St. Charles East High School Joins Argonne Research Team
By Maya Thakkar - 12th grade - Public Relations
St. Charles East High School students present at Argonne National Laboratory
For the second year, St. Charles East Science National Honors Society members have had the opportunity to participate in an experiment alongside Argonne National Laboratory scientists. This year’s St. Charles East SNHS team members include:
- Camden Chiet
- Kunal Gaind
- Kyna Patel
- Ameya Yammanuru
- Adri Flint
- Zainab Khan
- Rahil Bukhari
- Taylor Long
- Isabella Kaschke
- Aryan Shah
- Geovanny Flores
In coordination with Argonne, the team was paired with a research advisor (Dr. Gosia Korbas) whom they worked with to design and conduct their experiment. After researching prevalent issues applicable to the nearby community, the team chose to analyze heavy metals in the local soil utilizing composting worms. The team cultured red wigglers (E. fetida) in four different environments across 28 days. The worm tissues were then analyzed utilizing the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. Through this analysis the team was able to detect trace amounts of copper lining the digestional tube within the coelom. Surprisingly, through spectral analysis, the team believes they may have detected arsenic near the septal nephridia with higher concentrations found in the woodland samples. The team then presented their findings to high school students and professionals at an Argonne event on May 5th, where they also gained insight on other students’ experiments from various participating schools. This was a great opportunity for Science National Honors Society students as they were able to gain experience, knowledge, and professional connections. Non-graduating members are even looking to officially publish the findings as they continue to work with their advisor related to possible arsenic detection.