Guanajuato, Gto., November 30, 2017.- With the project "Pisando y generando", four students of the High School Salamanca proposed to use the movement of pedestrian to generate electric energy, which made them winners of the first place in the State Award of Energetic Efficiency 2017.

The students of the fifth semester, Marco Antonio Rocha Moreno, Adrián Tomé Rodríguez & Ángel de Jesús Valenzuela Hernández (Engineering) and Brandon Torres Prieto (Law, Politics and Government), worked together to participate in the contest, encouraged by their Physic's professor, Dr. Juan Antonio Sánchez Márquez.

The summon looked for ideas that promoted the efficient use of energy, and at the same time, had an impact or social and environmental benefit. It was issued by the State Council of Energy, through the Department of Innovation, Science and Higher Education (SCIES), the Federal Commission of Electricity and, the Trust fund for the Better use of Electric Energy.

The students proposed to generate a material that used the electrical-piece effect, which allows to turn the mechanical tension in electricity. Basically, as Dr. Juan Antonio Sánchez explained, the proposition is to use materials that when they are submitted to tension, they modify their internal structure, thus, generating electricity.

In the project "Pisando y generando", the high school students propose for these materials to be used in hallways or in places where pedestrians pass, because walking, generates pressure on the material and this will produce sustainable electricity.

This alternative has already been explored in other countries, where they have highlighted the enormous potential of the project. Let's imagine places such as subways, where there's an important flow of people every day, "we could use these materials, so people generate electricity while they walk. The same can happen where many vehicles pass, the vehicle has a significant larger mass than people", detailed professor Sánchez.

In an interview, the young students explained that for the state contest, they presented their proposal on a poster and an extensive document, then, they presented the project before the judges.

It is the first time we participate in this type of contests, they mentioned. "We were inspired by the idea to make something innovating for this society and this city". The potential relies on clean energy, is economic and a in a city with a considerable amount of people, you could use all that movement that is generated every day just by walking.

Motivated for the first place in the state contest, the four students have moved forward with the project, thinking in developing the material and the prototype, to make the trials that guarantee the feasibility of their proposal.

Once this stage is complete, it could be installed, for example, at the entrance of one of the facilities of HS Salamanca, where every day students walk in and out. We think, that every day, enough energy is generated to light, at least, a part of the school.

Because of that, the young students mentioned that winning the State Prize of Energetic Efficiency 2017, is a personal satisfaction, "but it also is pleasant to know that in the future this can benefit society and future generations."