Chandler students win scholarships, awards at international science / engineering fair

In mid-May, Arizona Science Center recently traveled to Los Angeles with 18 local students ranging in grades from ninth to 12th to Los Angeles to compete at the 2024 International Science and Engineering Fair.

In total, Arizona students earned over $1 million in awards with 15 out of 18 students receiving honors.

The top winners were honored during two award ceremonies: the special awards on May 16 and the grand awards ceremony on the morning of May 17.

Overall, more than $9 million was awarded to the finalists based on their projects’ creativity, innovation and depth of scientific inquiry. The competition featured 1,700 young scientists representing 49 U.S. states and nearly 70 countries, regions, and territories across the world.

Students from all backgrounds demonstrated their knowledge and skill in a range of creative and rigorous projects that involve research and analysis, and engage students’ curiosity and passion.

Some Chandler-area students were among the honorees.

Amal Fayad, a senior from Arizona College Prep High School, won first place in the Physical Science Award presented by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society ($1,200), 3rd Place, Material Science ($1,000), and a scholarship to the University of Arizona for “Enhancing Tea-Waste Based Biopolymer Nanocomposite Performance through a Novel Synthetic Cuticular Hydrocarbon Bilayer Coating: A Sustainable Packaging Alternative.”

Siyaa Poddar, an ACPHS sophomore, also won first place in the physical science awards and was third in material science ($1,000). Poddar will receive a scholarship to the University of Arizona, for the same project Fayad worked on.

Another ACPHS sophomore, Brad Wu, won third place in biomedical engineering ($1,000) and a scholarship to the University of Arizona ($58,000) for “A Rigid-Elastic Hybrid Finger Exoskeleton Rehabilitation System (FERS) for Stroke Patients with Motor Impairment.”

Hamilton High School senior Baochan Fan won fourth place in Biomedical and Health Sciences ($500) and the China Association of Science and Technology (CAST) award ($1,200), for “A novel identification of the epigenetic enzyme JMJD1a in neuroinflammation.”

Three other Chandler students were awarded scholarships from Arizona universities. They are Jishnu Nayak and Ohm Patel of ACPHS for “Investigating the Apoptotic Induction Potential of Various Chemical Food Preservatives on Caenorhabditis elegans” and Prithika Chauhan of Hamilton for “Beyond the Stars: A Data-driven Approach to Exoplanet Categorization.”

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