• May 1, 2019

    Regional science fair honors five

    Shanthi Krishnaswamy Five Upper St. Clair students earned individual honors – including one scholarship – at the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, which was held March 29-30, 2019, at Heinz Field. 

    Junior Shanthi Krishnaswamy’s project, titled “A Self-Sustaining Aquaponic System,” won a scholarship award to the University of Pittsburgh Bradford as well as a sponsor award from the U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps (Office of Naval Research). Last year Shanthi earned Excellence in the Scientific Method recognition.

    Four students earned sponsor awards for their projects.

    Freshman Shana Reddy along with eighth graders Mariyam Baytar and Ava Halligan won sponsor awards from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Their projects included:

    • Shana - “Investigating the Ecological Impact of Ocean Acidification”
    • Ava & Mariyam: “Does the number of turbine blades affect the amount of energy produced?”

    In addition, seventh grader Joseph Donnelly earned a sponsor award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh for his project, “The Speed of Light in Gelatin.”

    High school students were led by Ms. Corinne Nunez, high school science teacher, and Fort Couch Middle School science teachers, Jennifer Cramer and Caren Falascino, assisted Mariyam, Ava and Joseph.

    Students develop and execute a project by utilizing the scientific method for several months prior to the fair. At the science fair, they exhibit their research on a presentation board and are interviewed by judges who consist of the area’s most distinguished scientists and engineers. The competition is open to all students in grades six through 12 from the 21 counties within Western Pennsylvania and Garrett County, Maryland.

    This year’s PRSEF marked its 80th year of open competition of research projects in the fields of science, mathematics and engineering. According to the PRSEF website, “it is also the third oldest science fair in the United States under the affiliation of Society for Science and the Public, which runs the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the Broadcom MASTERS middle school competition.”