Lawrence student and teacher present at symposium

Lawrence High School senior Allen Green and science teacher Rebecca Isseroff presented their research at the poster session of the Materials Research Society Fall Symposium 2016 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass., on Nov. 29.

Their project developed a cost-effective catalyst for improving the output power of a hydrogen fuel cell by using iron nanoparticles on a carbon sheet instead of the more expensive and easily-poisoned platinum catalyst. The research attracted attention especially from the military, which are highly interested in producing a functional hydrogen fuel cell to power cars within the next decade. They asked Green for his business card, not realizing that he was still only a high school student.

The Materials Research Society (MRS), founded in 1973, is a member-driven organization of nearly 16,000 men and women from more than 90 countries who come from industry, academia and national labs. Their work touches on many fields, including chemistry, biology, physics and engineering and is an organization of materials researchers worldwide that promotes communication for the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and technology to improve the quality of life.