Amy: I Know I Should Sleep Before I Leave for Beijing, But I Can’t
This week, four high school students selected by Science, Math, and Technology Education Center to participate in the North Carolina International Science Competition (NCISC) are traveling to Beijing, China to present their research, meet students from other countries, and experience Chinese culture. This blog highlights the journey of these future science rockstars of North Carolina! Today, we hear from Amy Xu. See more pictures and updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
3/18/2013
Hi everyone! I’m Amy Xu and I am currently a senior at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina. Tomorrow I will be traveling to China for the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition (BYSCC). I’ll be going with the North Carolina Science, Math, and Technology Education Center (SMT) as part of the USA delegation, and I know the other three students (Dhruv, Forrest, and Edward) who are going well. They’re a lot of fun, so I’m incredibly excited and way too awake for my own good.
While I’m in Beijing, I’m most excited about making friends with people from all over the world and learning about their lives and their research. My goals for trip are to learn about both the sciences and different cultures. I also want to try some new things and get better at reading Chinese.
The research project I’m presenting is entitled “Electrodeposition of Group IV Chalcogenide Thin Film Solar Cells,” which I have worked on with my mentor, Dr. Linyou Cao at NC State University. The goal of my project is to make thin film solar cells cheaper by using less expensive materials (SnS and SnSe), simpler deposition methods, and super-efficient nanostructures.