Student Feature - Up & Coming Engineer

Meet Micah Kim

By Harold Clark

Micah Kim, a rising homeschooled 11th grader from Rochester, has the heart of an engineer - he loves to solve problems. Be it increasing the range of his family’s home wi-fi by building a parabolic reflector (his first science project) or building his own DC-DC Buck-Boost Voltage Regulator for his soldering air filter (his 2021 Terra Rochester Finger Lakes Science & Engineering Fair project), Micah enjoys both the challenge and the learning. He could certainly have purchased a buck-booster regulator, but decided that, by building his own, he would really learn how the device works and continue to build his skills in electronics and circuit design.

Micah Kim

After researching components, Micah began designing the circuit to power his two 12V fans, which require different currents, to enable any output from 0 to 25V from any input between 7 and 25V and then building the device on a breadboard. The hardest part was programming the chip set from his computer through an Arduino. Then came optimizing the device, which included at least one incident of the “magic purple smoke” which told him a component had been inserted incorrectly. He managed to improve the efficiency from 25 to 68%. Once he was satisfied with the performance, he designed and had built for him a printed circuit board from which he has created a compact version that he can now use for soldering and to power other equipment used in his various projects.

And Micah always has a project! He’ll see something on-line or in a movie and say to himself “I could build that”. His latest project is creating an exo-suit with 3D printed components which will combine his love of both mechanical and electrical design.

Micah was turned on to electronics by a course taught by a friend’s father, who is an electrical engineer. Learning how to program an Arduino opened a world of possibilities which Micah incorporates into his projects. He’d much prefer to design and build a device, rather than just create, and test a design on his computer, because one can see the physical result. In addition to his own projects, Micah is also part of the First Robotics Team at the Charles Finney High School. He enjoys working on each year’s competition, and the network of adult advisors gives him access to expertise for his own projects as well.

Micah also exhibits the musical talent that is often found in technically oriented people. He’s been playing the violin for 12 years and piano for 6. He continues to take lessons at the Eastman, where he also plays in quartets and other ensembles. He’s intrigued by the deep mathematical nature of music and plans to take more courses in music theory. He also will be pursuing his love of science this year with AP Physics, and he is looking forward to eventually learning calculus, because he feels he doesn’t currently know enough mathematics to be able to really analyze his circuit designs or to optimize them. He ultimately hopes to become an electrical engineer, where he can continue to design circuits and solve problems!

If you would like to talk to Micah about his project, his love of electronics, or about career opportunities, feel free to contact Harold Clark, Director of the Terra Rochester Finger Lakes Science & Engineering Fair, trsfef@terraed.org.

If you know of a young engineer grades 6 through college who should be highlighted in this column, please contact Lynne Irwin at the RES, res@frontiernet.net.

A thank you to Howard Bussey for help with interviewing Micah. q