More than 60 Rockwood Students Earn Ribbons, Awards at Academy of Science-St. Louis Science Fair

A total of 66 students from 15 Rockwood elementary, middle and high schools – plus an entire class of Geggie Elementary fourth-graders – recently earned ribbons in their grade levels for their projects at the Academy of Science-St. Louis Science Fair.

The fair, which was held in a virtual format, is the premier STEM fair in St. Louis, with more than 80,000 K-12 students representing 200 schools throughout the region. Close to $40,000 in scholarships and awards are presented to top students annually. Each year, nearly 1,000 area students participate in the fair.

A total of 17 Rockwood students – plus teacher Rachel Rowan’s Geggie fourth-graders – earned Special Awards from the fair’s sponsors to go along with their ribbons, while 22 earned blue ribbons, 11 earned red ribbons and 16 earned green ribbons.

Marquette High students Satvik Seetharaman, Dhruv Bhosekar and Vihaan Sawardekar also earned awards in the Honors Division of the fair, which were presented in March. As the second-place finisher, Seetharaman qualified to compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Columbus, Ohio, in May.

Congratulations to these outstanding Rockwood students!

Special Award Recipients

• Amol Bansal, Marquette High (American Statistical Association (St. Louis Chapter) Excellence in the Application of Statistical Methods) -- Mapping Hidden Patterns: The Evolution of Geospatial Epidemiology
• Saanvi Boinepally, Marquette (American Medical Women's Association of  Washington University School of Medicine Award) -- Detecting Heart Failure Before It Strikes: In Silico Analysis of Aptamer-Mediated Perm1 Protein Detection in Systolic Heart Failure (CHF)
• Saumya Janakiram, Selvidge Middle (Bayer Outstanding Young  Scientists Award) – Balance Act
• Steffina Jesu, Pond Elementary (MOST 529 Award) – I Protect My Plants
• Vidyuth Kamesh, Marquette (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - St. Louis Section Award) -- Electrodynamic Flow Control: Enhancing Aerodynamic Efficiency via Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators for Active Drag Reduction
• Dhanasri Kavuri, Selvidge (Bayer Outstanding Young  Scientists Award) -- The Effect of Temperature and pH on Catalase
• Evey Kuhn, Fairway Elementary (MOST 529 Award) -- Bakingly Awesome: The Perfect Cookie
• Kaira Malhotra, Westridge Elementary (Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) St Louis Award) – How Does Hydraulics Work?
• Anvika Malugu, Crestview Middle (Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge) -- Vanishing Gummy Bears: Exploring the Dissolution of Gelatin in Different Liquids
• Lithiksha Puviarasu, Selvidge (Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award, Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge) -- Smart Cane and Smart Shoes for the Visually Challenged
• Rachel Rowan’s fourth-grade class, Geggie Elementary (Academy of Science - St. Louis Young Investigators Award) -- Egg Drop Capsules
• Rajan Sankarasubramanian, Selvidge (Naval Science Award) -- Effect of Energy Variation in a Van de Graaff Generator
• Anish Saravanan and Harini Saravanan, Crestview (Bayer Outstanding Young  Scientists Award) -- COVID-19 Aftermath: Mind Rehabilitation
• Ronav Sawardekar, Crestview (Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge) -- The Impact of Different Light Wavelengths on Algae Growth for Biofuel Production
• Vihaan Sawardekar, Marquette (Missouri Botanical Garden Award) -- Genomics-Phenomics Integration for Optimized Maize Breeding
• Satvik Seetharaman, Marquette (Bayer Top Young Scientists Award) -- Effectiveness of Heterogeneous COVID-19 Policies: County-Level Analyses Using Mathematical Epidemiology Models
• Shrey Sharma, Marquette (American Institute of Chemical Engineers - St. Louis Section Award) -- Brilliant Bioplastics

