Junior Jordana Boxer Pursues Unique Scientific Research

Huntington High School’s science research program has been popular with students for many years. Among current participants who are excelling is junior Jordana Boxer, who has developed an interesting project.

Ms. Boxer has been enrolled in the research program since her freshman year. “During this time she has focused on the study of soil,” science teacher Lori Kenny said. “Her freshman year she studied the soil properties of permeability and porosity and how these properties changed when different plants were planted in the soil. During her sophomore year she learned about soil compaction and its effects on agriculture.”

The teenager decided to design a new form of tractor tire that would be able to reduce soil compaction without harming the ability of the tractor to drive. Ms. Boxer has spent the past two years working on her design.

Ms. Boxer computer aided designed her work using online software. “She then 3-D printed these tires and tested them using a tractor shed built,” Mrs. Kenny explained.

During this part of her project everything, including the tractor and the tires, were sized down significantly to run this experiment but in the end her work yielded the result that Ms. Boxer’s tire will be able to significantly reduce soil compaction.

Currently Ms. Boxer is working on creating an online simulation of her tire, which will be able to give her real data about the validity of the tire. As a part of this project she has been working alongside researchers and designers from tire company Michelin in order to help her with her design.

As part of this project, Ms. Boxer has also participated in summer programs run by the US Department of Agriculture on the subject of agricultural scenes. It is her goal to seek a college major in agricultural science when in college and continue to pursue her research.