H20 Monitoring For All

While in my 11th grade AP Environmental Science class, I discovered the critical lack of water quality data in my hometown, Santa Cruz, CA. The California EPA and NOAA Water Dashboard all lacked accessible, high-frequency water quality info on their websites.

For the next two months, I dove into market research for scientific and commercial water monitoring. Analyzing published papers on monitoring systems, I discovered more on the range of monitoring systems in-use and in-development within scientific and commercial sectors. I familiarized myself with common terminology, mechanics, and practices in water metrology with a focus on current limitations and holes in research.

Continuing my market research, and now armed with specific questions and ideas in the field, I interviewed post-PhD researchers at University of California, Santa Cruz Biogeochemistry Labs, metrology scientists and engineers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the CEO of an industry-leader in commerical water metrology, Aqua Metrology Systems. After these interviews, I gained the diverse perspectives and experiences with real users of metrology systems, including their pitfalls and their most useful features.

With a deeper understanding of the root problems causing the lack of publicly-available water quality data:

1. Too expensive for mass-implementation and/or free public reporting.
2. Lack of frequent data measurements to make use of data.
3. The reliance on hard-wired data communication and power.

I started with an Arduino-foundation and built my way up. Because I was new to electronics and embedded systems, I consumed as much public information on Arduinos, C++, and Cloud communication as possible to build my minimally viable product.

After developing a working prototype that measures three water quality parameters [pH, Temperature, Oxygen Reduction Potential] every 10 seconds, I wanted to test the accuracy and functionality of the system in comparison with industry leading technology. I reached out to one of the UCSC post-PhD lab researchers I had interviewed previously and she was generous enough to let me do parameter comparison tests at the UCSC Paytan Biogeochemistry Lab with their lab's YSI multi-sensor probe. Testing sensor accuracy across all 3 parameters in at least 5 different water types, H204ALL showed a sub-1% margin of error in measuring water quality when compared to the $3,000+ YSI probe. Additionally, I conducted power consumption and battery life tests, calculating an expected operation life of 32.97 hours without sunlight, enabling H204ALL to be effective in most of the world.
With promising test results, I continued to consult the scientists I interviewed for feedback and suggestions for further improvements of the prototype.

In hopes of gaining feedback from field experts, diverse perspectives, and further opportunities for development, I entered H204ALL in my local county STEM fair. H204ALL won 1st prize at the county STEM fair, advancing up to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the U.S. National Invention Convention, and the International Invention Convention.
Notable Awards Include:

• 3rd Place Overall at the International Invention Convention
• The Raytheon Technology Connectivity Award at the U.S. National Invention Convention ($1,000)
• A $75,000 scholarship at the International Science and Engineering Fair
• A $10,000 Patent Application Award at the U.S. National Invention Convention

At the U.S. National Invention Convention, I was one of five projects awarded the Patent-Application Award by international law firm, WilmerHale. Awarded on my projects' novelty and patenting-potential, WilmerHale awarded $10,000 worth of legal patenting assistance. Over six months with two patent-lawyers, we crafted a nonprovisional patent application highlighting the novel properties and applications of H204ALL, and officially submitted the patent application in December of 2023.

Following STEM-fairs, I have had the opportunity to share H204ALL with the world through media stories, public showcases, and research presentations. I had the honor to present my research to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Ocean Biogeochemical Lab, a research team conducting leading research on ocean sensing technology, as well as multiple public showcases at the University of California, Santa Cruz Seymour Marine Discovery Center, a community discovery center for showcasing marine-related developments.

I partnered with BlueRobotics, an innovative marine robotics company focused on creating affordable and modular marine robotics, to design a prototype, H20-World, combining their BlueRov2 and the H204ALL sensing system. We collaborated with a local marine robotics team, to design a competition ROV that went on to win 3rd place at the 2024 MATE International Championship!
To gain more funding to continue developing our prototype, we applied for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Synro.io grant for low-cost marine tech. We were awarded the Synchro.io grant and are continuing collaborative design with BlueRobotics and the local marine robotics team.

I am excited to continue developing H204ALL with goals of creating new prototypes focused on serving disaster relief areas, ultra-low cost models for in-need communities, and educational models for use in elementary and high schools to teach water stewardship and the importance of protecting our waterways.