Glacier High School student a top scholar in Science Talent Search
Glacier High School senior Luke Ritzdorf was recently named one of 300 Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars by the Society for Science & the Public for his project “A Computational Model of Dreissenid Mussel Invasion Risk for Montana’s Waterways.” Ritzdorf and Glacier High were each awarded $2,000. (Photo provided by Tom Ritzdorf)
A sample rendering of Luke Ritzdorf’s model results show boat travel routes to and from Canyon Ferry and Tiber reservoirs. “More boats should travel over the redder areas of the map, so inspection stations placed there would be able to intercept and clean more boats, helping to prevent mussel spread,” Ritzdorf said. Evidence of invasive mussel larvae was detected in Tiber Reservoir in 2016 <a href="http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/ais/nr_0090.html">according to</a> Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and a three-year quarantine was put on Canyon Ferry due…
Glacier High School senior Luke Ritzdorf’s scientific and mathematical research to model and analyze the risk of invasive mussel contamination in Montana’s waterways has landed him a spot among 300 high school seniors named Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars, a program of the Society for Science & the Public.
Scholars were selected from 1,993 applications received from 659 U.S. and international high schools, based on their exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking and promise as scientists.
As a scholar, Ritzdorf receives a $2,000 award. Glacier High School will receive an additional $2,000.
His project, titled “A Computational Model of Dreissenid Mussel Invasion Risk for Montana’s Waterways,” seeks “to create an accurate programmed model of mussel infestation risk for Montana’s waterways,” according to his project report. The invasive mussels of concern include zebra and quagga, which could cost the state millions if an infestation were to occur. One of the features of his computer model is that it simulates how boat traffic flows and the routes boats travel from highway to waterway. It also takes into account a lake’s “attractiveness” to draw in more visitors.
With the information, Ritzdorf said an organization such as Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks could prioritize where to locate boat-inspection sites at high-risk areas to intercept the most boats.
“An accurate model would allow decontamination resources to be placed so that those water bodies most at risk of contamination could be most effectively protected, while also indicating certain lakes whose environmental conditions do not meet the requirements for mussel habitation and therefore are at an almost negligible risk of becoming infested, even if mussels were to be introduced,” Ritzdorf stated in his project report.
His project is years in the making and an earlier version won three state science fair math, water-related research and computer science awards in 2018.
“I started out with a program that just looked at lake chemistry,” he said, noting some lakes aren’t habitable to these types of invasive mussels and pose a very minimal risk to infestation.
“Now, I’m looking at traffic and exact routes boats travel,” Ritzdorf said.
He went into more detail in his project report — “Using stored lake chemistry data, the model analyzes the ‘habitability’ of each lake, then employs a gravitational model to simulate boater flow from each county to the various lakes. This simulation can be repeated to simulate multiple years of infestation progress.
After computing the number of contaminated watercraft to arrive at each lake, the program generates a random number that determines whether each watercraft will cause the lake to become infested. If any watercraft does so, the lake is marked as infested and the model continues on to its next iteration, where it will add the newly infested lake to the list of lakes that can contaminate boats that arrive in the future.”
On Jan. 22, 40 finalists will be selected from the 300 scholars. Finalists receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., March 5-11 to compete for more than $1.8 million in awards.
The talent search is meant to provide students a national stage to present original research and “celebrate the hard work and novel discoveries of young scientists who are bringing a fresh perspective to significant global challenges,” according to a press release.
View the full list of scholars at https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2020-scholars/.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.