to manage time more carefully next year, and
to start planning further in advance,