Spencer likes to build and launch model rockets and play golf and soccer. He also enjoys playing the piano. He hopes to pursue a career in aerospace engineering. "I would be able to focus on rocket science, which is my favorite subject, on a daily basis," he says.
Spencer's brother is his mentor, because he has imparted a great enthusiasm for science to him.
Spencer's inspiration for his project came from articles he read in National Geographic as well as his interest in trees. This led him to wonder if stomata counts differ within a geographical region as a direct effect of pollution.
Spencer collected Douglas fir and pinyon pine tree samples from Hobble Creek Canyon and a park in Provo, Utah. He calculated pollution levels by monitoring the number of cars that passed each site over the course of four one-hour periods. After measuring the stomata on the samples, Spencer determined that pollution does in fact affect the stomata count and may in fact be used as a marker to indicate variations in pollution levels.
