IUSD students had an impressive showing during the 66th annual California State Science Fair with 19 projects placing from Brywood, Canyon View, Cypress Village, Irvine Home School, Rancho San Joaquin, South Lake, Vista Verde, Irvine High School, Northwood High School and University High School.
This year, more than 900 students, in grades six-12, from 400 schools throughout the state presented 814 projects while competing for awards totaling $60,000. IUSD’s budding scientists placed in the categories of Aerodynamics/Hydrodynamics, Alternative Energy, Applied Mechanics & Structures, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Chemistry, Electronics & Electromagnetics, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Mathematical Sciences, Microbiology, Physics & Astronomy, Plant Biology, Product Science, and Zoology. Below are the results from this year’s fair.
Aerodynamics/Hydrodynamics
Honorable Mention
“Measuring the Lift of Airfoils Using a Wind Tunnel”
Sydney C. Adcook, Grade 8
Lydia M. Ignatova, Grade 8
Advisor: Mrs. Brenda Ahnn, Ms. Brenda Ahnn
School: South Lake Middle School
Honorable Mention
“How Different Types of Gases Affect Balloon Rocket Speed and Distance”
Samantha C. Mah-Gersting, Grade 6
Advisor: Mr. Brian Cady
School: Brywood Elementary
Alternative Energy
Honorable Mention
"Energy of the Future: Using a Microbial Fuel Cell to Harness Bacterial Power Production”
Pranav S. Moudgalya, Grade 7
Advisor: Mrs. Robin Norfleet
School: Rancho San Joaquin
Applied Mechanics & Structures
First Place
“Carbon-MEMS Suspended Nanogap: Current Amplifying Working Electrode for Biosensor”
Advisor: Ms. Joan Elliott
Suryaprakash Vengadesan, Grade 11
School: Irvine High School
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Junior)
Third Place
“Modification of a Ball Machine to Better Approximate a Human Tennis Swing by Providing a Visual Cue”
Grant J. Gallagher, Grade 6
Advisor: Ms. Leslie Chartier
School: Irvine Home School
Behavioral & Social Sciences (Senior)
First Place
“Evaluation of Gender Bias in Social Media Using Artificial Intelligence”
Nitya Parthasarathy, Grade 11
Advisor: Mr. John Olivares
School: Northwood High School
Chemistry
Second Place
“A Solar Powered Upconverting Nanoreactor for Highly Efficient Photochemical Synthesis”
Michael D. Wu, Grade 11
Advisor: Mr. Nicholas Brighton
School: University High School
Honorable Mention
“Toward a More Thermally Stable Halogen Gas Encapsulation Technique Using Heavy Water Clathrate Hydrates”
Juwon Lee, Grade 11
Advisor: Mr. David Knight
School: University High School
Electronics & Electromagnetics
Honorable Mention
“Optimizing Wireless Energy Transfer System to Power Biomedical Implants”
Kellie R. Cao, Grade 10
Advisor: Dr. William Tang
School: University High School
Environmental Engineering
First Place
“Efficient Removal of Pb2+, Cd2+, and UO2+ from Water through Sustainable Nanocellulose
Coagulants Derived from Biomass”
Aurnov Chattopadhyay, Grade 12
Advisor: Dr. Priyanka Sharma
School: University High School
Environmental Science (Junior)
Second Place
“Are Southern Californian Waters in Danger of Algae Blooms?”
Daniel Feng, Grade 8
Advisor: Ms. Robin Norfleet
School: Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Environmental Science (Senior)
Honorable Mention
“Fertilizer vs. Fungi: How Nitrogen Fertilizers Affect Beneficial Mycorrhizal Fungi”
Alicia N. Hans, Grade 10
Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Treseder
School: University High School
Mathematical Sciences
First Place
“Limiting Behavior of the Iterations of Tangent”
Andrei Mandelshtam, Grade 8
Advisor: Mrs. Liane Martin
School: Vista Verde School
Microbiology
Third Place
“Combating Antibiotic Resistance among GramNegative Bacteria through Inhibition of AHLmediated Quorum Sensing”
Ryan K. Ebrahimy, Grade 11
Advisor: Mr. David Knight
School: University High School
Physics & Astronomy
Honorable Mention
“Substrate Liquid Wettability”
Chunyi Zhou, Grade 6
Advisor: Mrs. Robin Van Vohis
School: Cypress Village Elementary
Plant Biology
Third Place
“The Effect of Water Usage on Native Coastal Sage Scrub Plants”
Anita Garg, Grade 11
Advisor: Ms. Shannon Bunch
School: University High School
Product Science
First Place
“How to Remove Ink Stains”
Emily A. Hsi, Grade 7
Advisor: Ms. Robin Norfleet
School: Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Honorable Mention
“Testing the Effectiveness of Mycofoam as an EcoFriendly Packing Material”
Alyssa Tang, Grade 6
Advisor: Ms. Allison Rolfe
School: Canyon View Elementary School
Zoology
Fourth Place
“How Does the Distance from a Body of Water Affect Mosquito Population?”
Caleb Laures S. Empig, Grade 6
Advisor: Mr. Brian Cady
School: Brywood Elementary School
Congratulations to all of the students who participated!