Viggo B.

Researcher Profile: Hello, I’m Viggo. I have been interested in science for a very long time. From about 4 to 8, I was obsessed with the Blue Planet series. I have probably watched the whole series about 200 times through. Because of that obsession, I was sure that when I was older, I would become a marine biologist. Now, I am a part of the Wildwood Institute for Stem Research and Development, and I am no longer as interested in marine biology but rather trying to find a way to increase conservation awareness of California native Pacific salmon and steelhead.

Journal:

8/23/2023: The first day of WISRD, pretty excited

8/28/23: Gonna help Luca build the ant farm I also want to figure out if there is an ethical way that I can make frogs glow in the dark

8/29/23: scratch the Frog Idea: I am going to stick with my original plan to build a fish tag. I want to maybe try and build an RFID tag.

11/6/23: It’s been a while. Anyway, Dark Matter Day went well my group members and I built some Tesla coils and played music through them, and the kids thought they were cool. I guess the entries I made in September and October didn’t save, but I have changed my project to make a full phylogenic tree of all species in the Salmonidae family. I have all my notes on the broad view of salmonidae, and now I am going to begin researching more on individual species.

1/3/24: I am gonna learn how to make 3D topographical maps. My new and improved idea is to 3d print a topographical model of a state or region that has the salmon run and map the run out using LED strips, and wherever the salmon run is obstructed, there will be a marker dictating the obstruction.

1/4/24: today, I learned how to set up the filter for the laser cutter I also kind of learned how to use the software while watching Luca. We also finished rebuilding the inside framing of the tank and the first half of the new lid that we are making.

1/8/24: Today, I learned how to use the software for the laser cutter. Luca and I also finished cutting and putting a hinge on the second part of the lid. We are still trying to figure out how to make it able to open without there being too much of a gap between the frame and the lid.

1/22/24: I learned how to use the software to create 3D models of topographical maps.

1/25/24: Today, Meagan helped me get set up on the printer, and we are running the first test print of the project.

1/29/24: the reason I wanted to do a test print was to see if the software I used would print in full detail, this is called proof of concept. It did print, and it printed in complete detail now, I am going to see if I can print places on a larger scale.

2/8/24: Luca and I have disassembled the old ant farm, and now we have devised a new plan. We are going to use the single terrarium that we were going to use as the bottom portion of the first ant farm. We have created a box that goes inside that terrarium to create a negative space that only allows the ants to create a colony in a place where we can see them and their tunnels. And on another note, I think that I have figured out how I am going to 3D print California.

2/21/24 I have created the first row of STLs for 3D printing in the state of California.

2/27/24: I found a much easier method for printing. I found an entire set of files for free online that I can upscale in Ultimaker, and these files are way more accurate than the files that I was originally going to try and make myself. Megan also ordered the LED light noodles that I am going to use to map the range of past and current native salmon in California. Also, for the ant lab, I am trying to find out how to quantify ant farm data. I also need to do more research on the past and current ranges of native salmon and steelhead in California.

4/29/24: the printing has been going great. We had finished printing almost every piece of California, and the people at the poster session thought that my map was cool. We have had to reprint a couple of pieces, but that is going well. There is currently a piece reprinting right now. I think that we will be able to print every piece before the year is over, and at the start of next year, I can begin embedding the lights into the map.

5/8/24: The last piece is printing right now. I have also figured out how to solder the LED noods to a switch and battery pack, and it works. However, I am trying to figure out how to lengthen the nood by connecting another one, and it’s not working the way I want. I think that I might have to order longer nood strips if they exist.

5/22/24: this past year in WISRD has been fun for me. I learned a lot of cool things. I also made huge leaps in my project, and I think that I may be able to finish it by the end of junior year. I hope that the next year in WISRD is going to be just as fun for me as it was this year.

8/27/24: Second semester of WISRD. I am going to keep working on the same project. At the moment, I am researching the active and historic ranges of steelhead in California. I realized that if I put every species of salmon on the map, it would overcrowd it and make it hard to read, considering that so many species share the same spawning grounds and spawning paths. So. far, I have learned that the paths of summer run steelhead and winter-run steelhead differ dramatically, with summer-run steelhead occupying only about half as much spawning territory as winter-run strains. I also have planned to work in Procreate on my iPad to create an accurate digital representation of my final product so that I can better explain the plan for my project at poster sessions.

https://caltrout.org https://www.calfish.org

9/6/24: I guess my other journal updates didn’t save. Anyway, it’s been pretty hard to find information about the historic runs of steelhead. Specifically images that highlight the specific waterways that they inhabit. I have found some info about the names of the watersheds but not any images showing where they are. I might have just to look up where they are and then try and make an educated guess about where they occupied on my procreate rendition. Other than that, I have been researching the recent removal of the dams in the Klamath River. That’s pretty interesting.

9/11/24: https://www.americanrivers.org, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov Recently, all of the Klamath River’s hydroelectric dams were removed. The Klamath supports a large number of native salmonid species, among many other fish. The removal of the dams on the Klamath serves as an example of what I am trying to push for with the completion of my project. The removal of the dams will seriously help the native salmonid population of the Klamath replenish.

9/11/24: The Klamath River basin is also fascinating. The wide range of different ecosystems is just incredible. In the same river basin, there are both arid deserts and temperate rainforests, among many other different terrains and areas. The Klamath River also supports a large number of other tributaries and tail-waters. For example, the Scott River, Salmon River, and Wooley Creek.

