Fuel cells
Together with the New Beginnings program at Roxbury Community College, the South End Technology Center ran a fuel cells education course for eighth graders in May 2003. Students learned about fuel cells, which are battery-like devices that make electricity.
When fueled by hydrogen, fuel cells produce energy in a way that is less polluting than other devices such as the internal combustion engine used in cars, or coal-burning plants used to provide electricity for homes. In the future, fuel cells have the potential to power everything from cell phones to cars to homes.
Taught by James Ashu and Shubhada Kambli, our class of nine students met after-school to learn:
The class also went on field trips to Nuvera (a fuel cell manufacturer), Earthworks (a conservation group), and MIT see scientists and environmentalists in action.
Our next class will be held in July. Call the South End Technology Center at 617-578-0597 for more information.
Links:
South End Technology Center: http://www.tech-center-enlightentcity.tv
Roxbury Community College: http://www.rcc.mass.edu/
Nuvera: www.nuvera.com
Earthworks: http://www.volunteersolutions.org/boston/volunteer/agency/one_159140.html
MIT: www.mit.edu
Other pages:
Field trips
Crossword Puzzle
Interviews with students (to be completed by class participants)
Field trips
The fuel cell class visited three different places:
1) Nuvera, a fuel cell manufacturer located in Cambridge, MA
2) Earthworks, a conservation group based in Boston, MA
3) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA
At Nuvera, we learned more about fuel cells and fuel processors by touring labs and meeting engineers. We also saw a full-scale fuel cell that could run a car, and learned about the different people who are a part of the research and development phases for fuel cells.
Since hydrogen fuel cells emit only water as a byproduct, they are much cleaner for the environment than prevailing technologies used today to generate power. At Earthwork’s urban wilds site in Roxbury, we spent a drizzly afternoon planting trees and learning about the importance of environmental conservation. We learned that trees play a part in keeping the Earth oxygenated and cool, and also learned that planting berry shrubs can help feed and house migrating birds on their journeys.
At MIT, Professor Donald Sadoway, along with doctoral student Ramkumar Krishnan, taught us about his research into greener (more environmentally-friendly) batteries. He showed us ultra-thin, flexible batteries, and talked to us about developing a battery that would use moon rocks and Martian soil to create oxygen and other products that could support human exploration of space.
Link to Professor Sadoways’s site:
web.mit.edu/dsadoway/www
