It’s a good thing Noah Reardon doesn’t get seasick. That’s because the 17-year-old from La Grange has been selected to take part in an ocean exploration program that will entail spending a month this summer aboard a ship on the Pacific Ocean.
Reardon, a junior at Lyons Township High School, was accepted into the honors research program at the University of Rhode Island. The program is sponsored by the Ocean Exploration Trust, which was created by Robert Ballard who is famous for plumbing the depths of the ocean and finding the Titanic. He founded the trust in 2008 to support ocean exploration.
The program, which accepts only eight high school students a year, provides an intensive introduction into marine and related sciences. Reardon will spend four weeks studying the topic at the University of Rhode Island followed by four weeks at sea participating in scientific expeditions launched from aboard the Nautilus, a research vessel operated by the trust.
Reardon first learned of the program two years ago when he participated at a Boy Scout event called STEM-O-RAMA, where Ballard was a speaker. The explorer noted that one spot is held on his ship each summer for a Chicago-area Eagle Scout who qualifies for this program between their junior and senior year.
“He was very passionate and he had a lot of cool ideas. It sounded interesting,” said Reardon, an Eagle Scout.
Reardon and other students will learn how to process, analyze and interpret oceanographic data in addition to building ocean current drifters that will be deployed during their at-sea expeditions.
Reardon’s particular interest in science is focused on robotics. He leads a community-based robotics team that meets in his basement, he said.
Sam Garson, education programs coordinator for the trust, said Reardon’s passion for robotics fits with an important goal of the program, which is to introduce and encourage young people to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
“Noah demonstrated in his application that he’s passionate about STEM,” Garson said.
As students spend time with scientists and see what they do on a day-to-day basis, Garson said they become more familiar with the many possibilities that a STEM career can offer.
“They get to work with scientists and talk to them and see what really cemented their passion for STEM,” Garson said. “They can see whether this is something they really want to pursue.”
Reardon said he is interested in learning about oceanography.
“I’d like to see how my current skill set fits into oceanography,” he said.
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He is not yet sure whether studying the ocean will be part of his professional future, but he thinks robotics will be.
“I see myself as an engineer who works with robots. Maybe my robots will go under the sea,” he said.
Because he has spent a lot of time aboard his family’s sailboat on Lake Michigan, he is not worried about getting sea sick. The size of the research vessel also makes it less likely he will feel queasy while on board.
“The ship we will be on doesn’t rock as much as sailboats,” he said.
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