June 2, 2023

A total of 66 students from 13 Rockwood elementary, middle and high schools recently earned blue or red ribbons in their grade levels for their projects at the Academy of Science-St. Louis Regional 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. This year, more than 900 area students participated in the fair.

A total of 11 Rockwood students earned Special Awards from the fair’s sponsors to go along with their blue ribbons, while 32 earned blue ribbons and 23 earned red ribbons.

Marquette High senior Alex M. Chen and junior Alice Liu also earned awards in the Honors Division of the fair. Chen earned first place for his project, “Aural Real-Time Position-Determining Model and Influencing Factors,” and Liu earned second for her project, “Modified Nanoporous Gold Sensor for the Electrochemical Detection of Acetaminophen.”

Both students earned $2,000 scholarships and advanced to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where they competed with students around the world. Liu earned a third-place award of $2,000 from the American Chemical Society at ISEF and a fourth-place award in the Chemistry category, placing her in the top 18 of more than 90 international finalists in her category.

Chen, who will continue his studies at the University of Virginia, and Liu will both be recognized at the 26th Academy of Science-St. Louis Outstanding Scientist Awards Dinner on Sept. 20

Congratulations to these outstanding Rockwood students!

Blue Ribbon and Special Award Recipients

• Alex M. Chen, Marquette High (American Statistical Association St. Louis Excellence in the Application of Statistical Methods Award) – Aural Real-Time Position-Determining Model and Influencing Factors
• Joseph Duehl and Alex Jones, Crestview Middle (Bayer Outstanding Scientist Award and Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Certificate) -- Effects of Fertilizer Concentration on Zinnia Root Length and Color, Grown in Soil-less Substrates
• Radha Khare, Crestview (Bayer Outstanding Scientist Award) -- Studying Solar Storms with a Magnetometer
• Shreeya Khare, Wild Horse Elementary (Air and Waste Management Association Award) -- Examining Sea Level Rise and Differential Shoreline Response
• Liam King, Fairway Elementary (St. Louis Mineral and Gem Society Award) -- Rocky Road
• Tanujha Manikandan and Uma Narayanan, Crestview (Bayer Outstanding Scientist Award) -- Sattvic Food : How does sattvic eating help a daily lifestyle?
• Rajan Sankara Subramanian, Selvidge Middle (Bayer Outstanding Scientist Award) -- Simple Electric Motor
• Shrey Sharma, Crestview (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics of St. Louis Award and Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Certificate) -- Vitamin C Necessity - Which citrus fruit has the most vitamin C?
• Audra Yoder, Marquette (St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society Award) -- The Significance of the Concentration of Lactobacillus Acidophilus on Gastrointestinal Infectious Diseases in the Context of the Gut Microbiome

Blue Ribbon Recipients

• Ella Arbuszewski, Babler Elementary -- Un-peel-leaf-able
• Aadhira Balan, Woerther Elementary -- Tooth Be Told: The Juicy Truth About Teeth Staining Liquids
• Amol Bansal, Crestview -- The Ubiquitous Fibonacci Series and The Golden Ratio
• Wesley Becker, Westridge Elementary -- Closing Time: A Study of Circuits
• George Buelt, Ridge Meadows Elementary -- Bacteria Lurking Among Us: Confirming the Presence of Bacteria & the Effect of Cleaners on Bacteria Growth
• Joshua Elkan, Kehrs Mill Elementary -- Earthquake: Will it Stand
• Amrita Immidisetti and Nayana Narendrula, Wild Horse -- Iron in Food
• Saumya Janakiram, Woerther -- What makes a basketball bounce high?
• Rudhvi Jetta and Sribalaji Rajamadasamy, Wild Horse -- Hands to Robots: Project SnowX
• Ahana Joshi, Green Pines Elementary -- How to stop apple from Browning
• Varun Kamesh, Kehrs Mill -- Tummy Gummy
• Vidyuth Kamesh, Crestview -- Investigating Viscosity
• Abhay Karlapalem, Green Pines -- A Miniature Robot Sensor Testing
• Vivienne Kent, Babler -- Recycled Soap: It’s Safe and Good for the Environment
• Iraj Khajuria, Green Pines -- Magic roots stops soil erosion
• Thomas King, Fairway -- The Cookie Dunking Contest
• Krithi Krishnareddy, Babler -- Decoding the world of DNA - Strawberry DNA extraction
• Anirudh Kuchipudi and Sree Vibha Meka, Wild Horse -- For Steady Wi-Fi Today, Keep These Materials Away
• Deacon Kuhn, Fairway -- Robot Eyes: Operating a Robot through a Camera's Lens
• Alice Liu, Marquette -- Modified Nanoporous Gold Sensor for the Electrochemical Detection of Acetaminophen
• Kaira Malhotra, Westridge -- Digital Story Telling
• Nichole Miller, Babler -- Handwashing Methods
• Neeva Mohapatra, Westridge -- A Train Without Wheels!
• Katarina Oelschlaeger, Wild Horse -- Potato, Potato, Potato: Energy Power
• Linus Olimpio, Geggie Elementary -- Do Dragons Fly Better than Planes: A Tail about Flying
• Siddharth Sawant, Crestview -- Climate Change Today: The Effects of Global Warming
• Satvik Seetharaman, Marquette -- Algorithmic Fairness in AI: A Criminal Justice Application
• Madhav Varanasi, Green Pines – How Batteries Work to Generate Electricity
• Joelle Zemaitis, Babler -- Density of the Dead Sea

Red Ribbon Recipients

• Aadrith Ala and Rayan Goswami, Wild Horse -- Manage Carbon Footprint
• Aarav Balan, Woerther -- Investigating the Fibonacci Sequence in the Natural World
• Jack Cammarata, Babler -- What is in that candy?
• Aaradhya Chakravarthi, Wild Horse -- Power Generation: Wind to Energy
• Vivaan Chechani, Green Pines -- Tay-Sachs - Can modified Bacteria or Viruses help?
• Kaira Kandera and Neha Kumpati, Crestview -- Zero vs. Regular Drinks: What's Better?
• Dhanasri Kavuri, Woerther -- Study of heat Conduction
• Tejaswi Kavuri, Woerther -- Study of Oobleck with different starches
• Sibi Kumanan, Wild Horse -- Solar Oven
• Ashriya Lnu, Westridge -- Transformation of Sound to Emotions by Brainwaves
• Christopher Luckner, Woerther -- What is the Most Common Color of M & M's?
• Caroline Oelschlaeger, Wild Horse -- Soaking up the Rays:  A Solar Oven
• Steffi Pais, Wild Horse – Balloon Car
• Prakher Pandey, Crestview -- Day and night science
• Lithiksha Puviarasu, Ridge Meadows -- Zoo Monitoring system
• Sebastian Sauer, Babler -- The Power of Water in Fluid Mechanics-Hydraulic Arm Model
• Sowmyan Sridhar Kumuthapriya, Crestview -- Water Flow Electric Power
• Saanvi and Souravi Upadhyay, Westridge -- The World Of Artificial Intelligence
• Medha Varanasi, Wildwood Middle -- How Does Global Warming Affect Ocean Currents
• Nicolas Zemaitis, Babler – Black Holes