Knightly News

"Our group has shown that you don't have to do traditional research." Abhay Basireddy, 2021 ESTAAR student

In an unusual year, three Episcopal seniors found a way to continue the scientific exploration they love through the ESTAAR or Episcopal Students Take Action in Advanced Research program. For several years now, ESTAAR has offered Upper School students the opportunity to work with LSU professors and gain valuable experience in a university laboratory. Past students have spent hours in the lab monitoring tests and measuring data. In a year so impacted by pandemic protocols, that traditional lab access was in question. Fortunately, the restrictions didn’t stop Abhay Basireddy, Matthew Bickham and Gregory Field as their fields of interest didn’t require traditional lab time. “The stars aligned for them,” says Guillory. “They didn’t lose out as much as another group would have.” The trio successfully completed their projects and recently presented them on the VPAC stage on LAUNCH Day.

Application of the Fast Fourier Transform in Modeling the 3D Navier-Stokes Equations

Abhay Basireddy explored a problem that is listed as “unsolved” on the Clay Mathematics Institution’s Millennium Problem’s website. The Navier-Stokes equations are not well understood yet they may help us better predict and model fluid motion. In his research, Basireddy explored the “possibility of the existence of blowup, a phenomenon where the fluid velocity approaches infinity in a finite amount of time.” Basireddy says, “Blowup is significant because it could lead to a fuller understanding of the equations.” Basireddy used the Fast Fourier Transform to “numerically model increasingly complex partial differential equations until the final 3D Navier-Stokes equations solver was built in Octave.” While he did not achieve blowup, he discovered that numerical blowup is possible. His approach could contribute to further exploration in the future.

Automatic Slab Creation and Flood Prevention within Autodesk Revit

Matthew Bickham sought to solve a problem that impacts the majority of Louisiana residents – flooding. Using Autodesk Revit, the software used by building designers, Bickham went about designing a way to help developers reduce flood risk to structures. “I have created a tool that provides an effective slab height within Building Information Modeling tools based on flood depth grid data,” he says. Bickham created a versatile, user-friendly tool that could be used for everything from commercial properties to residential homes.
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Bickham also shared his project at the  Region VII Science and Engineering Fair where he earned second place in the Systems Software category. In addition, he received a special recognition award from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Breath Monitoring: Analyzing Breathing with Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

Gregory Field began his LAUNCH Day presentation by asking the audience to take a deep breath. This transitioned into a discussion of his research which sought to establish an easy method for people to monitor their breathing. Field points out that most breath analysis machines are highly specialized and require hospitalization of the patient. His goal was to create a way to monitor the breath that was easy and accessible. Inspired by his partner LSU professor’s work recording and analyzing footsteps, Field decided to develop a way to record breathing rates using Bluetooth earbuds and an everyday smartphone. To accomplish this, Field had to develop a way to identify the breathing frequency and remove the noise. After much analysis and data extraction, Field ended up with a system that he says “has remained accurate over three different test subjects but is still subject to various environmental factors.” Field says the concept has applications for people with respiratory conditions or athletes in training. “By combining the breathing rate with other vital signs such as heart rate, we can successfully and noninvasively monitor more features of people’s health in their everyday lives,” he says.

LAUNCHing Research on the VPAC Stage