Sep 7, 2007

Shark hunter

Eighth-grader makes waves with device designed for great white shark research

By Michele Tjin / MediaNews

As far as Evin Wieser is concerned, the movie "Jaws" got it all wrong.

"People freak out because they think sharks are 30 feet long with mouths that can hold a person," he said.

Great white sharks are actually closer to 12 to 19 feet in length and don't really like the taste of human blood, Wieser said.

Wieser, an eighth-grader at C.T. English Middle School, is a semifinalist in the Discovery Channel's Young Scientist Challenge. The 13-year-old leaned on his love of sharks to put together the award-winning science project, "Attracting Great Whites."

For his project, Wieser built an electrical device that emits 107 pulses a minute, mimicking the heartbeat of an elephant seal when swimming. Elephant seals are a main staple of the shark diet, and sharks have an acute sensitivity to electrical signals. Wieser figures that if he can lure more sharks to the surface, marine researchers can study them.

"I was really happy," he said of being named a semifinalist. "I was dancing."

Wieser spent a year testing out his device. He contacted researchers who tag sharks near the Farallon Islands some 30 miles west of the Golden Gate, and was delighted to find out that his device works. One shark even left behind a souvenir: a tooth mark on the device.

"We bent over backwards to give it try," said Jim Holm, the captain of one of the boats involved in a tagging project run by Stanford University. "It would take extensive data to determine if it's viable or not, but the concept is viable."

Holm added that Wieser is the first person he knows to use electroreception to attract sharks.

"It's exciting to see somebody at this stage of life interested in marine biology," Holm said. "It's exciting to see someone at Evin's age to be doing so well with his dream."

To continue research on the device - which Holm dubbed the "Evinator" - Wieser also traveled to Shark's Cove, Hawaii, and the Neptune Islands in South Australia. For his Australia trip, Wieser received his scuba certification, which enabled him to travel to depths of 50 feet in a submersible cage. At each location, whenever he used his instrument at 0.5 volts, sharks came to investigate.

"I learned that sharks are awesome," he said.

Wieser's shark research has repeatedly garnered attention. Last year, as a seventh-grader, his project took first place in zoology at the regional Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship, held in San Jose, and first place in zoology at the California State Science Fair, held in Los Angeles. Wieser finds out on Sept. 12 if he makes the cut and advances as one of the 40 finalists in the Discovery Challenge contest.

The shark project is not the first time Wieser has tasted science fair success. In sixth grade, he took first place at the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship and won second place at the California State Science Fair with his project that showed that milorganite, a biodegradable fertilizer, can also be used as a deer repellent if sprayed on flowers.

"It works great," said Wieser's mother, Lynn Shannon. "Deer don't eat my flowers anymore. It was helpful to the community."

All in all, it's been an enjoyable year, Wieser said, having had the opportunity to obtain his scuba certification, observe his favorite creature and work with some of his marine biology idols.

"I'm very proud of him," Shannon said. "He has accomplished a lot, and learned skills that he'll use throughout his life."

It'll certainly be difficult to come up with another science project to surpass his shark research, Wieser said. Although he has a knack for science, his favorite subject is math. When he's not in the classroom, he plays volleyball and water polo and is a Boy Scout. But studying sharks tops all of his interests.

"I want to be a shark researcher. If I can't do that, I want to be a vet," he said. "I think it was really cool to be with my favorite animal. It was a rare occurrence."