Catholic students garner multiple awards at regional science fair

Friday, Apr. 24, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Elementary and high school students at public and private schools in the greater Salt Lake area participated at the Salt Lake Valley Science & Engineering Fair March 24-26 at the University of Utah. During the competition, the students presented their results using a project display board; they also were interviewed by at least four judges. When the results were tallied, Utah Catholic school students had won 47 of the more than 250 awards, with Juan Diego Catholic High School senior Alexander George-Kennedy being named the grand prize winner (see story, left.)

The list of Catholic school student winners follows.

Engineering & Computer Science: First place – James Baird, St. Joseph Elementary 

Chemistry: Honorable Mention – Samuel VanDongen, St. Olaf

Energy & Transportation: Honorable Mention – Alexander Robert, St. Joseph Elementary 

Environmental Sciences: Third place – Pearl Marden, St. Joseph Elementary; Honorable Mention – Sarah Graham, Blessed Sacrament

Physics, Astronomy & Math: Honorable Mention – Wesley Durbano, St. Joseph Elementary 

Plant & Earth Sciences: Honorable Mention – Olivia Dario, St. Joseph Elementary 

Cellular & Molecular Biology: First place – Isabella DiNardo, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial; Second place –Constance Viollet, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial; Third place – Emily Malouf, St. Vincent de Paul 

Chemistry: First place – Christopher Clyne, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial; Second place – Olivia Rollman, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial 

Earth & Planetary Science: Second place – Maggie Condas, St. Francis Xavier; Third place – John Flanagan, St. John the Baptist Middle School

Electrical & Mechanical Engineering: Second place – Noah Robert, St. Joseph Elementary 

Materials & Civil Engineering: First place – Anna Drossos, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial; Second place – Jack Shuckra, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial; Third place, Olivia Culley, St. Francis Xavier 

Environmental Management: First place – Sante Di Sera, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial 

Environmental Sciences: Third place – Lindsey Holly, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial

Microbiology: Third place – Claire Bruggers, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial 

Physics & Astronomy: Second place – Hailey Warden, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial 

Plant Sciences: First place – Olivia Hanson, The Madeleine Choir School 

Biochemistry: First place – Gabe Freeman, Juan Diego CHS; Third place – Amado Toledo, Juan Diego CHS

Chemistry: First place – Rex Alley, Juan Diego CHS

Computer Science: Second place – Alexander George-Kennedy, Juan Diego CHS

Microbiology: Second place – David Fenton, Juan Diego CHS

Intel ISEF Grand Champion award: Alexander George-Kennedy of Juan Diego CHS was one of the six winners; there also was an alternate.

American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Utah Section: James Baird, St. Joseph Elementary, for his project Crack Catastrophe

Broadcom Masters: 6th Grade –James Baird, St. Joseph Elementary 

Broadcom Masters: 7th and 8th Grade – Olivia Hanson, The Madeleine Choir School, for her project Effects of Rhizobia Bacteria Inoculation on Early Plant Growth; Hailey Warden, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial, for her project Swimming in the Fast Lane; Anna Drossos, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial, for her project “Do Sound Effects and Visual Patterns Affect Balance?; and Christopher Clyne, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial, for his project The Effect of Brining on the Sodium Content of Meat

American Society of Civil Engineers: Junior Division – Michael Romero, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial, for his project Homemade Cement; and Olivia Culley, St. Francis Xavier, for her project “Stocked” Up Water

Intel Excellence in Computer Science: Alexander George-Kennedy, Juan Diego CHS, for his project Binary Classification of fMRI Data to Diagnose Patients with Autism Spectra Disorder

Salt Lake Public Utilities: Junior Division – Olivia Culley, St. Francis Xavier, “Stocked” Up Water

US Air Force: Senior Division – Rex Alley, Juan Diego CHS, for his project A Computational Study of Ligand Influence in N-Heterocyclic Carbene Chemistry

US Public Health Service: Connor Helgeson, Juan Diego CHS, for his project The Versatility of the Coiled-Coil in Cancer Therapeutics

Yale Science and Engineering Associations: Rex Alley, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  A Computational Study of Ligand Influence in N-Heterocyclic Carbene Chemistry 

National Center for Women and Information Technology: Honorable Mentions to Sydney Ross St. John the Baptist Middle School, for her project Are You Safe Behind The Glass?; Gabby Faulkner, St. Joseph Elementary, for her project Measuring Facial Perfection: The Golden Ratio; Sydney Ross, St. John the Baptist Middle School, for his project Are You Safe Behind The Glass?; Christina Valentine, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial, for her project  Does the Length of the Barrel of a Ping-Pong Ball Gun Affect the Accuracy?; and Olivia Culley, St. Francis Xavier, for her project “Stocked” Up Water

4-H Honorable Mention: Nic Bruno, St. Vincent de Paul, for his project Which Two-piece Golf Ball Travels Farthest? 

4-H Junior Division First Prize: Noah Robert, St. Joseph Elementary, for his project Prodigious Power 

Westminster College $1,000 Scholarships: Michael Enda, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  Transepithilial Transport of Dendrimers; Gabe Freeman, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  Truncating and Capping a Coiled-Coil Peptide for Treatment of CML; Kevin Furukawa, Juan Diego CHS, for his project Nanoparticle Mass Spectrometry; Amber Wolff, Juan Diego CHS, for her project Differences in Quality of Sleep between Stroke and Non-Stroke Patients; Connor Helgeson, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  High The Versatility of the Coiled-Coil in Cancer Therapeutics; Amado Toledo, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  Optimal Conditions for Prenyltransferase Activity; Rex Alley, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  A Computational Study of Ligand Influence in N-Heterocyclic Carbene Chemistry; Alexander George-Kennedy, Juan Diego CHS, for his project Binary Classification of fMRI Data to Diagnose Patients with Autism Spectra Disorder; and David Fenton, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  Bioactivity Guided Isolation of Antimicrobial Compounds from Tunicate Associated Bacteria

Westminster College $80,000 Scholarship: Alexander George-Kennedy, Juan Diego CHS, for his project  Binary Classification of fMRI Data to Diagnose Patients with Autism Spectra Disorder