The school board recognized the state science fair participants and winners at the board meeting on May 26, 2015. STE@M related studies are alive and well in St. Lucie. Our students move from being creative to innovative as they explore their hypotheses and put them to the test. The various fairs unite young scientific minds, showcasing their talents on a stage where community leaders and doctoral level scientists review and judge their work.
After this year’s local science fair, 14 students moved on to the state science fair competition, and from there, three of our young innovators were invited to participate in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held earlier this month in Pittsburg, PA.
This culminating fair is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. More than 1,700 high school students from over 70 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for more than $5 million in prizes.
Peter Jones is a student at Olivet Private School. His project, “Antimicrobials: the Cure for HLB (Greening Disease) in Citrus” focused on a topic of interest for the Treasure Coast and was part of the plant sciences category.
Haniya Shareef is a freshman at Lincoln Park Academy who also competed in the plant sciences category. Shareef’s project was titled, “How can the efficacy of potential biological controls against Mikanla microntha be enhanced?” Shareef was honored with third place in the Plant Sciences category and was awarded $1,000.
Koushal Rao who is taking a class at Indian River State College and cannot be here this evening. He is a junior at Lincoln Park Academy. His project, “Effectiveness of Influenza VLP and SAR9 Vaccination,” competed in the Biochemistry category. Rao was awarded the prestigious Global Innovation Award from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The award is given to four exceptional projects that tackle topics coinciding with the four categories in development: alleviating hunger, climate change, energy, and global health. The award was accompanied by a $10,000 cash prize.
Here are the list of participants and winners:
Michael Gorbach, NPM, 4th Place Junior Medicine & Health
Callie Zheng and Yanin Lin, LPA, 3rd Place Junior Microbiology (TEAM); Special Award-Florida Agriculture in the Classroom
Shreya Reddy, LPA, Honorable Mention Junior Zoology; Special Award-FL Entomological Society & US Dept of Agriculture
Nicholas Stange, LPA, Special Award- Pinellas County Regional
Jack Krasulak and Joshua Navarro, SA, 2nd Place Junior Physics
Koushal Rao, LPA, 1st Place Senior Medicine & Health; Special Award- New College of FL Scholarship Nomination
Haniya Shareef, LPA, 3rd Place Senior Botany
Peter Jones, Olivet, 2nd Place Senior Botany; Special Award- FL Association for Food Protection
Geoffrey Zheng, LPA, 3rd Place Senior Botany; Special Award- Trescot Award
Haley Jezewski, Olivet, Senior Recognition Award Chemistry; Special award- Brevard Intercoastal Regional
Nathaniel Quirion, Olivet, 2nd Place Senior Medicine & Health
Kevin Duan, LPA, Senior Recognition Award Biochemistry; Special Award- Alachua Regional