On February 4th the Connecticut STEM Foundation, Inc. hosted its 17th annual Connecticut STEM Fair at Darien High School. This event brought together students from Amity Regional High School, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Darien High School, Greens Farms Academy, Greenwich High School, Joel Barlow High School, Newtown High School, Ridgefield High School and Staples High School for a highly energetic and scientific endeavor. A total of 224 judges evaluated the exhibits, providing both assessment of the projects and feedback to the exhibitors, and 80 volunteers added their efforts to the event. The student exhibitors presented 233 completed projects and research proposals in four scientific disciplines: physical sciences, behavioral sciences, health sciences and environmental sciences.
The Connecticut STEM Fair became an affiliate of the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in 2016. Regional ISEF award certificates were presented to 13 exhibitors, and will sponsor 3 delegates to attend the ISEF in Los Angeles in May.
Connecticut STEM Foundation awards were presented for 46 exhibits. In addition to medals, cash awards totaling more than $8,000 were presented. Sponsors of these awards were Sexauer Foundation and Laticrete International. The Office of Naval Research presented an additional 5 awards. The Darwin Day Foundation awarded 2 tickets to the 2017 Darwin Day Dinner.
The Keynote speaker for the Awards Ceremony was Dr. Stephanie Eisenbarth (MD PhD), Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Immunobiology and Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Her presentation of her personal background, training pathway and the joys and challenges of her career offered the young scientists in the audience greater insight and understanding of what lies ahead on the road to becoming professional research scientists.
The Connecticut STEM Foundation, Inc. is growing its scholarship program this year. Students who are eligible should visit our scholarship website at http://ctstemfoundation.org/students/scholarship/ to apply for any one scholarship for graduating seniors entering into college, or non-graduating students who are attending a summer internship or camp related to STEM.
If you’d like more information about the CT STEM Foundation, would like to be a financial partner, or would like to be a judge, please contact us at info@CtSTEMfair.org.
2017 CT STEM Fair winners:
Representatives to International Science & Engineering Fair
The CT STEM Foundation is proud to support the following 2017 CT STEM Fair Winners at the 2017 International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles:
| Name | Category | School | Status |
| Connor Li | Physical Science | GHS | Delegate |
| Shobhita Sundaram | Health & Medical | GHS | Delegate |
| Agustina Stefani | Environmental | GHS | Delegate |
| James He | Behavioral | ARHS | Alternate |
CT Science & Engineering Fair Exhibitors sponsored by the CT STEM Foundation
| Category | Names & Schools |
| Behavioral | James He, Amity Regional High School |
| Environmental | Katherine Handler, Amity Regional High School |
| Health & Medical | Olivia Hallisey, Greenwich High School |
| Physical Science | Daniel Pfrommer, Darien High School |
| Physical Science | Connor Li, Greenwich High School |
| Team | Samuel Mahler and Joseph Sugarmann, Amity Regional High School |
CT STEM Foundation awards at the 2017 CT STEM Fair
| Individual Completed Project, Behavioral | ||||
| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | James He | ARHS | The Relationship Between Phonological Processing, Intelligence Quotient, and Reading Cognition: A Behavioral and Neurological Analysis | |
| 2nd | Julia Nadelmann | ARHS | Investigating Cooperation in the Sharing Economy through the WiFi sharing Game | |
| 3rd | Neha Pashankar | ARHS | Investigating vPFC mGluR5 Availability and Behavioral and Cognitive Difficulties in Individuals with Bipolar Disorder Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, and Healthy Controls | |
| HM | Sarah Saxe | ARHS | Effects of Feces Deposition in Natural Refuges on Common Bedbug, Cimex lectularius L. Aggregation | |
| HM | Haya jarad | ARHS | Identifying Quasi Periodic Patterns in fMRI versus CBF Data | |
| HM | Johnathan Stimpson | DHS | The Effect of Changes in the Stock Market on Polling of Incumbent Presidential Candidates Using Time Series Analysis | |
