Eon Duzant is days away from completing his junior year of high school and already knows that his college education will be covered.
It has all been made possible because of his experiments to find ways to prevent the malfunction of the robots he used in an extracurricular club at Baltimore's W.E.B. DuBois High School. His research has resulted in his achieving success at local and international science competitions as well as winning the unprecedented scholarship to college.
Duzant received a special award last month at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in San Jose, Calif. The distinction, which was presented in recognition of his outstanding scientific ability and academic curiosity, also came with a full, four-year, $50,000 scholarship to the Florida Institute of Technology.
"It was a great honor because of the many other talented students that were there," the 17-year-old said.
Duzant's project, "The Vex Robotics Challenge for Engineering and Mechanical Design for Applied Robotics Technology," focuses on the center of gravity of robots equipped with mechanical arms. Duzant hopes that his work can carry over to preventing automobiles from tipping over and planes and helicopters from spiraling out of control.
"A lot of the judges liked my idea for the project because it will save lives, money and for its revenue costs," he said.
Duzant spent more than three months working from 8:10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in school on the project. He kept up with his studies by working on assignments during the weekends.
"I stayed up a lot later than usual," he said with a laugh.
Duzant got the idea for his project during his freshman year when he joined the school's robotics team. While on the team, he noticed that many of the robots would malfunction. He determined that a shift in the weight distribution of the undercarriage of the robots would preserve the mechanical integrity of the design and prevent the failure.
Marvin Martin, Duzant's mentor and a chemistry teacher school, said his work is so remarkable because Duzant didn't have access to state-of-the-art equipment or the financial backing of colleges or countries — which a number of international students had at the Intel competition.
"It really is a success story," said Martin, who pointed out that 20 percent of students at the international competition who submitted projects had already received patents. "To have it end as a success is unbelievable."
Duzant's recent accomplishment has inspired his classmates and reflects the type of students that go to W.E.B. DuBois, according to Principal Delores Berry.
"We are building a foundation for our students here," she said. "We are moving in the right direction."
Before the Intel competition, Duzant won the Morgan State University Regional Science Fair in March. The top two students from this competition traditionally go on to compete at the international science competition. Duzant's award is the largest by a Baltimore City student to come through the Morgan competition, according to Kevin Peters, special projects coordinator for the Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Education at Morgan State.
"He has set a high standard for W.E.B. DuBois and the city," Peters said. "He's a very quiet, unassuming guy. You won't see him boasting about it. He wanted to wait until he got home to tell his mom about the award. He was very appreciative about winning this award. It validates that hard work pays off."
Duzant will be the first person in his family to go to college. Without the scholarship, Duzant said, he was unsure how he would be able to afford an education.
"It was a concern," Duzant said. "I knew even if I did win a scholarship it wouldn't be enough for four years of college. I knew I would have to get a job to pay for college."
Duzant wants to work in aerobatics and become an aerospace engineer.
"I've always had a fascination with space and designing things," Duzant said. "That career makes the most sense to me."
Duzant said he still intends to apply to a variety of colleges that specialize in his planned major, such as the University of Maryland, College Park and Pennsylvania State University.
Duzant, who carries a 3.3 grade point average, is also a member of his school's varsity debate, chess and tennis teams. His favorite subjects are math and science. In his free time, he likes to play video games.
"To me they are not as complicated," he said in reference to his favorite subjects. "English has too many things to think about. With science, the answer is there when you think about it."
After Duzant won the award, Martin greeted him with a big hug and told him: "Eon, this will change your life."
Martin said it was the first time in his 15-year teaching career that he shed a tear because of a student.
"There are thousands of Eons in the city," Martin said. "They just need the opportunity."