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Roanoke girl receives most outstanding honor for project in Hoosier science, engineer fair

Photo provided.
Jessica Hartmus

Bishop Luers High School sophomore Jessica Hartmus, of Roanoke, received an accolade at the 30th annual Hoosier Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 24.

She received a certificate for the Most Outstanding Exhibit in Materials Science.

Her project, “The Fine Art of Oxidation – Development of Titanium Anodizing as an Art Medium,” had taken a first-place ranking at the Northeast Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair, giving her the opportunity to showcase her project at the state science exhibit.

Hartmus noted in the description of her project that in the U.S. educational system, there has been a push for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); however, in recent years, there is a push to also incorporate fine arts (STEAM).

“The idea to use titanium anodizing as an art form helps to bridge the gap between science and art, but typical titanium anodizing requires a large monetary investment to practice the art,” Hartmus said. “In addition, the basic arts-and-crafts project within the Huntington 4-H program is highly competitive and encompasses nearly 10 percent of all non-animal projects.

“In order to compete for first place,” Hartmus noted, “I must constantly find new methods and ideas that the judges have never seen before. To address these concerns, I have worked to design a cost-effective titanium anodizing process by testing different grades of titanium, surface preparations, application solutions, bru-shes (to apply the solution), masking methods and voltages to attain a range of colors and then have judged the techniques based on the elements of art (the aspects of art that determine how pleasing to the eye an art piece is).”

To accurately test her different ideas, Hartmus chose multiple different ways to do the art and based her choice on the consistency and controllability of results as well as the cost of each material.

“After these tests, I have successfully developed a way for titanium anodizing to be implemented into both a personal art project and an art class room in a safe, cost effective and creative way,” she added.