On Saturday, March 16, over 120 gifted and talented students from the school districts of Roanoke City and Roanoke County, plus the Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology, competed in the 2019 Western Virginia Regional Science Fair. The fair was held at Roanoke College and sponsored by Appalachian Power Company. This year, all of the fair’s Grand Award winners, Alternate Grand Award winners, and first-place category award winners were Governor’s School students.
Western Virginia Regional Science Fair Grand Award Winners, presented by Appalachian Power
Luke Gardner and Luke Suess (RVGS/Patrick Henry High School)
Harrison Huang and Erik Scarlatescu (RVGS/Hidden Valley High School)
Kevin Sheng (RVGS/Cave Spring High School)
Grand Award winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. The fair will be held May 12-17 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Western Virginia Regional Science Fair Alternate Grand Award Winners
Shayom Debopadhaya (RVGS/Salem High School)
Logan Dunkenberger (RVGS/Glenvar High School)
Adi Iyer (RVGS/William Byrd High School)
Alternate Grand Award winners serve as alternates in the event that a Grand Award winner is unable to attend the international fair.
Western Virginia Regional Science Fair First-Place Award Winners
Each of the following first-place projects will advance to the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held at the Berglund Special Events Center in Roanoke on April 6.
Animal Sciences (tie)
The Effect of Hemp Extract on Seizures in Drosophila
Hannah Largen, RVGS/Franklin County High School
Teacher Sponsor: Cindy Bohland
The Effect of Microplastic on the Vitality of Hypsibius dujardin
Ethan Johnson, RVGS/William Fleming High School
London Paige, RVGS/William Fleming High School
Teacher Sponsor: Joanne Villers
Biomedical & Health Sciences/ Behavioral & Social Sciences (tie)
Big Data Analytics: Identification of Novel Cancer Progression Gene Signatures for Precision/Personalized Medicine
Kevin Sheng, RVGS/Cave Spring High School
Teacher Sponsor: Steve Smith
Goal-oriented Episodic Future Thinking and Delay Discounting in an Obese Population
Elysia Lin, RVGS/Franklin County High School
Madison Stein, RVGS/Franklin County High School
Teacher Sponsor: Melissa Fisher
Chemistry (tie)
The Removal of Azo Dyes Using Chitosan-Based Materials
Carly Smith, RVGS/Franklin County High School
Teacher Sponsor: Steve Smith
The Investigation of Lead Corrosion Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Uyen Tran, RVGS/William Fleming High School
Teacher Sponsor: Steve Smith
Cellular and Molecular Biology
The role of QSOX1 in the formation and development of skeletal muscles and synapses
Shayom Debopadhaya, RVGS/Salem High School
Teacher Sponsor: Cindy Bohland
Environmental Engineering
A Colorimetric intI1 Gene Gold Nanosensor for Monitoring Environmental Wastewater Pollution
Adi Iyer, RVGS/William Byrd High School
Teacher Sponsor: Joanne Villers
Engineering Mechanics
Navigational Aid for the Blind Utilizing LIDAR Technology
Luke Gardner, RVGS/Patrick Henry High School
Luke Suess, RVGS/Patrick Henry High School
Teacher Sponsor: Brent Holt
Earth and Environmental Sciences (tie)
Evaluating the Impact of Coal Ash Pollution though a C. elegans Developmental Model
Mary Grace Giles, RVGS/Patrick Henry High School
Teacher Sponsor: Cindy Bohland
The Impact of Aluminum and Silver Nanoparticles on Plants and Daphnia
Kunika Tiwari, RVGS/Patrick Henry High School
Teacher Sponsor: Steve Smith
Microbiology
Dynamic Roles of Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation: Identifying novel mechanisms for EBV-positive lymphoma progression and treatment
Logan Dunkenberger, RVGS/Glenvar High School
Teacher Sponsor: Cindy Bohland
Materials Science/Physics & Astronomy
The Effect of Nanomaterial Addition on the Physical Properties of Kudzu Bioplastic
Ryan Rigatti, RVGS/Lord Botetourt High School
Teacher Sponsor: Steve Smith
Plant Sciences (tie)
The Allelopathic Effect of C. verum on the Germination of P. oleracea
Ryan Mollin, RVGS/Franklin County High School
Teacher Sponsor: Matthew Browning
The Effect of Martian Regolith on the Growth of Five Different Plant Species
Isaac Fix, RVGS/William Byrd High School
Teacher Sponsor: Joanne Villers
Systems Software and Embedded Systems (tie)
Examining the Effectiveness of Convolutional Neural Networks for Determining Visual Fixation using fMRI
Harrison Huang, RVGS/Hidden Valley High School
Erik Scarlatescu, RVGS/Hidden Valley High School
Teacher Sponsor: Doug Divers
Interactive Storyteller to Improve Student Engagement and Performance
Reid Tenzer, RVGS/Patrick Henry High School
Teacher Sponsor: Doug Divers