by Jacob Hurwitz '10 and Sophia Deng '10
The 54th Annual Montgomery
County Science Fair was held March 20 at the University of Maryland's
Reckord Armory. The fair, run by ScienceMONTGOMERY, saw a
record-breaking number of participants this year, including 21 Blair students (18
seniors and three
underclassmen), all of them from the Magnet Program. this was a large increase from 2009, when 14 Blair students entered.
The Magnet seniors entered their
Senior Research Projects. Since students create posters as part of the
SRP class, entering the fair was a simple matter of filling out some additional paperwork. Unfortunately, this paperwork still deterred most of the 90 seniors who conducted SRPs. Ms. Duval is
working with the current juniors to help them complete the science fair
paperwork earlier in the SRP process. Hopefully, the Blair Magnet will
have even more entrants in next year's science fair.
Science fair judges awarded prizes to students in twelve
categories: Behavioral and Social
Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth and
Space Science, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics,
Medicine and Health, Microbiology and Physics. Of
the twelve first place category winners, five were picked to represent
the Montgomery County Science Fair at the 2010 Intel International
Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in San Jose, California May 9 - 14.
Two of the projects moving on to ISEF are from Blair, and another Blair
student was selected as an alternate for ISEF.
Senior Jacob Hurwitz is moving on in
the ISEF competition with his math project, "Decycling Densities of
Tessellations," which also named him Siemens' Semi-Finalist and first
place at the Greater Washington Region's Junior Science and Humanities
Symposia (JSHS) competition. Senior Jennifer Wang and her partner Grace
Young won with their group project in physics, "Validation of Parabolic
Ion Trap Geometries for Application within Quantum Computing," for which they were named Siemens' Finalists earlier in the year.
Wang looks forward to the
competition in May, although it will take place during AP exams. "I'm
pretty excited for ISEF," she said. She believes that her project did
particularly well at the fair because of its ingenuity and collaborative
spirit. "I heard that
what made our project stand out was that first, we did our project using
everyday materials. The primary component of our project, the parabolic
reflectors, came out of everyday flashlights we found sitting in the
lab," Wang said. "And second, the judges were really impressed that
Grace and I worked well together despite having not known each other
before the summer started."
Hurwitz explained to Silverchips that the first-place finishers in each category are
evaluated to select those who will advance to the May competition.
"You're first judged by a panel of judges knowledgeable about your
category who score all projects in the category," he said. "Then, a
special set of judges visits the first-place project in each of the 12
categories to determine the top projects overall." He was ecstatic when officials announced that his mathematics project would
be judged at the May competition. "I honestly didn't expect to win,"
he said. "When they called my name at the Sunday awards ceremony, I was
paralyzed in shock for a brief moment."
Senior Jeremy "Ozzie" Fallick was named the second
runner-up, making him the second alternate to the ISEF competition. He
conducted a computer science project entitled "Development of a
Computational Model for Ancient Western Warfare." Fallick believes that
he answered the judges' questions seamlessly. "I felt really confident
about my project, because all the components were my doing, and I was
lucky enough to leave without having been stumped once!" Fallick also
notes that the independence and creativity of his project were major
factors in his success. "I think it helped me a great deal that my
project was unique (computer science-history combos aren't that common)
and that I did all the work on all parts of my project; the judges
seemed impressed that I wrote all the code myself."
Monetary prizes are awarded to
the first, second, and third place winners in each category.
Furthermore, approximately fifty community organizations awarded even
more prizes to students, ranging from cash awards to banquet invitations
to paid internships. (A full list of awards is available online: http://sciencemontgomery.org/File/2010awards.pdf)
In total, Blair students won more than $3,000 for their
research.
The Blair winners from this year's fair are:
- Jennifer Wang '10
and Grace Young (junior from The Potomac School) for their physics
project "Validation Of Parabolic Ion Trap Geometries For Application
Within Quantum Computing"
- ISEF
award (expense paid trip to compete in the Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair May 9-14 2010 in San Jose, CA and $250 Award)
- 1st
Place, Physics category ($200)
- Winner (One Year ASNE
Membership; invitation to present at annual symposium Invitation to
Exhibit at Annual Symposium), American Society of Naval Engineers/Naval
Architects and Marine Engineers For Excellence in Projects Related to
Marine Engineering
- 2nd Place ($150), Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Washington Section For Excellence in
Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science and Related Areas
- 1st
Place ($100, and Subscription to MIT Technology Review), MIT Club of
Washington, D.C.
