Dr. Frank J. Hayden SS student’s bionic turtle robot wins national, international science awards
Evan Budz, a Grade 10 student from Dr. Frank J. Hayden SS, is earning top national and international honours for his innovative science project.
Evan won first prize at both the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Riga, Latvia.
His project has garnered significant media attention, with features on CP24 and CBC.
Evan’s winning project is an underwater robot that swims like a sea turtle, designed for autonomous ecological monitoring. The bionic turtle can survey aquatic environments to detect threats like coral bleaching and invasive species. The design's key advantage is its low impact.
“By using a turtle robot for this task, I'm able to decrease the impact on ecosystems as I'm conducting my monitoring, compared to more traditional propeller-based approaches,” Evan says.
The goal is to provide timely data to organizations so they can "decrease the harm to the aquatic areas" before it becomes significant.
The inspiration for the project was twofold. Evan was motivated to act after reading research on the severity of coral reef bleaching. "Eighty-four percent of reefs have been bleached since 2023, and that really inspired me to take action," he says.
The unique turtle design was inspired by a camping trip, where he observed a snapping turtle swimming. "Its movement was very fluidic and natural, which I thought would be quite interesting to try to replicate with a bionic approach."
The project, which he started in June 2024, required an estimated 2,000 hours of work. Evan recalled significant challenges, including a race to finish outdoor pool testing before winter. "I know at the start, my turtle... it just kept sinking to the bottom of the pool repeatedly," he said. It was his passion for the topic that allowed him "to persevere through these challenges."
Evan is already working on the project's next phase, adding new functions to detect more environmental threats.
"Actually, right now, my whole robot is disassembled in my basement as I'm working on adding some of these additional functions and making it more robust," he says.
His overall goal for what he’s created is to have "fleets" of bionic turtle robots surveying marine environments globally.
While still in Grade 10, Evan is looking at a future in university for science or engineering. His journey highlights the HDSB's commitment to experiential learning, a cornerstone of the HDSB Student Experience model, which allows students to explore their passions both in the classroom and through extracurriculars.
When asked how he is preparing for his future in university, Evan mentions the “variety of technological education programs” available at his school, including computer engineering and technological design. "We have a robotics club, which is a great way to practice some of these skills in building various robots, which I've been involved in over the past few years."
Evan is quick to share his gratitude for the people who helped him along the way. He extends his thanks to his parents and the organizers of the various science fairs he participated in.
