Research
Questions I keep chasing.
Should we fear a cashless society? Why does a crossed-out price change what we're willing to pay? How does bias get into AI? Do coffee grounds really help plants grow? I like turning questions like these into essays, infographics, and experiments.
Why do coffee grounds help plants grow?
current research
EcoBean's coffee-ground fertilizer worked in testing, but I wanted to know why. I'm now turning that question into a British Science Association Gold CREST Award project.
- 2025 · EcoBeanThe first testMixing grounds straight into soil grew mold, so we switched to a coffee-ground "tea" fertilizer. Seedlings fed on day 4 grew far faster by day 5 than a water-only control.
- May 2026 · AP Chemistry finalThe chemistryWith my partner Liam, I traced the effect to nutrients, pH, equilibrium, and decomposition kinetics.
- Now · Gold CREST AwardThe full project70+ hours of research, testing, and a written report, assessed against the CREST Gold criteria.
What I've written
- John Locke Institute · 2026Should we fear a cashless society?Read the essay
Economics essay, awarded a Commendation in the Global Essay Prize. A fully cashless society is worth fearing for privacy, access, and resilience, but the move to digital payments should continue.
- AT Psychology · 2025Why do price tags trick us?Read the paper
A survey experiment with SAS students and teachers: random price anchors swayed both groups' willingness to pay, and experience barely helped the adults.
- AT Psychology · 2026How do biases get into AI?View it
An infographic on where AI bias forms (systems, input, and application) and how it can be reduced. After my final presentation, I was invited to speak at SAS's Human+ conference in early 2027.
- Science Centre Singapore · 2026Can AI save more energy than it consumes?Read the article
AI's growing energy use, and how Singapore is using AI to cut air-conditioning demand. Submitted to Science Centre Singapore's Void Deck magazine; not yet published.