Congratulations to the 2018 LRSEF Winners Anna and Naomi!

Congratulations to the 2018 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair Winners: Senior 2 Winner Anna Smirnova from Academic Magnet High School (teacher Katy Metzner-Roop) and Senior 1 Winner Naomi Higgins from The Georgetown School of Arts and Sciences (teacher Michelle Neubauer)!

Overall winners, Naomi Higgins and Anna Smirnova

With their research, Anna and Naomi each won their particular division of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held in April at the College of Charleston and presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), this May in Pittsburgh, PA.

The LHSM was proud to have both of these students represent the Lowcountry of South Carolina at the Intel ISEF. Anna’s research focused on how Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) affects the phase dynamics of the polymer in solution, to see if it might provide an additional nucleation site and increase aggregation and alter the final film morphology of the spin-coated solution. Naomi’s research tried to determine if music or sounds are motivational and improve concentration, or if they were distracting, while performing some type of math task.

Anna at her LRSEF PosterAnna is currently a senior at Academic Magnet High School, Charleston, SC. This summer She’ll be working in the physical chemistry lab with Dr. Boucher at the College of Charleston. Next year She’ll be studying chemistry at Duke University. In the future, she hopes to use the principles of physics and chemistry to make the world a better place, specifically in the energy and environment sector. After college, she hopes to get a Ph.D. in molecular engineering, physical chemistry, or a related field, and possibly work for the Department of Energy or maybe run her own lab at a university.

Naomi at the Intel ISEF 2018Naomi will be a Sophomore at The Georgetown School of Art and Sciences, Georgetown, SC. She is still not quite sure what the future holds for her, but she knows that she is interested in continuing her research around music and the effects it has on people.

Both girls attended the Intel ISEF in Pittsburgh and were truly amazed. Both students talked about the opportunities to meet new people and see the inspiring research going on from high school students. Anna said, “talking to people with similar interests from across the world was so fun, and it was inspiring to see so many kids doing such incredible work.” Naomi said, “The whole experience, for me, was life changing because it showed me that I may be in high school but I have the opportunities to change the world for the better with my work. I will never forget this experience.”

Naomi meeting students from all over the worldScience fair has in many schools fallen by the wayside, yet there are so many benefits to performing real-world research. I asked Anna and Naomi why they thought it was beneficial and here is what they said…Anna said, “I almost didn’t submit my project because I didn’t think my data was good enough. Just go for it, you never know what might happen! Even if you don’t win any prizes it is still a great opportunity to learn how to speak well, get advice on your project from actual scientists and to make connections. Also don’t be nervous about speaking in front of the judges, more than anything they are there to encourage you and push you to think more!” And Naomi, “I believe the science fair teaches students how to speak to adults and do it well, how to present themselves in a respectful way, and it allows students to explore different fields of science that they could truly be interested in. Science fair has only had a positive impact on me and I hope science fairs will continue for years to come.”

As the Intel ISEF says…the future is indeed bright for these science fair participants. And it is indeed bright for our own Anna Smirnova and Naomi Higgins!

2018 Lowcountry Science and Engineering Fair Winners Announced

The 2018 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at the College of Charleston TD Arena. Over 100 students participated showing off their wonderful projects in science, engineering and math. Congratulations to all of our winners, this list of which can be accessed at http://lhsm.cofc.edu/lowcountry-science-fair/index.php.

Student being judged at the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

The top winners this year included: From the Junior 1 Division (5th and 6th grade), Sam Owens, from Lowcountry Leadership Charter School, took 1st place for his project, What Does it Take for Clay to Break?, looking at the strength of various types of clay, including air dry, oven baked and epoxy- based clays. From the Junior 2 Division (7th and 8th grade), Ella Cheek, from The Georgetown School of Arts and Sciences, too 1st place for her project, Get Color Stoked, determining whether or not color evokes certain emotions in people. From the Senior 1 Division (9th and 10th grade), Naomi Higgins, from The Georgetown School of Arts and Sciences, took first place for her project, Test Tunes, an experiment to determine whether or not music or sounds are motivational and improve concentration. And from the Senior 2 Division (11th and 12th grades), Anna Smirnova from Academic Magnet High School, took first place for her project, The effect of fullerene additives on P3HT films processed in binary solution, to determine how CBM and various solution preparation methods affect the aggregation of P3HT.

Overall winners, Naomi Higgins and Anna Smirnova

The overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was Anna Smirnova, who will travel to Pittsburgh, PA to present her project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In addition, this year, the overall second place winner, Naomi Higgins, will also travel there. Amazing Projects!

Thank you to all students, teachers, parents and judges that participated, encouraging STEM minds!

2017 Lowcountry Science and Engineering Fair Winners Announced

The 2017 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at the College of Charleston TD Arena. Over 120 students participated showing off their wonderful projects in science, engineering and math. Congratulations to all of our winners, this list of which can be accessed at http://lhsm.cofc.edu/lowcountry-science-fair/index.php.

