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What is the most effective surface to use when paving solar panels into the ground? isnt a typical question a high school senior might ask.

But Lilly Heilshorn, who on Thursday was named grand champion of the 68th and first fully virtual North Museum Science and Engineering Fair, isnt a typical high school senior.

The 18-year-old Hempfield High School student won the top prize of the countys flagship science competition with her project The Effect of Ground Composition on the Efficiency of Solar Pavers, a year after she was senior champion and four years after she was junior champion of the county fair.

She and this years senior champion, Conestoga Valley High School senior Joshua Rennekamp, now move onto the international competition in May.

It should be exciting, Heilshorn said.

For this years project, Heilshorn tested an innovative solar design concept created by the Budapest-Based tech company Platio, which sent her a sample product from its distributor in Denver, Colorado, with which to experiment. The product, called solar pavement, is essentially a solar panel for the ground, and its meant to provide a new clean energy source for cities, companies, homes and more.

She spent nearly two months testing several different types of surfaces, from soil and grass to concrete and brick patio, to see which would allow the solar pavers to generate the most electricity. She did so by building a small wooden structure, placing the solar paver inside with each ground type, heating it with a special daylight lamp and measuring and calculating the emitted wattage.

Because the pavers work better in cool, dense environments, the soil and grass combination worked the best just as she hypothesized.

Heilshorn said she chose her experiment after brainstorming how she could expand her project from last years fair, The Effect of Atmospheric Conditions on the Efficiency of Solar Panels. First, she contacted companies prototyping transparent solar panels that can be built into windows, but, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and limited availability, she wasnt able to retrieve one.

One of the companies, however, notified her about the solar pavers, and she took it from there.

Heilshorn said shes passionate about projects that require her to think critically and get her up and moving.

I am just really big on the hands-on work, she said. I love to get out of my seat in the classroom.

According to her mother, Kim Heilshorn, its not just crunching numbers that she enjoys. She really just wants to help people.

Lillys amazing. Shes kind. Shes funny, Kim Heilshorn said. Ive always thought of her, in some ways, as my wise old soul. She just has a really neat perspective on things. I cant tell you how proud of her I am.

Lilly Heilshorn is involved in community service organizations like the Anchor Club, which tackles various projects to improve the lives of local community members, and Unified track and field, a program backed by the Special Olympics in which regular education and special education students come together through track and field activities. This summer, Lilly Heilshorn will work as a camp counselor and teach kids how to sail a skill she learned during the summers her family spends in Maine.

And she expects to attend the highly selective Massachusetts Institute of Technology for environmental engineering this fall, though she hasnt officially committed yet.

Fittingly, MIT sent out acceptance letters on March 14 Pi Day.

Lilly Heilshorn said she was one of the 1,300 students to get accepted out of about 33,000 applicants.

Were all super excited that our hard work in high school is paying off, she said of her and her friends acceptance into top-notch colleges. It wasnt planned, though. It was kind of a shot in the dark. I was not expecting to get in.

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Solar panels, sailing and MIT: Get to know the North Museum Science and Engineering Fair's newest grand champion - LNP | LancasterOnline