Since he was 4 years old, La Jolla Country Day School seventh-grader Oliver Cottrell loved practicing hockey and watching Pittsburgh Penguins games with his father in his free time. The only problem? His practices didn’t always align with his friends’ schedules.

Oliver developed a solution in the form of an automated hockey puck passer as part of Country Day’s after-school program and competed in the Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair. In the past year, his creation garnered him local recognition and a spot in a national competition.

The machine, fueled by Python programming and Raspberry Pi, a single-board computer, captures several photos of the player and recognizes a ball sensor on the player’s helmet. Once the target is identified, the wheels start spinning, shooting pucks toward the player.

Oliver settled on his idea in September 2023, ahead of the January deadline for the 2024 San Diego science fair.

At that event last March, Oliver, a sixth-grader at the time, won the Grand Award in physical sciences. Not long after, he finished second in the California Science and Engineering Fair.

From there, he got national recognition as one of 30 finalists invited to the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge in October in Washington, D.C. The finalists were selected from among nearly 2,000 applicants, with award winners chosen by a panel of scientists, engineers and educators.

Oliver said he loved his experience in the nation’s capital, where his invention won first place and $3,500 in the engineering category.

Over the week-long competition, Oliver met students from across the nation who shared his love for science and engineering and participated in group activities.

His busy schedule required a strong school/life balance. While that presented a challenge at first, Oliver eventually found a groove.

“After I got the hang of it, it sort of became easy to do,” he said. “So I could find different timeframes on when I can work on the science fair and when I could work on schoolwork.”

Oliver’s father, David, saw his son’s project grow as he spent nights and weekends working out the details.

“I was really proud of the amount of work he put in, because it was pretty much every day,” David Cottrell said. “[Oliver] said along the way something like ‘I feel like I have a job.’ Because it was something you have to do over time.”

Oliver’s base for his work was La Jolla Country Day, and the after-school program he attended was launched two years ago by Matt Bessler, who teaches sixth-grade physics.

With support from faculty adviser Noa Parker, Oliver went through the process of developing his invention.

Parker, who teaches seventh-grade life science and eighth-grade chemistry, said entering a competition goes far beyond simply generating an idea.

“There’s prep work … and if you’re doing an engineering project, there’s actually creating the device,” Parker said. “But after that you have to be able to express and explain the entire process and the outcomes, results and what you would have done differently multiple times during the competition.

“It’s really cool to see, especially Oliver — who was just a sixth-grader last year — now really be able to express what he did, and his networking and conversation skills have enhanced so much.”

Last year, 10 students enrolled in the after-school program were recognized in the greater San Diego competition. Their projects included testing electrolytes in different drinks, identifying ingredients in sunscreen and designing solar panels that rotate to capture the most energy.

Bessler said the faculty’s role in the program is to guide students in the right direction but leave room for their creativity to take over. After all, he added, every branch of science was on the table.

“It’s a lot of molding and helping,” Bessler said. “We won’t come up with ideas for them, so they have to bring something to us, and from that, we’ll help them brainstorm and … mold it into an actual project that will work. But it’s up to them to come with something we can work with.”

Oliver said the help with time management and organization paid off as the project pushed into its final stages.

His puck passer underwent several changes along the way. He scrapped an idea to give it an arm, and in the interest of time, he decided to keep it stationary.

Jeff Terwin, Country Day’s head of school, praised Oliver’s invention and how he represented the school in the competitions.

“Oliver truly represents what makes La Jolla Country Day School a special place,” Terwin said. “His curiosity, hard work and connections with his teachers are amazing. We couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments — and even more of the great person he is and all he brings to our community.”

While Oliver celebrates the success of his hockey puck passer, his attention now is directed toward the next Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair. With the Jan. 20 deadline quickly approaching, he said he’s “close to the finish line” on a new project — a robot tutor.

The robot tutor uses a newer version of the Raspberry Pi computer, as well as speakers and cameras. The robot takes a picture of homework but doesn’t just dish out answers. Instead, it offers tips and tricks to enhance the learning experience.

To learn more about this year’s San Diego science fair and last year’s winners, visit gsdsef.org. ♦