Houston-Area Students Earn Recognition at State Science Fair

Two weeks ago, the eleventh annual ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair was held at UTSA. Each year, students from all over the state come to showcase research projects in the STEM fields. The event is open to students in grades 6-12 who compete and score well in a qualifying regional science fair.

The competition follows a poster session format – students use display posters to present their research to judges and other onlookers, and the judges then score projects according to their demonstration of the student’s understanding and exploration of a theory or concept. In the Senior or high school division, the fair is also a qualifier for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, as well as for scholarships to the Governer’s Science and Technology Champions Academy.

This year, several Houston-area entrants were recognized for their projects.

 

Senior Division

Aditya Mohile of Friendswood High School was offered the opportunity to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair for a Computer Science project, Computer-Aided Oral Cancer Diagnosis. Aditya also won second place overall in the Senior division for the physical sciences.

Karan Jerath of Friendswood High School was offered the opportunity to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair for an Environmental Management project, International Oil Spill Remediation The Numerical Simulation of an In-Situ Subsea Separator Part II. Karan also won first place in the Senior division for Environmental Management.

Miriam Matney of Clear Lake High School was offered the opportunity to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair for a Physics and Astronomy project, Energetic Particles from B and Li Fusion Reactions. Miriam also won first place in the Senior division for Physics and Astronomy.

Tassica Lim of DeBakey High School won second place in the Senior division Behavioral and Social Sciences for the project What Makes Us Eat Healthy? A Research to Promote Healthy Eating Habits.

Ben Scarborough of The Academy of Science and Technology won fifth place  in the Senior division in Environmental Management for the project Detecting Water Pollution with Bioluminescence.

Megan Alam and Juliana Steward of The Academy of Science and Technology won fourth place in the Senior division in Environmental Sciences/Analysis for the project The Macro Effects of Microbeads.

Andrew Kim of The Academy of Science and Technology won second place in the Senior division in Plant Sciences for the project Salinity Effects On Nannochloropsis and Haematococcus Enhanced Biomass Cultivation of Saltwater and Freshwater Algae Species.

Matthew Webb of The Academy of Science and Technology won fourth place in the Senior division in Computer Science for the project Encrypting Reality.

Joshua Gruener of Friendswood High School won second place in the Senior division in Earth Science for the project Impact Craters: What’s your angle?.

Ria Sur of Clear Lake High School won third place in the Senior division in Earth Science for the project Muscle Proteome Changes From Prolonged Space Travel.

Matthew Caffet of The Academy of Science and Technology won first place in the Senior division in Energy and Transportation for the project Riding the Wave Energy in Motion II.

Justin DuPont of Clear Falls High School won fifth place in the Senior division in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering for the project The Effect of Coil Material and Size Ratio on Wireless Power Transfer as Applied to Implantable Medical Devices.

Sueda Cetinkaya of Harmony School of Advancement won first place in the Senior division in Mathematical Sciences for the project Vascular Geometry in Tumors.

Shanika Silva of Friendswood High School won third place in the Senior division in Mathematical Sciences for the project Where Should I Put My Eggs? Mathematical Model to Predict Market Correlation Based On Differences in Macroeconomic Variables.

Syamantak Payra of Clear Brook High School won third place in the Senior division in Physics and Astronomy for the project Nanophotonics amp Quantum Efficiency of PV Cells.

 

Junior Division

Timothy Magdall of Cornerstone Christian Academy won first place in the Junior division in Animal Sciences for the project Factors That Can Affect The Cell Height Of A Spinybacked Orb Weavers Web.

Anuraag Madabushi and Shomik Ghose of T.H. Rogers Middle School won second place in the Junior division in Behavioral and Social Sciences for the project Learning Styles.

Adarsha Pokkulandra and Allen Huang of Quail Valley Middle School won third place in the Junior division in Biochemistry for the project Electrophoresis Through Macromolecular Migrations.

Jennifer Lin of T.H. Rogers Middle School won third place in the Junior division in Cellular and Molecular Biology for the project Fighting Breast Cancer Using Anthrax Toxin.

Jay Hobstetter of Seabrook Intermediate won first place in the Junior division in Environmental Management for the project Water for a Thirsty World.

Zachary Bouthillette of McCullough Junior High School won fourth place in the Junior division in Plant Sciences for the project Maintaining Vegetable Nutrients in Cooking Methods.

Andrew Miller of McCullough Junior High School won fifth place in the Junior division in Plant Sciences for the project Growing Green Testing Algae Growth.

Kareem Abdelghani of McCullough Junior High School won second place in the Junior division in Chemistry for the project Be Colorful Be Healthy Antioxidants.

Jasper Van Lier of McCullough Junior High School won fourth place in the Junior division in Chemistry for the project Plastic Chemistry Decomposing Bioplastics.

Jessica Young of The John Cooper School won third place in the Junior division in Earth Science for the project The Holey Grail of Natural Gas.

Praneel Joshi of Knox Junior High School won first place in the Junior division in Energy and Transportation for the project Measuring Efficiency of Different Battery Systems.

Kabir Jolly of The John Cooper School won fifth place in the Junior division in Energy and Transportation for the project Windmill Blade Design Creating More Electricity.

Will Leskowitz of Seabrook Intermediate won first place in the Junior division in Mathematical Sciences for the project Branching to Improve Suspender Strength.

Evan Rees of McCullough Junior High School won fourth place in the Junior division in Mathematical Sciences for the project What’s Random About Rock Paper Scissors?.

Carolyn Robert of Seabrook Intermediate won fifth place in the Junior division in Mathematical Sciences for the project Mathematically Predicting Stocks.

Haley Schrader and Katherine Koegel of League City Intermediate School won first place in the Junior division in Physics and Astronomy for the project Ace Baby Ace.

Alexandra Boehning of League City Intermediate School won first place in the Junior division in Medicine and Health Sciences for the project Raspberries for Cancer: Hoax or Hope?.

Congratulations to all the young scholars who competed!