Fifteen future scientists from southern New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania are headed to Los Angeles, to participate in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, May 8-13, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Ranging in age from 13-18, the students are winners of the Delaware Valley Science Fairs, held April 6 at the Greater Philadelphia Convention Center, Oaks, Pa., and of which University of the Sciences is a major sponsor. (Watch the coverage from 6ABC)
Students in grades 6 through 12 competed for more than $1 million in scholarships and awards including the all-expense-paid trip to the international competition in Los Angeles, where high school freshmen through seniors from 65 foreign countries and 48 states will compete for scholarships and prizes valued in the millions.
Gone are the days of volcano and solar system models. Projects in this competition, hailed as the “Olympics” of science fairs, included cancer research, mathematical proofs and forensics.
The winners will be honored at a breakfast where they will be available to discuss their projects with the media at 9 a.m., April 22, at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia.
The list of winners is as follows:
SENIORS
Gold medal
Nicole Tsai, 17, Holmdel, NJ, High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ, Extending the Motional Stark Effect Diagnostic to Low Magnetic Fields: Towards Implementing a Laser-induced Fluorescence Technique.
Silver medal
Benjamin Kraft, (age and town unavailable) Liberty High School, Bensalem, Pa., Entries of Random Matrices.
Bronze medal
Bernadette Hritzo, 17, Holland, Pa., Villa Joseph Marie High School, Holland, Pa., The Analysis and Characterization of the Bioactive Antimicrobial Natural Products from Marine Sponges. Bernadette isolated and identified antimicrobial compounds from marine sponges that have inhibited growth of staph and a tuberculosis mimic.
JUNIORS
Gold medal
Sanjana Salwi, 16, Morganville, NJ, High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ, Retinal Proteins in Dorsal vs. Ventral Hemiretina of Pantodon Bucccholzi. Sanjana contrasted proteins in fish to bovine proteins to support theories of neuronal regeneration.
Silver medal
Andrew Feldman, 16, Freehold, NJ, Manalapan High School, Englishtown, NJ, Acoustic Array Imaging Using Optimizing Beam-forming Techniques. Andrew proved how acoustic imaging uses sound to form images.
Bronze medal
Jack Huang, 16, Allentown, Pa., Parkland High School, Allentown, Pa., From Dusk to Dawn: Contact Lenses in the Night Tear Protein. Jack investigated the protein interaction with contact lenses during overnight wear.
SOPHOMORES
Gold medal
Jonah Kallenbach, 16, Ambler, Pa., Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, Pa., Monte Carlo Simulation of a Serial Dilution PCR Experiment. Jonah created random simulation of a DNA-cloning serial dilation.
Silver medal
Meghan Shea, 16, West Chester, Pa., Unionville, High School, Kennett Square, Pa. The Effect of Nitrogen and Sulfur and Phosphorus Compounds on the Bioremediation of Oil by Pseudomonas Fluorescence and Bacillus Subtilis for Use During Oil Spills. Meghan attempted to increase the effectiveness of two bacteria at degrading oil for use during the oil spill cleanup.
Bronze medal
Angela Han, (age and town unavailable), High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ. Mechanistic Study of Sulforaphane Induced Cytotoxicity.
FRESHMEN
Gold medal
Lucy Hritzo, 15, Holland, Pa., Villa Joseph Marie High School, Holland, Pa., Survey of Bacterial Prevalence in Raw Milk. Lucy investigated if there are bacteria in raw, unpasteurized milk.
Silver medal
Hannah Kim, 15, Allentown, Pa., Parkland High School, Allentown, Pa. Omega Fatty Acid Levels. Hannah studied the effects of the human diet on his or her own levels of fatty omega acids.
Bronze medal
Alan Yang, (age and town unavailable), Upper Dublin High School, Fort Washington, Pa., Proofs of Two Archimedean Propositions Using Euclidean Geometry.
TEAM
Gold medal
Tara Knox, 18, Philadelphia, a senior, and Savannah Lee, 17, Audubon, Pa., and Kacie Farrell, 18, Philadelphia, both juniors. All attend Mount St. Joseph Academy, Flourtown, Pa., Enolase: A Glycolic Enzyme of Blood Stage Malaria. The team studied the potential of enolase as a vaccine target.
For 61 years, the Delaware Valley Science Fairs have stimulated interest in science, engineering and technology among middle and high school students in the tri-state region. DVSF’s philosophy is that students learn science by doing science. Its mission is to bring together parents, teachers and industry leaders to motivate and nurture young people’s curiosity in science and problem solving as we build lifelong learners. For more information, visit www.DVSF.org.