Orli G. ‘27

Fall Poster Session 2025

Spring Poster Session 2026

9/29/25

Today in WISRD, I looked at other people’s projects and thought about what I want to do.

9/30/35

Today I worked on my poster for Dark Matter Day. I’m continuing to think about what I want my WISRD project to be. Currently, I want to create an electric scooter and figure out a way to make it safer. 

10/6/25

Today I tested the slime recipe for Dark Matter Day. I have been thinking about making a perfume/non-scented mosquito repellent. 

10/13/25

Today I moved the telescope inside. I continued researching mosquito repellent perfumes. 

10/27/25

Today is the first day of WISRD after our successful Dark Matter Day. Now that it is over, I’m able to focus more on my potential projects. 

10/30/35

Today, I started researching bio-inspired soft spiral robots for versatile grasping and manipulation. I started playing with these 3D printed tentacles in hopes of programming them in the future.  

11/3/25

Today, I continued to research robotic arms and how they work. I also researched how human arms operate in hopes of broadening my understanding and moving forward in my project.

‍11/4/25

Today I used an Arduino to make a motor, and I researched more on potential codes for my robotic arm. 

11/6/25

Today I used an Arduino and began coding my robotic tentacle. I also attempted to attach the tentacle pieces to the motor. I’m planning on creating an attachment for the hand.

11/10/25

Today I began making a hole in my servo arm to place the tentacle strings to attach to the motor.

11/11/25

Today I screwed in the servo arm for my motor. I realized that I need a motor with more power in order to operate the arm. 

11/13/25

Today I worked on the smaller SpiRob with 2 strings. I broke up each segment on the tentacle to see if it improved the flexibility but still maintained a strong shape.

11/17/25

Today I worked on my poster for the upcoming WISRD poster session. This is my first WISRD poster session, so I’m excited. 

11/18/15

Today I finished my poster for the poster session.

11/19/25 

Today I worked on assembling another tentacle. I have been using a fishing line for it, but I think there might be a better option,as it is hard to manipulate. I also need to resize the base to fit the new model. 

12/1/25

Today I measured the base of the model to fit the size of the new tentacle. The circular part is currently 4.5 cm, and the side of the triangle of the new tentacle is 8 cm. This means I need to have the base be 1.77778 larger, so we are going to increase all of the dimensions by 177.78% and print it out on the 3D printer. 

12/2/25 

Today I printed the new base for my tentacle and tested if it fit. Good news, it did!

12/4/25

Today I prepped and finalized for my very first poster session tomorrow!

12/8/25 

Today I filled out the WISRD fall feedback form. I reflected on the work I did this year: my time management skills, classroom participation, and project evolution.  

1/7/26

Today I learned about the inquirer and started to brainstorm about what I want my pitch to be. This semester, I plan to finalize the model for my tentacle and discover the most functional way to control it. 

1/15/26

Today I worked on my inquirer pitch about the placebo effect. This is a topic I’m very passionate about, so I’m very eager to write this article and learn more about the phenomenon. 

1/21/26

Today, I finally got the new model for the base of the tentacles. I drilled holes into the front piece to insert the strings, and I brainstormed ways to drill the handles in place.  

2/3/26

Today, I replaced the fishing line with Kevlar rope and began to replace the tentacle. Lacing the tentacle is time-consuming, so I’m planning on doing it over 2 class periods. 

2/4/26 

Today I finished relacing the tentacle. It looks great, and everything fits perfectly. I’m now ready for the third phase of my project: the motor. 

2/5/26

Today, I researched more on how a motor would fit into my project. I’m inexperienced with motors, so I looked around at some of the motors we have already in WISRD to get an idea of what I’m going to be dealing with. 

2/9/26

Today, I started to figure out how I want to do my code for the robot. I need to work on it at home so I can use ChatGPT to edit the code. 

2/10/26 

Today I started building my code on Arduino. I picked out the motor I’m going to be using. My classmate Jacob is very experienced in using and programming motors, so he explained to me about how they work and what the different kinds do. I picked out the NEMA 17 stepper motor that uses the TB6560 stepper motor driver and Arduino Uno because, based on what he told me, these will work best for my project. 

3/3/36

Today, I attached the motor to the stepper. My objective for the day was to begin setting up the motor system by connecting a NEMA 17 stepper motor to the TB6560 stepper motor driver. I identified the 4 wires from the stepper motor and connected them to the driver terminals labeled A+, A−, B+, and B−. This made the connection between the motor coils and the driver. Now the motor is successfully connected to the driver, but it is not powered yet. 

3/5/26 

My goal was to connect and test the NEMA 17 stepper motor using a TB6560 stepper motor driver and Arduino Uno. I wanted to fully wire the motor system so it can be controlled electronically. I connected the driver to an Arduino Uno using control pins (PUL and DIR). I connected the driver to an external power supply as well. All the motors are now successfully plugged in, although they have not been programmed yet. 

