HackBio: A Taste of Careers in Science
Local high schoolers work together at Duke on research projects related to human health & the environment
The program culminated with a hackathon-style, problem-solving event in which teams had to pitch a solution to address the plastic pollution crisis to a panel of expert judges. Teams were awarded prizes for their presentation style, ability to answer questions from the judges and to address limitations and alternative approaches, and their depth of scientific knowledge.
Among the solutions proposed this year, teams pitched a sleek plastic bottle refund kiosk, a local program to clean up Eno River tributaries, a start-up company that uses non-plastic food packaging, and a washing machine filter to trap plastic laundry fibers and degrade them using engineered fungi or bacteria.
Courtney-Ann Dennis, a rising senior from Creedmoor, said about the experience, “I’ve done similar programs that introduced me to research, but this is the first time that I was able to do a program focused on the environmental side of things.”
She added: “It makes me think I could do something related to that field.”
Landon Jimenez, a rising senior from Mooresville, said he got a sense of the soft skills he knows will be necessary in college. “I’ve learned a lot about time management,” he said.
Somarelli said he was impressed by the entire group. “They were so engaged and hard-working, and they brought a lot of fun and excitement to every activity.”