May 23, 2013
Student Scientists Experiment with Success at National Science Fair
Students at the District School Board of Niagara are being celebrated for their innovation, creativity and meticulous research. At the recently held Canada Wide Science Fair (CWSF) in Lethbridge, Alberta, students earned an impressive eight medals, including one gold, three silver and four bronze.
Sir Winston Churchill’s Varsha Jayasankar had a gold medal showing with her project, “CACE II: Identifying Novel Anti-Microbial Compounds in Mango Ginger”. Her researched shows than an extract from mango ginger could be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to many conventional pesticides. So encouraging are the results that Jayasankar has filed a patent on her research. In addition to her gold medal, Jayasankar also earned over $20,000 worth of entrance scholarships to various Canadian universities.
The following students were awarded silver medals at the CWSF:
- Neha Gulati, Lakeview Public School, “The Future of Math Fact Mastery”
- Roman Kozak, Grade 10, Grimsby Secondary, “The sign language glove (a human interface device)”
- Jielin Liu, Sir Winston Churchill, “Effects of Language Fluency and Priming Using EEG Analysis”
The following students were awarded bronze medals at the CWSF:
- Emily Chemnitz, Sir Winston Churchill, “Rat Vocalizations in Social Encounters”
- Nicolaas Doyle, Grand Avenue Public School, “Jammed Up! Testing a Universal Jamming Gripper”
- Ben Friesen, Grimsby Secondary, “A System for the Modification of Light in a Greenhouse”
- William Preston, Beamsville District Secondary, “Nomadic Furniture”
DSBN Science and Environmental Education Consultant Nancy Bridgeman said that all students “represented their schools and the Board with distinction. They should be proud of their achievements which are the result of many long hours of work and careful research.”
The Canada-Wide Science Fair is the country’s largest extra-curricular youth science event. This year’s edition will showcased the talent and efforts of more than 500 students from Grades 7 to 12. The fair was held May 11 - 18.