Peter plays the saxophone and is a soccer and basketball player. He is also an avid outdoorsman who likes to fish and hike. Because Peter enjoys solving problems and taking things apart and putting them back together, he hopes to apply those skills to a career in science, perhaps as an inventor.
Thomas Edison lived in Peter's hometown and is his inspiration and science hero. His science teacher, Dr. Glass, is an unwavering mentor as well.
In Florida, mosquitoes are not only an annoyance—they're also a public health threat. The insecticide temephos is commonly used to control these insects. Realizing the toxicity of this chemical, Peter began seeking safer alternatives. He focused on the neem tree and conducted experiments to see if the biodegradable, all-natural oil from the tree would be an effective larvacide against the Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus mosquito.
Working in a county mosquito lab, Peter put a batch of 10 mosquito larvae into each of 30 water-filled beakers designated for mosquitoes. Three additional beakers of water served as controls. He then created 3 samples each of 10 different concentrations of neem oil and acetone to add to the beakers that contained mosquitoes. After a period of 24 hours, Peter recorded the results. He found that, with the proper concentration of neem oil, he was able to achieve 100 percent mortality. He concluded that neem oil can serve as a safe, effective, and nontoxic mosquito control agent.