3/17/26 

Today I wanted to test the motor movement with Arduino code. I uploaded a basic program from Chat-GPT to the Arduino that connected to the motor driver. This allowed the motor to receive instructions and rotate. The motor responded to the code, although at first it didn’t always move correctly and was just vibrating. I adjusted the wiring slightly, and that improved the performance.  Now I just need to mount it onto the tentacle and connect it. This will be difficult, but I’m determined to figure out how. I’m going to focus on this after Spring break.  

3/18/26 

Today, I worked on my Inquirer article. My Inquirer is about the placebo effect. The article focuses on how the phenomenon works and the influence it has on people. 

3/23/26

My goal for today was to continue testing motor control and begin planning the integration of the motor and the tentacle. I continued experimenting with the Arduino code to improve the performance. I wanted to see how the motor would operate at different speeds. This also lets me practice using the Arduino software, which is a skill that I’m looking to improve. 

3/26/26

Tomorrow, my Inquirer article is due. Because of that, I obviously had to do all my finishing touches to my article. I read it all through, made minor corrections, fixed grammatical errors, and rewrote parts that sounded confusing. I’m very pleased with my final result. 

4/14/26

Today, I plugged in my motor system and again played with the code. I’m now ready to mount my motors to my base and find a way to have the motor operate the tentacle. This is going to be a difficult task and probably the most difficult part of the process. I’m going to be researching and testing different ways this will work. I really hope I will be able to do this. 

4/15/26 

Mounting the motor is a lot more difficult than I thought. The motor system is very big, and I’m struggling to figure out where to put the pieces. I also don’t know how I’m going to use the motor to operate the robot. My goal is to at least have a plan for how I’m going to do this before the poster session and to have the tentacle to at least operate somewhat by the end of the year. I know this will be tough, but I’m determined to maximize my WISRD time and not to slack off to make the most progress possible. 

4/16/26

After a lot of thinking and a brief discussion with Megan, I have decided that my current tentacle model is not adequate to be operated by a motor. I’m really determined to be able to finish this project, but I do think I will need another model. Megan suggested that it doesn’t have to be a tentacle, so I am considering an entirely different apparatus. On the other hand, I have learned so much about spiral robots, and it would be really awesome if I were able to make it work. I’m going to do a lot of research, especially on successful robots similar to mine. I have a lot of work to do, and it’s probably not going to be easy.  

4/20/26

Today I began working on my poster for our upcoming Spring poster session. I also brainstormed a bit on the next steps for my project. 

4/21/26 

Today I worked more on my poster, and I also wrote my pitch to present to the board to potentially become a member next year. I am reading it on Thursday during the WISRD retreat. I’m looking forward to offering my skills to the board members and to hopefully gain a spot on the board.

Orli Green - WISRD Journal 

8/24/26 

I recently learned that toothpaste was designed and tested based on a man. I want to create toothpaste for women. I’m going to start by testing different people’s saliva to see if there is a difference.

8/27/26 

Yesterday and today, I furthered my research and prepped for my spit sample test with my lab partner Sophie. We started creating a questionnaire, gathered articles and information, and dived into toothpaste chemistry. 

8/31/26

Today we took 14 tests and distributed the survey. We had the people each give a spit sample and swab where their teeth meet their gums and rub the swab on an agar plate. We are going to continue getting more tests to improve the accuracy of our results.

9/2/26 - 9/14/26 

During this period, my partner and I have had to run tests and count bacterial colonies on the plates. Below are some of the swabbed agar plates we have so far. We are also presenting to the board tomorrow to make our project an official WISRD project. 

9/18/26

Today I counted and observed more samples from the agar plates and recorded my findings in my google sheets doc. I saw something so interesting on one of the plates. It was this large, dark spot, covering over half of the plate. I’m really interested in what this could mean. Maybe it’s mold? The test subject is a female with braces. I’m looking forward to analyzing my results and doing pH and buffering capacity tests to see what my next steps are. Also, our board pitch got approved and Sex Differences in Dental Care is now an official WISRD Lab. We have been given $500 to start out our project and once we have more results and data we can be given the rest of what we need to create our product.

9/23/26

Today I reviewed article pitches for WISRD’s upcoming Inquirer. As we are still waiting for the buffering capacity and hormone kits to come in, we are also waiting to test the pH so we can do it all at once. I edited my WISRD website pitch more, and I’m excited to continue the testing process.

9/28/26

Today, I took the final sample for my first research and data analysis test for sex differences in dental care. We have taken samples from 20 female mouths and 20 male mouths. Still just waiting for the buffering capacity or hormone kits to come in the mail so we can test the spit along with the pH strips.

The Placebo Effect: COMING SOON OCTOBER 2026