Two Engineering students from Stall High School with their high altitude balloon payload.

The top winners this year included: From the Junior 1 Division (5th and 6th grade), Lindsey Fauerbach, from East Cooper Montessori School, took 1st place for her project, Enjoy the Ride about coding an mBot, a robotic car, to prove that self-driving cars are now realistic. From the Junior 2 Division (7th and 8th grade), Benjamin Lipschutz, from Addlestone Hebrew Academy, took first place for his project, Evaluation of the Five Second Rule and Beyond, to test food that is on the floor for less than and more than five seconds to assess if it becomes contaminated. From the Senior 1 Division (9th and 10th grade), Rachel Esienhart, from Palmetto Scholars Academy, took first place for her project, Brain Food: Multisensory Perception and Interference, an experiment to determine whether or not the McGurk effect could be applied to sight and taste. And from the Senior 2 Division (11th and 12th grades), Jenny Yao from academic Magnet High School, took first place for her project, Identifying Limiting Nutrient on Stem Cell Spheroid Viability for Human Cardiac Tissue Regeneration, which looked at Stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte spheroids as potential cell delivery systems that improve cell retention and engraftmen.

Overall Winners Jenny Yao and Ali DeLambo with teacher Katy Metzner-Roop

The overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was Jenny Yao, who will travel to Los Angeles, CA to present her project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In addition, this year, the overall second place winner, Ali DeLambo will also travel there. Amazing Projects!

Thank you to all students, teachers, parents and judges that participated, encouraging STEM minds!

Congratulations to the 2016 LRSEF Winner Isabella Neubauer!

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Congratulations to the 2016 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair Winner, Isabella Neubauer! Isabella researched whether online personality tests can accurately measure a person’s personality by testing if the results varied over time. Studies like Isabella’s are important because with an emphasis on social media and personality quizzes, we need to understand the science behind these influences. For example, there are online personality quizzes that employers could use to gauge what type of person you are to use in the hiring decision making process.

Isabella found that her participants’ personality test results changed after two weeks of their first quiz, indicating that these tests might not be an accurate representation of one’s personality. She deduced that, “…the results of online personality tests are not an accurate representation of people’s personalities, and while they may be fun, caution should be exercised for real world applications.”

While doing this research, Isabella took it a step further and investigated the link between music preferences and the “Big 5” personality types. Isabella concluded that there was not a strong connection; however she did find that, “country listeners tended to have low neuroticism and openness, Classical/Christian listeners were agreeable, conscientious, and not neurotic, and rock listeners were introverted.”

With this research, Isabella won the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held in April at the College of Charleston and presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), this May in Phoenix, AZ. Of her trip to the Intel ISEF, she said, “…being able to be a part of the competition at such a high level was awesome, but a little scary too. Interacting with the other competitors and learning about their projects was inspiring – learning from and sometimes just goofing off with some of the smartest kids in the world. Definitely a unique experience.” The LHSM was proud to have Isabella represent the Lowcountry of South Carolina at the Intel ISEF. Her trip was made possible through a donation by the Charleston Defense Contractors Association.

Isabella will be a Junior at The Georgetown School of Art and Sciences, Georgetown, SC. She is still not quite sure what the future holds for her, but she knows that she is interested in science, photography and editing, and history.

As the Intel ISEF says…the future is indeed bright for these science fair participants. And it is indeed bright for our own Isabella Neubauer.

2016 Lowcountry Science Fair Winners Announced

The 2016 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at the College of Charleston TD Arena. Over 120 students participated showing off their wonderful projects in science, engineering and math. Congratulations to all of our winners, this list of which can be accessed at http://lhsm.cofc.edu/lowcountry-science-fair/index.php.

Student presenting his science fair project to one of our judges.

Student presenting his science fair project to one of our judges.

The top winners this year included: From the Junior 1 Division (5th and 6th grade), McAndrew Mangan and John Wohlsheid, from Fort Johnson Middle School, took 1st place for their real world problem solving, creating Kinesthetic Speed Bumps, providing the James Island County Park Festival of Lights an alternative source of energy to pwer their amazing light displays. From the Junior 2 Division (7th and 8th grade), Isabella Hehr, from the Lowcountry Leadership Charter School, took first place for her project, Electric Night Mares, in which she exposed mares to incandescent lighting to simulate increase in daylight so that their bodies would assume that it was Spring or Summer which is their normal breeding season, potentially bearing foals earlier in the season. From the Senior 1 Division (9th and 10th grade), Isabella Neubauer, from The Georgetown School of Arts an Sciences, took first place for her project, Music in my Mind, in which to determine if any connection exists between personality as measured by the Big 5 test and music preferences. And from the Senior 2 Division (11th and 12th grades), Emily Ingalls from academic Magnet High School, took first place for her project, Increasing the Efficacy of Corneal Cross-linking [CXL] to treat Keratoconic Eyes, a disease of the cornea.
Isabella Neubauer, overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Isabella Neubauer, overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Isabella Neubauer, overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair.[/caption]The overall winner of the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was Isabella Neubauer, who will travel to Phoenix, AZ to present her project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Amazing Projects!