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Individual Completed Project, Environmental |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Agustina Stefani | GHS | Carbon Capture & Storage via Silver-Catalyzed Hydration of Carbon Dioxide | |
| 2nd | Katherine Handler | ARHS | The Influence of Wildebeest Carcass Inputs on the Diet of Fish in the Mara River | |
| 3rd | Devyn Zaminski | GHS | Self-Sustaining Biosynthesis of Methane from CO2 via an Optimized Microbial & Electrochemical Hybrid System | |
| HM | Lucy Briody | RHS | Plastic Ingestion in Pelagic Sportfish | |
| HM | Thomas Livesay | ARHS | Determining the Ideal Management Strategy for Controlling Varroa Mite Levels | |
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Individual Completed Project, Health and Medical |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Olivia Hallisey | GHS | Temperature-Independent, Portable, and Rapid Home Detection Of Lyme Disease Using a Silk-Derived Lateral-Flow Salivary Test | |
| 1st | Shobhita Sundaram | GHS | Detection of Premalignant Pancreatic Cancer via Computational Analysis of Serum Proteomic Profiles | |
| 3rd | Kevin Santoro | RHS | The Effect of Insulin Growth Factor-I on Folliculogenesis in vitro | |
| HM | Caleigh Morr | DHS | IgM Expands Regulatory T Cells and Demonstrates Therapeutic Potential for Type 1 Diabetes | |
| HM | Sophia Chow | GHS | PDE-4 Inhibitor-Assisted Antibiotic Suppression of Borrelia Biofilm Growth for Treatment of Chronic Lyme | |
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Individual Completed Project, Physical Science |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Connor Li | GHS | Fabrication of a Magnetically Vertical-Aligned Boron Nitride Nanotube Membrane in a Lyotropic Precursor for Water Transport Applications | |
| 3rd | Steven Ma | GHS | Reliably Jammed Disk Packing: A Novel Feature of a Classic Geometry Problem | |
| HM | Samuel Pfrommer | DHS | Determining Salient Control Decisions of the Actuated Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum Traversing Slippery Terrain Using a Sliding Mass Model | |
| HM | Keri Tenerowicz | ARHS | The Effect of Different Textures of Coconut-Based Activated Carbon on the Adsorption of Dyes | |
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Individual Research Proposal, Behavioral |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Sofia Piriz | CSH | Determining Differences in Choice Blindness by Gender and Age | |
| 2nd | Tracy Lu | ARHS | Font Color And Memory | |
| 2nd | Nicole Mongillo | ARHS | The Effect of Sleep Duration on the Humor Perception of Freshmen in High School | |
| HM | Jack Tajmajer | ARHS | The Reactions of Various Ages to Visual Subconscious Stimuli | |
| HM | Maia Clarkin | RHS | The Impact of CpG Depletion via DNA Methylation on the Social Complexity of Insects | |
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Individual Research Proposal, Environmental |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Juliana Hopper | SHS | The Effect of EsMCsu1, from Eutrema Salsugineum, on Transformed Arabidopsis Related to Drought Resistance | |
| 2nd | Sophia Wang | ARHS | The Early Detection of Sink0holes | |
| 3rd | Carson Halabi | DHS | The Effect of Valencia Orange Oil in Bat Caves Infected with White-Nose Syndrome | |
| 3rd | Adrianna Davis | RHS | Using Stable Isotope Analysis to Estimate the Trophic Positions of Mackerel Sharks, Sand Tiger (C. taurus) and White (C. carcharias) | |
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Individual Research Proposal, Health and Medical |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Paul Hager | DHS | Regulatory miRNA Responses to shRNA-mediated Knockdown of PLEKHA7, a Novel Agent in Tumor Suppression, in Various Endothelial and Epithelial Cell Types | |
| 2nd | Julia Driscoll | RHS | The Effect of Low Level Laser Light Therapy on Genetically Corrected Skin Grafts for the Treatment of Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa | |
| 3rd | Natalie Silver | RHS | The Impact of Sodium Chloride on the Effectiveness of Beta-Interferon 1A to Treat Multiple Sclerosis | |
| 3rd | Catherine Li | RHS | The Effects of Phytochemicals on Autophagy in Rats | |
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Individual Research Proposal, Physical Science |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Aman Thombre | ARHS | Expanding the Materials Genome of Dielectric Materials Through Polyureas | |