9/12/24: today, I focused on the Northern California Summer run Steelhead. They have declined significantly because of human effects. They are extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change, considering that they have a dependence on cold water in the warmest months of the year. Without human intervention, it is projected that they will go extinct within 30 years. Caltrout.org says that they inhabit waterways stretching from Redwood Creek just under the Klamath River to the Mattole River however, I have found other sources that say they also inhabit the Klamath. If they do indeed spawn in the Klamath River, then the recent removal of all dams will help recover their dwindling numbers. https://caltrout.org

9/18/24: I’m stuck on which topic I should use for my inquirer. I either want to write about the effects of introducing non-native trout into waters where they don’t belong or kind of repurpose my inquirer article from last year, but instead of talking about the future of salmon species, I would talk about the future of native freshwater trout.

9/18/24: I have made up my mind I want to write about the effects of introducing non-native trout where they are not native.

9/24/24: I am a bit behind on making my visual representation of my 3D model for the poster session. As of late, I have just been trying to store the information in my brain, which I realize is a bad idea, and I should be writing stuff down I am going to start putting all the important links and information I find in a special Google doc so I don’t forget anything.

9/26/24: Apparently, we have a new Tesla coil. For Dark Matter Day, I am going to the same station, the Tesla Coil station. I’m in a bit of a pickle I have found different sources that say different things about CA Steelhead’s distribution and range. I think that California trout resources are reliable because they handle most of the salmonid conservation in CA, but IDK. I need to do some more digging.

10/2/24: My update from earlier this week didn’t save. Anyway, Nate and I have started building a new Tesla coil and it’s going pretty well I think were about halfway through with that one. We also got another small one that I tried to build today in CI, it didn’t go so well I got the LED to turn on but not the Tesla coil. I think that by the end of the next CI period, I will be able to get that working. either that or by the next class period because the more I think about it as I am writing this, Nate and I will probably be able to finish building the large tesla coil before the end of the next class period, and then maybe after that Bob could help me fix the small tesla coil.

10/15/24: It’s been a while. It was quite difficult for me to get any journaling done last week because of the PSAT and mock ACT, but I did get some work done with Nate. We basically finished the Tesla coil we were building. However, we lost a spark gap, and we couldn’t finish it to the point of the Tesla coil functioning. I am quite upset about this, Nate and I spent quite a few class periods building this Tesla coil just for it to not work at the end when we finished making it. At least we have some other ones that we didn’t have to assemble entirely on our own so our station for Dark Matter Day is still going to happen. As of today, we have been working on our poster for our Dark Matter Day table. We have found or image we just need to include the information.

10/29/24: I think my latest updates didn’t save. Either way, Dark Matter Day went really well. It was a lot less stressful than last year, and a lot of people thought our station was really cool. Other than that, I have now started to work on my Inquirer article. I have found some really cool sources about the introduction of non-native trout in Yellowstone National Park.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/management/fish.htm

11/12/24： I forgot to update last week. I had a lot of stuff going on, and it just slipped my mind. last week, I was pretty dialed in on the mapping portion of my project, and I got a decent chunk done. Now I just have to lock in and finish my Inquirer. so that’s probably what I’ll do most of this week.

11/26/24: I was in Connecticut for a while so I forgot to update. My inquirer first draft went really well. I think I chose a really good topic again. the rest of the mapping is going pretty well and We are going to reprint every piece of my 3D map in a new filament that captures fine detail much better. I’m pretty excited about that.

12/1/24: We have been on Thanksgiving break for this past week so I haven’t gotten much work done recently. But were going back to school now, and poster session is coming up. I think this poster session will go the best out of all the poster sessions I have been a part of, mainly because I feel I am the most prepared right now.

12/9/24: My Journal update from last week didn’t save. Anyways I have been postering and reprinting these last few classes I started working on my poster and it’s due in 2 days so i really need to lock in and finish that but I think its going pretty well. Recently megan approved reprinting my whole map. so we have started doing that and have been doing that for the past couple of days. The new printer that WISRD got prints way faster that the old ones we had, meaning printing my map peices has been going really well and really fast I think were already close to halfway done. because we are reprinting the whole map I am able to use my old map as a sort of test dummy for the ideas I had. most recently I have been drilling holes in my old map and placing my LEDs in to see where I want to put my LEDs in the final map. I also figured out that I no longer want to use the LED noodle lights because it is very tedious to arrange and bent them in that way that I wanted to for my original map. I think I am just going to have rows of colored LED bulbs instead of the noodle lights.

12/15/24: My poster has been completed, and I think I am well prepared for poster session. I also tried using the conductive tape to power the LEDs and it didn’t work the way I wanted to. It powered some of them but not all of them. I think that if I am able to find adhesive LED strips that are cylindrical my project will be completed much faster.

12/18/24: Winter break is around the corner, so I probably won’t get any work done for a while, but today went really well. Bob gave me a switch, and I was able to connect it to the lights that I had drilled into my map. I think that I am actually moving ahead pretty fast and will make some huge leaps next semester.

12/20/24: It was a fun semester, and I think I made some pretty big leaps in my project. getting the lights to be embedded in the map has been going really well for me, and I think that it will actually be possible to finish this project before the end of the second semester. I am quite excited. As of the end of the first semester, the second map is almost done printing, and I have figured out how I will embed the lights. I just need to figure out how to make the soldering on the underside of the map flat so the map can lay flat on the table for next poster session in the spring.

Statement of interest, Spring 2023: From a very young age, I have always been fascinated by all `the many different forms of science that exist in this world, most specifically the science centered around aquatic life. Throughout my time in school, I have never really had the opportunity to pursue many other forms of science than the ones that were in the curriculum. When I saw that WISRD had options that were centered around these forms of science, I was instantly intrigued. If I were in WISRD, I would try and create a tag that I could use to track the lifespan and spawning patterns of wild trout in Southern California to better understand how they live and then make efforts to conserve them and protect their spawning grounds.