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Tianyou Lu

I am a student at Shanghai YangJing High School interested in electrical engineering, embedded systems, and mathematical modeling. I like taking problems I see in daily life and solving them with low-cost hardware, code, and physical testing.

This showcase documents my hands-on prototypes, competition research papers, and experimental setups across high school.

Selected Projects & Research

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11th Grade · National First Prize (Top 56 / 118k Teams)

How I Used Dynamic Programming to Optimize Classroom Ventilation

In winter, keeping windows closed traps CO2 while opening them loses heat. I deployed a sensor module at breathing height, collected empirical classroom readings, and built a dynamic programming model in MATLAB to find the optimal ventilation timing.
11th Grade · State Merit Award (3rd Prize) · Maker Star

How I Built a Fall Detection App with Kotlin

My grandfather fell at home and could not reach his phone. Apple Watch has fall detection, but most elderly people cannot afford a $400 watch. I wrote an Android app using the phone's built-in accelerometer to detect sudden impacts and auto-dispatch help.
11th Grade · Green Chemistry Research

How I Made Sunscreen from Green Tea

Synthetic sunscreens can harm marine ecosystems and irritate skin. I extracted polyphenol catechins from ordinary green tea leaves and built a low-cost smartphone colorimetry rig with a UV flashlight to quantify UV absorption.
10th Grade · State First Prize · 11th Maker Star

How I Cut Campus Server Latency by 73%

Class sign-ups always crashed our school web server. I mirrored the server environment across two Raspberry Pis, analyzed tail latency, and implemented a lightweight load-balancing routine to cut peak response delay.
10th Grade · State Second Prize · Structural Challenge

How I Built an IFC-Inspired Truss Tower for the Structure Challenge

In the Maker Contest, we had to use the least balsa wood to carry the most load. After studying the mega-columns and outrigger belt trusses of Hong Kong's Two IFC skyscraper, I designed and built a 31.6-gram triangular truss prototype that won 2nd prize.
10th Grade · CN Utility Model Patent · Inventor

How I Got a Patent for a 3D-Printed Pen Holder

My second-hand 3D printer shook and printed uneven layers. Rather than buying an expensive new machine, I engineered internal compliant ribs that accommodated printing errors, turning hardware imperfections into an authorized utility patent.

Engineering Notes

How I Built This Minimalist Engineering Portfolio

Why I moved away from heavy web templates to an accessible, static open-source architecture built on Astro, Markdown, and Cloudflare Pages.
Reflections on Low-Cost Hardware and Real Constraints

Why working within strict budget and equipment limits produced better engineering outcomes than relying on expensive commercial tools.

Connect

Feel free to reach out via GitHub or email.

GitHub /
Email /
luotianyi983@gmail.com

© 2026 • Tianyou Lu

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