Scott Bollt of Potsdam recently received a $1,000 award as an Intel Science Talent Search 2016 semifinalist.

As a semifinalist, Bollt also received an additional $1,000 award for his high school.

The national science competition also honored Bollt with the Research Report Badge and Student Initiative Badge for his project "Aircraft Gust Suppression by Feed-forward Lift Control and Laser Anemometry."

Bollt's research focused on developing a method to reduce the effects of atmospheric turbulence on aircraft. He said people who have a fear of flying might incorrectly associate feelings of turbulence with danger, so reducing turbulence would improve their experience.

"The most noticeable benefit would be much, much more comfortable plane rides for passengers, which would help potential flyers feel more relaxed, more secure and less airsick," he said. "It would also benefit airline companies because they would get more demand for rides on their planes."

While other systems to reduce the effects of atmospheric turbulence exist, Bollt said his project is unique in that it is inexpensive, small and doesn't require much power to use, allowing it to be used on a wider variety of aircraft.

Bollt is now working on making the program for gust suppression more advanced so it can account for more factors during flight. He is developing a laser system that will greatly increase the accuracy, speed and operating range of the system, as well as make it more practical.

Bollt said what he enjoys most about studying aeronautical engineering is the combination of theory and experimentation and the opportunity to see his work in action.

"I've liked aeronautical engineering for a long time because you can create something that actually flies," he said. "Most of the stuff you're working with is very powerful, and some of it is very large. Whenever big numbers are involved, I'm happy."

Bollt won the regional science fair in Syracuse for the past four years, advancing to the Intel International Science Fair three times. He has won prizes at the science fair for the past two years, including third place in his category and a prize from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 2015.

Bollt is a student at the Clarkson School, Clarkson University’s early college entrance program, which provides high school age students with a full academic year of residency-based interdisciplinary education, typically before they would have graduated high school.

The Intel Science Talent Search is the nation's oldest pre-college science competition, bringing together young scientific minds in the United States for 75 years. Each of the 300 semifinalists receives a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation with an additional $1,000 going to his or her school, for a total of $600,000 in semifinalist awards.