- 1st Place ($500; invitation to Goddard Luncheon
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), National Space Club For
Outstanding Projects in Space Science and Engineering
- Winner
($50), Office of Naval Research For Achievement in Science or Technology
- 2nd
Place, U.S. Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Jacob
Hurwitz '10 for his mathematics project "Decycling
Densities of Tessellations"
- ISEF
award (expense paid trip to compete in the Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair May 9-14 2010 in San Jose, CA and $250 Award)
- 1st
Place, Mathematics category ($200)
- Winner, Mu Alpha Theta For
Challenging, Original, Thorough and Creative Investigation of Problems
Involving Modern Mathematics
- Winner, U.S. Air Force For
Excellence in Science and Engineering
- 2nd Place, U.S. Army -
Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- 1st Place, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission For Outstanding Projects in Nuclear
Science or Engineering
- Jeremy "Ozymandias" Fallick '10 for his computer science project "Development Of A Computational
Model For Ancient Western Warfare"
- ISEF
award 2nd Runner Up: $100 Cash and Second Alternate for trip to ISEF
- 1st
Place, Computer Science category ($200)
- Winner, U.S. Air Force
For Excellence in Science and Engineering
- Honorable Mention,
U.S. Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Angela
Choi '10 and Dzi Do '10 for their behavioral and social
sciences project "Implications Of Self-terminated Memory Search For
Understanding Retrieval Dynamics"
- Honorable Mention,
Behavioral and Social Sciences category
- Winner, American
Psychological Association Recognizing Outstanding Research Projects in
Behavior and Social Science
- Xinyi Zhou '10 for
her biochemistry project "Exploring Alternative Splicing As A Novel
Mechanism For Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction In Severe Autism"
- 2nd
Place, Biochemistry category ($100)
- Honorable Mention, U.S.
Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Yifan Li '10 for his biology project "Differentiation Of Mouse
Embryonic Stem Cells To Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells In Culture"
- 2nd
Place, Biology category ($100)
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Army -
Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- 3rd Place, U.S. Public
Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association For Outstanding
Projects in Health-related Research
- Sophia Deng '10 for her biology project "Identification And Colocalization Of
Dense Core Vesicle Regulator Ia-2 With Serotonin In Taste Buds"
- 2nd
Place, Biology category ($100)
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Army -
Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Honorable Mention,
U.S. Public Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association For
Outstanding Projects in Health-related Research
- Hongyi Xia '10 for her biology project "Determination of the Effect of
Modifying Gβ5 Expression Levels on Drosophila Oxidative Stress
Resistance"
- 3rd Place, Biology category ($50)
- Winner
(Invitation to Awards Ceremony and Tour of CIA Headquarters), Central
Intelligence Agency For Projects in Technologies of National Interest
- 2nd
Place ($50), Sigma Xi, FDA Chapter For Excellence in Food and Drug
Science
- Allison Arai '10 for her biology
project "Long-Distance Regulatory Interactions of engrailed Regulatory
DNA in Drosophila melanogaster after Targeted Deletion of DNA"
- 3rd
Place, Biology category ($50)
- Winner, Graduate Women in Science
For Students Demonstrating Excellence in the Sciences
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Public Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association
For Outstanding Projects in Health-related Research
- Melissa
Truong '10 for her biology project "Agents of Emerging
Rickettsial and Ehrlichial Diseases in Ticks, Virginia"
- Honorable
Mention, Biology category
- 2nd Place ($100), American Industrial
Hygiene Association (AIHA) Potomac Section For Achievements in Projects
Demonstrating Excellent Industrial Hygiene Practice or Technology
- Winner
(Invitation to Awards Ceremony and Tour of CIA Headquarters), Central
Intelligence Agency For Projects in Technologies of National Interest
- Winner,
Graduate Women in Science For Students Demonstrating Excellence in the
Sciences
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Public Health Service -