| 2nd | Joshua Burns | RHS | Different material and case design effects on EM drive propellantless thrusters | |
| 3rd | Jack Hicks | RHS | Graphene Composites as Ballistic Resistant Materials | |
| HM | Talia Barry | ARHS | Effect of container type on the pH of water | |
| HM | Victor You | ARHS | The Effect of Left Lane Usage Laws on the Number of Traffic Accidents | |
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Team Completed Project |
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| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Samuel Mahler and Joseph Sugarmann | ARHS | The Effect of Foot Arch Height on the Area of Maximum Force the Foot Exerts While Running | |
| 2nd | Rosie Du and Courtney Greifenberger | ARHS | The Effect of Bio-Inspired Textures on Friction | |
| 2nd | Himay Dharani and Kelsey McCormack | ARHS | Analysis and Proving of “Cycloid”Universe Using Friedmann Equations and Torsion Cosmology | |
| HM | Summer Schaaf and Neha Sudhir | ARHS | The Impact of Ocean Acidification On Phytoplankton | |
| Team Research Proposal | ||||
| Award | Student | School | Title | |
| 1st | Aniruddha Murali and Zachary De Brino | SHS | The Effect of Different Catalysts on the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol | |
| 2nd | Caroline Dym and Lauren Burd | CSH | Evaluating the Bacteria Found in Indoor Play Areas Vs. Public Restrooms | |
| 3rd | Joseph Benedetti and Austin Gilbride | ARHS | The Effect of Predation and Availability of Resources on Habitat Selection of Oniscus asellus | |
| HM | Julia Herzig and Barbara Jones | CSH | The Effects of Choline on Learning, Memory, and Movement in C. elegans | |
Office of Naval Research Awardees:
| Daniel Pfrommer | Darien High School |
| Devyn Zaminski | Greenwich High School |
| Alexander Scheck | Ridgefield High School |
| Jacob Silliman | Amity Regional High School |
| Joshua Burns | Ridgefield High School |
ISEF Regional Awards at CT STEM Fair 2017
| Award | Description | Name | School |
| 1. Intel: Excellence in Computer Science Award | For outstanding achievement in the category of Computer Science | Andrew Benz | DHS |
| 2. Yale Science and Engineering Association | Most Outstanding Exhibit in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or Chemistry | Joshua Verdejo | RHS |
| 3. NASA Earth System Science Award | Presented to Student whose project offers the greatest insight into Earth’s interconnected system based on predetermined judging criteria | Agustina Stefani | GHS |
| 4. NOAA’s 2017 Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award | Presented to student whose research has demonstrated the principles and technical innovations that offer the greatest potential for an improved understanding of Earth’s dynamic processes | Felix Liu | ARHS |
| 5. Ricoh Sustainable Development Award 2017 | Presented to student whose research has demonstrated the principles and technical innovations that offer the greatest potential for sustainable development | Noah Sonnenberg | GFA |
| 6. The Society for In Vitro Biology | Certificate of outstanding achievement for ability and creativity in In Vitro Biology | Adam Roitman | GHS |
| 7. U.S. Metric Association (USMA) | For the best use of SI (The International System of Units) | Devyn Zaminski | GHS |
| 8. Mu Alpha Theta Award | For the most challenging, original, thorough and creative investigation of a problem involving mathematics accessible to high school student | Daniel Pfrommer | DHS |
| 9. American Meteorological Society | For excellence in atmospheric or related sciences | Charles Pratt
Ari Singer-Freeman |
RHS
DHS |
| 10. The American . Psychological Association: Certificate of Award | For achievement in research and psychological science | Neha Poshankar | ARHS |
| 11. ASM Materials Education Foundation: Certificate of Recognition | For most outstanding exhibit in Materials Science | Jethin Gowda | ARHS |
| 12. Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) | Outstanding project for Geoscience excellence | Dante Grace Minichetti | GHS |
| 13. Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SIWI) | Recognizing outstanding water-related research at the high school level. | Keri Tenerowicz
Connor Li Julia Todeasa |
ARHS
GHS ARHS |
ARHS: Amity Regional High School, CSH: Convent of the Sacred Heart, DHS: Darien High School, GFA: Greens Farms Academy, GHS: Greenwich High School, JBHS: Joel Barlow High School, NHS: Newtown High School, RHS: Ridgefield High School, SHS: Staples High School