Blue Ribbon Recipients

• Venkata Pavan Alluri, Westridge Elementary and Aarush Mumbala, Wild Horse Elementary -- Is a Video Gamer’s Reaction Time Better than a Non-video Gamer?
• Aadhira Balan, Woerther Elementary -- Watt's Up? Identifying Energy Draining Electronic Devices
• Nihal Bathini and Aadhya Jetta, Wild Horse -- SuperSeeder: Supporting Farmers & Communities
• Dhruv Bhosekar, Marquette -- Analyzing Functional Connectivity Patterns in Pre-Ictal and Interictal States of Epilepsy: A Mathematical Approach
• Muskaan Bothra, Green Pines Elementary -- Hurricane Houses: Will it Stand?
• Vivaan Chechani, Wildwood Middle -- 3D Bioprinting: What's Next with AI?
• Kriti Katakam, Green Pines -- Generative AI-Based Behavioral Therapy for Children
• Tejaswi Kavuri, Woerther – Slider Crank Mechanism
• Radha Khare and Shreeya Khare, Crestview -- Analyzing Differences in the Notes for Classical Music Excerpts Portraying Different Emotions
• Rohan Krishnan, Green Pines – Apple Oxidation
• Anirudh Kuchipudi, Wild Horse, and Sree Vibha Meka, Ellisville Elementary -- Picture Perfect or Pixel Perfect?
• Nayana Narendrula, Crestview -- Berry DNA Discovery
• Katarina Oelschlaeger, Wild Horse – Physics of Ballet
• Avyukth Raghuraman and Arpitha Sureshkumar, Lafayette High -- The Efficacy of Lactobacillus-Based Mitigation on Antibacterial Resistance in Capsicum Annuum
• Harjas Singh, Wild Horse -- Most Efficient Water Filtration Medium
• Leo Torgoley, Kehrs Mill Elementary -- My Invisible Classmates: What Part of My School Has the Most Germs?
• Adith Vipin, Crestview -- The Science of Mold:  How Honey Can Keep Bread Fresh

Red Ribbon Recipients

• Ella Arbuszewski, Rockwood Valley Middle – Ex-seeding Expectations
• Lily Arbuszewski, Babler Elementary – Sizzling with the Sun
• Shreyansh Guduru and Nikhilesh Samuthiravel Muthukumar, Crestview -- Genetics: What Are They and What Are Some Applications?
• Aakesh Jha, Woerther – Water Cycle
• Varun Kamesh, Crestview – Chromo-colors
• Mokshika Sri Kannan and Srisakthi Rajamadasamy, Wild Horse -- From Waves to Tunes: The Making of Sri-tar
• Akshaya Suthanthirakumar Kasirajan, Selvidge -- How Does Meditation Affect Your Heart Rate?
• Madhav Varanasi, Green Pines -- Effects of Light on Plant Germination
• Abith Vipin, Wild Horse -- Can You "Water" Plants with Other Liquids?

Green Ribbon Recipients

• Krishikhaa Anandanarayanan and Bhuvan Kodiyarasan, Wild Horse – Static Electricity
• Ashley Arokia Raj, Wild Horse – Exploring Surface Tension
• Aarav Balan, Selvidge -- Banana Peel Bioremediation: Reducing Copper Contamination in Water
• Mason Fu and Lucas Sun, Wild Horse -- Study of Phases of the Moon and Solar Eclipse
• Swara Himpalnerkar and Sri Aahana Vavilala, Crestview -- Model of Power Generation: Hydro Electric & Wind Turbine
• Steve Jesu, Wildwood – Homemade Slushy
• Krithi Krishnareddy, Babler -- Can Germs Really Wait? Testing the 5-Second Rule
• Sidney Leahy, Westridge – Extraordin-AIR-y Airplanes
• Caroline Oelschlaeger, Crestview -- Perception of Name Brands on Taste
• Harsh Sodavadiya, Crestview -- Why the Full Moon Appears Larger at the Horizon than Overhead
• Saanvi Upadhyay and Souravi Upadhyay, Crestview -- Revolutionizing Agriculture: The Power of CRISPR and AI in Editing Plant Genomes
• Veda Valsa Pradeep, Westridge -- Does Water Purity Affect Surface Tension