Chun-Kai Kao

PENNSYLVANIA

Chun-Kai Kao, 18, of Newtown, studied ways to optimize the efficiency of pollution-free polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells for his Intel Science Talent Search project in materials science. Kenny's research was inspired by his recurring allergy flair-ups when returning to his native Taiwan. To improve the PEM catalytic process, he synthesized gold (Au) and palladium (Pd) nanoparticles and deposited them onto a PEM using various processing pressures and coating frequencies. He characterized the size, shape and composition of the deposited nanoparticles using transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction pattern analyses, and then he explored the impact of hydrogen flow rate on power output. Submitted as a patent application and to Nature for publication, Kenny's work suggests that the addition of primarily stepped, disc-like, Au-nanoparticles with maximum substrate contact increased power output of the fuel cells by more than 500 percent. A top debater in Taiwan, he attends George School, where he heads the Model UN and math club. The son of Ho-Jui Kao and Shu-Chen Tseng, Kenny hopes to study engineering and business at MIT or Stanford.