Commissioned Officers Association For Outstanding Projects in
Health-related Research
- Vicky Lai '10 for her
computer science project "Modeling Risk and Uncertainty: Cyber Attack
Scenario"
- Honorable Mention, Computer Science category
- Winner,
U.S. Air Force For Excellence in Science and Engineering
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission For Outstanding Projects in
Nuclear Science or Engineering
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Public
Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association For Outstanding
Projects in Health-related Research
- Lindsey Fernandez '10 for her engineering project "Improving Classification
Accuracies in Pattern Recognition Based Myoelectric Control (or
Optimizing Input Analysis To Improve Classification Accuracies In
Pattern Recognition Based Myoelectric Control)"
- Honorable
Mention, Engineering category
- 2nd Place ($50 and Invitation to
dinner), American Society of Mechanical Engineers For Outstanding
Demonstration of the Principles and Practices of Mechanical Engineering
- Winner
($50), Office of Naval Research For Achievement in Science or
Technology
- Winner, Optical Society of America, National Capital
Section For Notable Achievement in the Optical Sciences
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Anand
Oza '10, Rohan Puttagunta '10, and Nils Molina '10 for their
mathematics project "Sane Bounds On Van Der Waerden-type Numbers"
- 2nd
Place, Mathematics category ($100)
- Winner, Mu Alpha Theta For
Challenging, Original, Thorough and Creative Investigation of Problems
Involving Modern Mathematics
- Conway Xu '10 for
his medicine and health project "Genomic Analysis of Metabolic Pathways
Involved in Cobalamin Assimilation, Branched Chain Amino Acid Oxidation,
and Biotin Metabolism"
- 2nd Place, Medicine and Health
category ($100)
- Winner (Invitation to Awards Ceremony and Tour
of CIA Headquarters), Central Intelligence Agency For Projects in
Technologies of National Interest
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Army -
Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Melodi Anahtar '12 for her medicine and health project "Identifying
Differences in Gene Expression Profiles In Normal and Cancerous Breast
Tissue"
- Honorable Mention, Medicine and Health category
- 1st
Place ($125 and Invitation to Meeting to Present), American Industrial
Hygiene Association (AIHA) Potomac Section For Achievements in Projects
Demonstrating Excellent Industrial Hygiene Practice or Technology
- Winner,
Graduate Women in Science For Students Demonstrating Excellence in the
Sciences
- Kamal Ndousse '10 for his physics
project "The Baryon Mass In The Large Nc And Heavy Quark Limits"
- 2nd
Place, Physics category ($100)
- Winner ($50), Office of Naval
Research For Achievement in Science or Technology
- 1st Place,
U.S. Army - Research Office For Scientific Excellence
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Public Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association
For Outstanding Projects in Health-related Research
- Justin
Yu '12 for his physics project "Characterization Of Iron
Bearing Oxides For Rust Detection In Reinforced Concrete Structures"
- Honorable
Mention, Physics category
- 5th Place, American Nuclear Society;
Washington, DC Section For Outstanding Achievement in Projects in
Nuclear Physics and Technology
- Honorable Mention, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission For Outstanding Projects in Nuclear Science or
Engineering
- Shilpa Kannan '11 for her medicine
and health project "A Novel In Vitro Model Of Mmp-2 Induction During
Hypoxia For Ischemia Treatment"
- 1st Place (6-week Paid
Internship at MedImmune, $100 and a plaque) MedImmune Advancing Science
for Better Health Award Best Individual Project with Biological
Relevance to the Causes, Treatment and Prevention of Human Disease,
Exemplifying Values Core to MedImmune Philosophy; High Integrity, Strong
Work Ethic, Entrepreneurial Spirit and Collaboration
- Winner,
Society for In Vitro Biology For 11th Grade Projects Demonstrating
Excellent Research in Plant or Animal in vitro Biology or Tissue Culture
- Honorable
Mention, U.S. Public Health Service - Commissioned Officers Association
For Outstanding Projects in Health-related Research
A big thank-you goes to Ms. Duval,
Ms. Ragan and all the Magnet teachers for guiding students through the
research process. |
