PROFILE — This B.C. teen designed a rocket to keep an eye on wildfires

Using drones is much safer than using a helicopter, says Jason Zhao

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Name

Jason Zhao

Hometown

West Vancouver, British Columbia

Age

17

Claim to fame

Last summer, Jason Zhao was on vacation in Chicago, Illinois, about 3,500 kilometres from his home in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jason, 17, has a passion for First Person View (FPV) drones and was flying one of them in the city.

FPV drones include cameras that allow their pilots to see what the drone sees as it flies. 

When his drone returned and he looked at the footage, Jason said the video quality was ruined because all he could see was grey. 

That grey was because of wildfire smoke.

“That really got me to think if there was a way for me to put my passion for drones into helping with this problem,” Jason said. 

According to the Government of Canada, last year was Canada’s worst wildfire season on record.

And this year could be just as active of a season. 

So Jason put his passion for drones to the test to help tackle that problem. 

Over the past year, he designed and constructed a special rocket to monitor wildfires that is already winning awards. 

Jason Zhao stands next to his 3.1-metre-tall rocket in the Mojave Desert on Feb. 17, 2024. He says a lot of his rocket was built with the help of three 3D printers he has in his basement. (Image submitted by Jason Zhao)

Jason’s love for rockets started young

When Jason was a little kid, he wanted to be an astronaut. 

Rockets always interested him and he read many books on the subject.

But when he visited the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, in junior school, his interest in rockets took off.

He began drawing and building his own rockets, building his first small paper rocket in Grade 6. 

In Grade 7, he started professional 3D modelling and printing. 

“The feeling of building something yourself that actually flies was really inspiring to me,” Jason said.

Watch Jason launch his rocket:

How his new design works 

Jason’s project is designed to improve how wildfires are monitored.

When a fire is detected, helicopters fly to examine it. This helps firefighters better understand the fire and devise a plan to put it out.

But because helicopters are piloted by humans, it can be dangerous. 

Jason realized that sending a drone to the fire instead could be much safer.

However, he said the problem with using drones is that they aren’t as fast as helicopters. And the drone’s battery gets used up too quickly during flight.

“So, my solution was to use the rocket as a delivery system to get the drone to the forest really quickly, and to save all of [the drone’s] battery life,” said Jason.

Jason’s hard work recognized 

Jason has received a lot of recognition for his rocket. 

He recently competed at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, also known as ISEF, that was held in Los Angeles, California, from May 11 to 17.

Nearly 2,000 students in grades 9 to 12 from almost 70 countries were invited to attend the fair. 

They competed for more than $9 million US in awards and prizes.

All 22 ISEF categories present multiple Grand Awards to students: first, second, third and fourth.

Jason won a Second Award in Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics, and a special award from the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).

“[It was] probably one of the best experiences of my life,” Jason said. 

“You get to walk up on stage in front of the 2,000 other crazy ISEF finalists who all went through the crazy selection process to even get there.”

Reni Barlow, the executive director of Youth Science Canada, said ISEF is “considered the world championships of STEM projects.”

He said that winning an award of any kind at ISEF is something to be extremely proud of.

“Only a small percentage of them win awards, and so for [Jason] to come away with a grand award and a special award is quite an accomplishment,” Barlow said.

Jason Zhao says he spoke with West Vancouver Fire & Rescue to discuss certain criteria that his rocket must meet for it to be useful. Some of these criteria include that it can be easily and quickly constructed. (Image submitted by Jason Zhao)

What’s next for Jason and his rocket?

While he’s proved his rocket-launched drone can work, Jason said there’s still a bit more work that needs to be done on it.

He said he still needs to add infrared cameras and improve the drone’s battery performance.

Looking to the future, Jason said being an astronaut would be cool, but he’s more interested in building the rockets that go into space.

He said he wants to work in the aerospace industry.

“I just love things that fly,” he said. “I think cars are boring. They don’t fly. When you can make something fly into [the] air, why don’t you do that?”

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TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Submitted by Jason Zhao, graphic design by Philip Street/CBC