Mt. Lebanon senior selected for science study in Germany

Albert Einstein, meet Noah Donald.
At least, the famed physicist’s native country will greet the Mt. Lebanon High School senior when he travels to Germany on Nov. 27 to participate in the Deutschland für MINTeressierte Workshop.
The program is for students who excel in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – education, and Noah is one of just 12 U.S. students selected to participate, and the sole Pennsylvanian.
“I saw STEM and I saw German together, and I thought, oh, this is perfect,” he said, as he plans to major in physics and minor in Deutsch in college.
He was selected from among more than 150 applicants competing for the “Discover a New Path: Explore Germany!” contest sponsored by the German government, which is paying all the expenses.
Peg Meyers, one of his German teachers, called the opportunity to Noah’s attention.
“When I announced the competition to all of the students in all of my classes, without a doubt, the students all said, you have to make sure Noah knows about this,” she said.
He already has traveled to Germany, following his sophomore year, as one of the high school’s two selections for “Schools: Partners for the Future” – the acronym in German is PASCH – a program that places importance on learning the language.
“My hope is that this trip would offer him yet another chance to improve his German and make some professional connections in the science world,” she said about the approaching expedition.
“If you take a look at the other winners, some of the schools are math and science magnet schools,” Meyers continued. “Some of the schools are really big in STEM programs, and we’re just starting in STEM. So for us to have a student who won is big.”
She and physics teacher Josh Bilak wrote letters of recommendation for Noah.
“I think of him as someone who, if you’re one in 12 in the country who is going to get this opportunity, you’re going to get a lot from picking him,” Bilak said. “I have a feeling he is going to do something great, so I strongly urged his consideration.”
For example, he helped Noah with a science club project with real-world applications to address the global need for clean water, integrating a healthy dose of physics.
“Bernoulli’s Equation is a big part of the device and how it works. I also used the Equation of Continuity. They’re both fluid dynamics equations,” he explained.
Hey, Einstein probably would be impressed. And of this, too:
“I built the device around exploiting those two equations to do what I want in creating a heterogeneity in the water, between the clean water and dirtier water, and then I’m able to separate them,” Noah said.
He will be in Germany through Dec. 6, having the chance to explore research institutions and meeting prominent scientists and researches, all the while experiencing life as a student in a German STEM excellence school.
His teachers are excited about Noah’s opportunity.
“He is the kind of student who makes sure the future is in good hands,” Bilak said. “It was a good choice.”