A few young Sudbury scientists and their big brains returned home with some impressive awards from national and international science fairs recently, and were feted at Science North this week for their impressive achievements.
Watch the video below as students presented their projects and talked about what it was like to participate and the Canada-Wide Science Fair, while another student, Brendon Matusch, talked about what it was like to take part in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, his second international science fair.
Brendon captured three awards at the Intel International in Phoenix, Arizona, for his project "Improving Particle Classification in Dark Matter Experiments". The Grade 11 student from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School received a second place grand award, which put him in the top 50 of 1,800 students worldwide.
He also received two special awards, the China Association for Science and Technology Award and an honorable mention in the NSA Research Directorate - Mathematics Award. Brandon's experiment used machine learning to help to identify dark matter from normal background radiation.
Results were equally as impressive at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, New Brunswick where students were among 500 young scientists showcasing their discoveries.
Nethra Wickramasinghe captured gold in the intermediate category for her project "Neuropsychiatric Interconnected Wearable System using CBT".
The Grade 10 student from Lockerby Composite School also received the Youth Can Innovate Award in the intermediate category and a Golden Ticket to a STEM Entrepreneur Course. Wickramasinghe developed a non-invasive wireless system that aims to treat neuropsychiatric disorders with a wearable biomedical sensor and a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) application.
Kerry Yang, a Grade 9 student from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, garnered silver in the intermediate category for her project "Weeding out the Secret to Antibiotic Resistance".
She also earned the Golden Ticket to the STEM Entrepreneur Course. Last year, Yang discovered that dandelion root extracts have beneficial effects on heavy metal-induced antibiotic resistance. This year, she explored the elemental composition of dandelion root to determine the components responsible for reversing the resistance.
Jordan Fergani and Edward Xiong are Grade 8 students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. The team captured gold in the junior category with the "ATLAST" (Auto Temperature Live Alert System Thermometer) which uses thermal technology and motion cameras to monitor children who are left alone in a vehicle.
Trevor Meek earned bronze in the junior category. The Grade 8 student at Carl A. Nesbitt Public School researched the "Development of a Timed On-Demand Wireless Heated Washer Fluid System". In an effort to improve driver safety, he created a device that tackles automotive windshield de-icing and eliminates streaking from fluid.
Adam Selalmatzidis participated in the Canada-Wide Science Fair after capturing top honours at the Sudbury Regional Science Fair. The Grade 7 from Northeastern Elementary School explored the most economically and environmentally efficient way to design and package a pizza in his project "It's Hip to be Square: Shaping a Solution to Waste Reduction".