Thank you to all students, teachers, parents and judges that participated, encouraging STEM minds!

2015 Lowcountry Science Fair Winners Announced

The 2015 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the College of Charleston TD Arena. Over 120 students participated showing off their wonderful projects in science, engineering and math. Congratulations to all of our winners, this list of which can be accessed at http://lhsm.cofc.edu/lowcountry-science-fair/index.php.

IMG_1283Thank you to all students, teachers, parents and judges that participated, encouraging STEM minds!

Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair 2015 | March 24

The Lowcountry Hall of Science and Math is pleased to announce the 2015 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair for Tuesday March 24, 2015 at the TD Arena. Please mark this date on your calendar.
science fair participant discussing her science fair project with the judges
Given the new science standards and some research that has been done regarding science fair, we would like to slowly begin moving in a new direction. As such, we will be adding a new category this year: Problem-Based. This category will include projects that are whole class projects, structured around real-life problems – something relevant to the community and your students. They will be done in class as part of a science theme (this idea fits nicely with the science and engineering practices and the crosscutting concepts found within the new standards). Questions could be related to things like climate change/sea level rise, water pollution, invasive species, engineering new designs for renewable energy, etc. This list could go on and on. The goal however is to get students more engaged in and practicing scientific inquiry, using those important science and engineering practices:

  • Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
  • Developing and using models
  • Planning and carrying out investigations
  • Analyzing and interpreting data
  • Using mathematics and computational thinking
  • Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
  • Engaging in argument from evidence
  • Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

If you would like to pursue this route rather than the classic science fair (which is totally acceptable as well), I will be more than happy to help you and your students in any way that I can…determining a question, finding a scientist or engineer mentor (at a local College), obtaining equipment for collecting and analyzing data, etc. Please let me know! To participate in the regional science fair, you would need to select 2 students to represent your classroom at the fair. If the project wins, instead of the student(s) getting an award, the classroom would be get the award.

Again, there will be the classic science fair; however we would like to begin moving in a new direction. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the new science standards and this new approach to science fair.

Congratulations to the 2014 LRSEF Winner Irene Cheng!

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Congratulations to the 2014 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair Winner Irene Cheng! Irene presented her research on the Antibacterial Agent Triclosan as a Growth Inhibitor of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Basically, Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent used in commercial goods since 1972 and is now found in a variety of household items and personal care products. Irene researched whether this agent was able to control or kill certain strains of bacteria. What she found was that Triclosan can stop the growth and reproduction of bacteria as long as the concentration of Triclosan-containing hand soap was sufficient.

Studies like Irene’s are important as the Food and Drug Administration crack down on agents that are considered antibacterial but that may be harmful to humans and the environment. For example, there are questions about Triclosan’s effect on the body’s endocrine system. In addition, an environmental working group found that more than 75% of the population has Triclosan in urine and is passed out of our systems making its way to our lakes, rivers and streams. Understanding these antibacterial agents will provide scientists and the public with a better knowledge of whether they are truly useful in combating bacteria or if they are too harmful to the environment to continue use.

With this research, Irene won the Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held in April at the College of Charleston and presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), this May in Los Angeles, CA. Of her trip to the Intel ISEF, she said, “The trip was absolutely amazing and inspiring! The people we met from all over the world were so smart, creative, and innovative! The trip was honestly life changing and I feel so grateful to have been able to have gone.” The LHSM was proud to have Irene represent the Lowcountry of South Carolina at the Intel ISEF. Her trip was made possible through a donation by the Charleston Defense Contractors Association.

Irene currently is a senior at Academic Magnet High School. She worked with faculty at the College of Charleston, specifically Dr. Vijay Vulava, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, in her data collection and analysis. She is planning on attending the Honors College at Clemson University this fall on a full ride – Wow! She plans to major in Biology or Biomedical Engineering, continuing her research career, eventually working towards a Masters and PhD.

As the Intel ISEF says…the future is indeed bright for these science fair participants. And it is indeed bright for our own Irene Cheng.

2014 Lowcountry Science Fair Winners Announced

The 2014 Lowcountry Regional Science and Engineering Fair was held Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at the College of Charleston TD Arena. Over 75 students participated showing off their wonderful projects in science, engineering and math. Congratulations to all of our winners, this list of which can be accessed at http://lhsm.cofc.edu/lowcountry-science-fair/index.php.

Thank you to all students, teachers, parents and judges that participated, encouraging STEM minds!
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Save the Date: Lowcountry Science Fair to be held April 1

The 2014 Lowcountry Science and Engineering Fair (LSF) will be held Tuesday April 1, 2014 at the College of Charleston TD Arena, Meeting Street. Registration and forms will be due on Friday, March 7, 2014.

The LSF is open to students in grades 5-12 in Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Georgetown counties. More information regarding registration will be sent out at a later date.