Before 2019, AMHS students were required to complete a senior thesis in order to graduate. In recent years, this goal has shifted – now, all students here are required to complete the AP Capstone program. This program consists of taking at least four different AP courses over the four years of high school, which is not a big ask considering the wide variety of courses offered at Magnet and the tendency of our peers to overload themselves with AP classes. However, as an added requirement, all juniors and seniors must take AP Seminar and AP Research.
If you’re an underclassmen, you may have heard horror stories about these classes – that they’re too much work, that the research is boring, or that it’s just incredibly time consuming. While that last complaint may be true, Seminar and Research are what you choose to make of it. As long as you pick topics to research in Seminar that you’re truly passionate about and want to learn more about, the class itself is a breeze, especially with the guidance of our incredible teachers.
AP Research is where the process becomes more complicated. This class expects you to design your own fully formulated, self-run research project, following the process of conducting a research project that you’d see at a university. These projects can range from doing a content analysis on your favorite TV show to discovering something new in a scientific field, as long as you have the capability to complete your project within the school year.
This year is the first year that Magnet has offered a specialized program for AP Research beyond the general class itself. The 2024-2025 school year is the pilot year for our AP Capstone Engineering and Computer Science program, taught by Mr. Lovering, which is a class specially designed to help students with a vested interest in engineering and programming conduct research projects based in those fields. Students are organized into groups of around three for their engineering projects, and work together to make different developments over the course of the year. Each student writes a separate research paper focusing on their project, though each member of the group focuses on a different topic.
These projects are some of the most interesting that Magnet students have had the ability to do since the inception of the AP Capstone requirement. To shed some light on the incredible work being done in this class, one of the groups of students working on a project together was interviewed so they could talk about their project and share their work. Seniors Rentz Hughes, Jack Oakman, and Daniel Varadi are working together on a project to build a better, more efficient kind of lawn mower.
The first question asked was why these students were initially invested in engineering. According to Rentz, “All three of us had childhood experiences with engineering or creative thinking.” These experiences pushed the three of them to pursue engineering further, which gave them a chance to develop and explore their skills.
The specific focus of their project, according to the group, is constructing a remote controlled and battery operated lawn mower that is capable of fertilizing soil as well as mowing lawns. The group hopes that their project can serve as a blueprint for future engineers to make a fully autonomous lawn mower in the future.
Currently, the three of them are taking stock of any materials they might need for their project. Most AP Research classes do not start data collection until the start of the second semester, but this may be different for these students, as their projects require them to actively create something new with their research. The group plans to begin construction of their lawn mower after the end of winter break.
When asked about why the group had chosen this topic for their research project, answering for all three of them, Rentz said, “It was an idea that we came to after thinking about common problems throughout society, and lawn mowers can be a chore to operate for some people, especially the elderly. This project would make lawn mowing easier for all, as well as reduce pollution.” Once completed successfully, they can use this project to create a cheaper alternative to many barriers that prevent people from properly maintaining their lawns due to a disability or other things that stop them from being able to get up and mow the lawn.
However, as Rentz, Jack, and Daniel have acknowledged, there are a vast multitude of autonomous lawn mowers that already exist. There is already a well established market for a product like this, which means their project will not produce the first ever autonomous lawn mower. Though this was surprising to the group, they focused their project on ensuring that the product of their research would be a cheaper, more efficient alternative, which would in turn make them more accessible to people who need assistance with lawn care but may not be able to currently afford it.
When asked if they would recommend this program to any future students, the answer from the group was a resounding yes. Rentz states that “Lovering is the goat, and it’s a super chill way to start your mornings.” Capstone Engineering is a double-blocked class, meaning that you will not have room for an elective in your senior year since it takes up two class periods – however, for current seniors who are invested in engineering, the sacrifice has proven to be well worth it. Currently, the class takes place during both 1A and 1B, meaning it is the first class that students who take it have in the day. It’s a nice, calm environment to work, and being surrounded by peers who are just as invested as you in making a change is always encouraging.
If you want to do an engineering or computer science based research project, consider enrolling in the specially designed capstone courses! The experience is well worth it, and at the end of the year, you’ll have a project you know you can be proud of. Check back next edition for an interview with a student doing a computer science project.
