At just 18 years old, Canberra student Lochie Ferrier has already conducted research in a frontier field — aerospace engineering. Aerospace engineering is the primary
of engineering concerned with the science and technology of aircraft and spacecraft.
In 2014, he was one of 80 high school students worldwide who
a six-week science and engineering program at MIT. During the program, he was
by the institute’s scientists, and developed a method to identify inactive satellites. This method, called OASIS, is designed
a way to help manage space debris(碎片), which
operating satellites.
“One solution to this problem is a
robot that can gather pieces of space debris and store them in orbit，” he says. “These pieces could be
to new satellites later, thus
the costs and launch weights of new satellites.” However,
satellite identification technology would be needed for this solution, and that’s what Lochie is working on. “I hope this method would be put into practice in the near future,
in the next 10 years,” he says.
Lochie has made the
of the Young Innovators category of the Australian Innovation Challenge Awards with his OASIS. This category is open to students aged 21 years or
and carries a $ 5,000 prize. If he won, he would use the money to help fund
research into OASIS. “My plan for using the money would be to try to use materials which could stand up to the
environment of space,” he says.
He is also considering how to
the technology to organizations such as NASA and satellite manufacturers.
Lochie’s
in aerospace engineering was aroused by the big dish antenna(碟形天线）at NASA’s tracking station near Canberra，which he visited in his early teens. He said his software design and development teacher at Canberra Grammar School
him, too. “He taught me valuable project management and skills which I applied to OASIS.”
Lochie has been attending Canberra Grammar School and will soon
exams for admission to universities. He
his time between schoolwork, his personal
projects such as OASIS and the development of apps, rock climbing, and playing classical violin. The teenager is well on his way to realizing his sky-high ambition.
| 【小题1】 | | A．principle | B．presentation | C．branch | D．criterion |
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| 【小题2】 | | A．brought in | B．participated in | C．set up | D．backed up |
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| 【小题3】 | | A．guided | B．criticized | C．surprised | D．changed |
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| 【小题5】 | | A．follows | B．threatens | C．splits | D．maintains |
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| 【小题6】 | | A．recycling | B．repairing | C．creating | D．launching |
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| 【小题7】 | | A．switched | B．transformed | C．attached | D．returned |
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| 【小题8】 | | A．increasing | B．reducing | C．balancing | D．covering |
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| 【小题9】 | | A．optional | B．temporary | C．reliable | D．theoretical |
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| 【小题10】 | | A．imagine | B．say | C．suppose | D．consider |
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| 【小题11】 | | A．plans | B．finals | C．competitions | D．goals |
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| 【小题12】 | | A．under | B．beyond | C．more | D．above |
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| 【小题13】 | | A．basic | B．further | C．academic | D．independent |
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| 【小题14】 | | A．extreme | B．pure | C．dark | D．friendly |
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| 【小题15】 | | A．adapt | B．forward | C．market | D．apply |
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| 【小题16】 | | A．influence | B．investment | C．information | D．interest |
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| 【小题17】 | | A．inspired | B．served | C．sponsored | D．promised |
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| 【小题18】 | | A．join | B．sit | C．hold | D．prepare |
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| 【小题19】 | | A．devotes | B．spends | C．separates | D．divides |
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| 【小题20】 | | A．instructive | B．competitive | C．technical | D．typica |
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