Paint roofs white, says Jesuit student

Fourteen-year-old earns third place in science contest

By Christina Lent

The Portland Tribune, Nov 12, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Jaime Valdez / Pamplin Media Group

Nikita Gaurav’s science project, “Going Green with White Roofs,” helped her finish third in the National Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in New York.

Nikita Gaurav figured that painting rooftops white could save energy, and she proved it.

The 14-year-old from Beaverton, a Jesuit High School freshman, researched the idea for a science project dubbed “Going Green with White Roofs.” Last month, Gaurav’s work earned her a top-three finish in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a national competition held in New York City.

Gaurav is interested in painting, science and architecture, so it was only natural that she come up with an idea that combined several of her interests.

Gaurav wanted to see if using infrared, opaque, white paint on a rooftop would reflect sunlight and keep the home cooler. To test her hypothesis, she built two boxes, lined them with insulation and made four rooftops, two with black shingles and two painted white. She then placed a 300-watt lamp 6 inches above the roofs for a three-hour period, to see how much heat would be absorbed through the roof into the boxes.

Several trials showed that she was onto something.

“Having a white roof is a simple way to reflect energy and help improve the environment,” Gaurav says.

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