Project: Impact of Electric Vehicles on Air Quality in California
Full News: https://harrisburg.psu.edu/story/46111/2024/05/21/environmentors-offers-high-school-students-college-research-experience
Khachatryan served as an undergraduate mentor, alongside faculty mentor Sayed Reza, assistant professor of computer science, for Joy Zaman, a Hershey High School student.
Early in the process, Reza pointed Zaman toward some open data websites to let her explore potential focus areas. Reza has worked with high school students previously, he said, and he found that it is best to help them find a topic that interests them.
“Exploration of open data fuels curiosity which drives research and, ultimately, empowers students to discover and innovate,” Reza said.
Zaman chose to research the environmental implications of electric car usage. The group met frequently, often over Zoom, to discuss the project — examining the data on vehicle registration and air quality and talking about what issues she encountered.
“I try to let Joy take the reins,” Khachatryan said. “She came up with the project idea. I also didn’t want her to feel alone. We also have a group chat. She can ask questions … and Dr. Reza guides us.”
Zaman said the program was a good opportunity to learn skills she’d need later in life.
“Because of our project being centered around data analysis, I was able to learn different ways to utilize helpful applications like Excel,” she said. “Additionally, the symposium was a great way to practice my presentation skills and exposed me to other people and students with great ideas and projects. During the course of finding data for my own project, I was also able to observe interesting findings, making the research portion enjoyable itself.”