FCPS Science and Engineering Fair: Walkersville Middle student Vineet Ravichandran Earns Grand Prize

Frederick County Public Schools announces winners in the 35th annual Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair, hosted at Tuscarora High last Saturday, April 2. Earning the grand prize were Middletown High School students Richard Derr and Frederika Rentzeperis for their project, “Differential Rotation As an Explanation for Saturn’s B-Field Periodicity.” They will represent Frederick County at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona, next month.

Walkersville Middle student Vineet Ravichandran earned the grand prize at the middle school level for “Accelerated Math Can Help Us Save Money on Weekly Groceries.” The runner up was Urbana Middle student Soujanya Viswanathan for “An APEELing Method of Lead Filtration.”

Brunswick student Rachel Beall and Urbana students Sean Chen and Nathan Davis qualified as high school ISEF student observers.

Earning first place awards at the high school level, in addition to the grand prize winners named above for their win in the Physics and Astronomy category and also named the champions in Observational/Theoretical Design, were the team of Urbana student Bohan Shan and home-schooled student Carrie Pritt tied with Eric Solender from Urbana High in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Kathryn Dailey from Tuscarora in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Eric Fields from Middletown in Mathematics, and Caleb Chen from Walkersville in Robotics and Intelligent Machines. Additional champions in high school design were Eric Fields in Experimental Design as well as Carrie Pritt and Bohan Shan Engineering Design.

Earning second place awards at the high school level were Tuscarora student Miguel Rodriguez in Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Nathan Davis and Sean Chen in Engineering Mechanics.

Rachel Beall earned third place in Energy: Chemical and Physical.

High school honorable mention awards went to Tuscarora student Jared Graham and Urbana student Ezeki Ganesan in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Urbana student Mukesh Loganathan in Microbiology, and Gov Thomas Johnson (TJ) student Gerald Sare in Physics and Astronomy.

The following high school students earned regional awards affiliated with the Intel ISEF. Kathryn Dailey and Jared Graham won the American Meteorological Society Award. Kathryn Dailey also won the Association for Women Geoscientists Award, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award, a Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the US Public Health Service Distinguishing Achievement Third Place Award. Rachel Beall and Ezeki Ganesan won the Arizona State University Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives Award. Rachel Beall also won the ASM Materials Education Foundation Award, a Stockholm Junior Water Prize, the US Public Health Service Distinguishing Achievement First Place Award, the US Air Force Award and the US Metric Association Award. Eric Solender won the Intel Excellence in Computer Science Award, the Mu Alpha Theta Award, the Office of Naval Research Senior Award and the US Public Health Service Distinguishing Achievement Second Place Award. Ezeki Ganeson also won a Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Miguel Rodriguez won the NASA Earth System Science Award. Carrie Pritt and Bohan Shan also won US Air Force Awards and tied for the US Public Health Service Distinguishing Achievement Second Place Award. Sean Chen and Nathan Davis won the Ricoh Americas Corporation Award and US Air Force Awards. Mukesh Loganathan won a US Air Force Award. Caleb Chen won the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award.

The high school booklet cover art winner was Urbana student Francesca Testen.

Middle school first-place winners, in addition to the above-named grand prize winner Vineet Ravichandran, who placed first in Behavioral and Social Sciences, and runner up Soujanya Viswanathan, who placed first in Earth and Environmental Sciences, were Urbana student Shane Zaw-Win in Animal Sciences, Oakdale student Divina Bhatia in Biomedical and Health Sciences, Visitation Academy student Noorul Waheed in Chemistry, Oakdale student Priya Patel in Energy: Chemical and Physical, Ballenger Creek student Andrew Thompson in Engineering Mechanics, Walkersville student Ethan Harman in Environmental Engineering, Ballenger Creek student Brent Peate in Materials Science (who was also Experimental Design champion), Windsor Knolls student Colin Bell in Mathematics, Ballenger Creek student Tyler Rutledge in Physics and Astronomy, Walkersville student Eleanor McMahon in Plant Sciences, Urbana students Charlie Giglio and Jorgen Miller (who were also Engineering Design champions) in Robotics and Intelligent Machines, and Landon School student Charles Bundy in Systems Software.

The following students were also named Middle School Broadcom MASTERS, eligible to compete nationally in the Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Rising Stars event: Colin Bell, Divina Bhatia, Charlie Bundy, Eleanor McMahon, Brent Peate, Vineet Ravichandran, Tyler Rutledge, Andrew Thompson and Soujanya Viswanathan.

Middle school second-place winners were Urbana student Annika Rosencrantz in Animal Sciences, Frederick Classical Charter School (FCCS) student Hannah Willman (who also won the American Psychological Society Award) in Behavioral and Social Sciences, Urbana student Azhan Zafar in Biomedical and Health Sciences, Walkersville student Benjamin Smith and Brunswick student Emory Dean Jr. tied in Earth and Environmental Sciences, West Frederick students Chris Pondoc and Jamie Roan in Engineering Mechanics (who were also Observational/Theoretical Design champions), Urbana student Charlotte Hively in Materials Science, Walkersville student Liam Day in Physics and Astronomy, Friends Meeting School student Ember Carrera in Plant Sciences, Ballenger Creek student Tyler Hummer in Robotics and Intelligent Machines, and Ballenger Creek student Krishnav Bose in Systems Software.

Middle school third-place winners were Urbana student Tylar Matsuo in Behavioral and Social Sciences, Ballenger Creek students Rachel Nichols and Madelyn Thompson in Biomedical and Health Sciences, West Frederick student Zoie Lucksavage and Ballenger Creek students John McAleer and Maliha Vali tied in Chemistry, Urbana students Iman Mansoor in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Sara Jarman in Engineering Mechanics, and Nicholas Bray in Physics and Astronomy.

Middle school honorable mention awards went to Monocacy student Jade Chu in Animal Sciences, Middletown student Rio Baran in Behavioral and Social Sciences, Urbana student Abtin Mahdavi in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Saint John’s Regional Catholic School student Helen Jackson in Engineering Mechanics, West Frederick student Johan Rogers in Physics and Astronomy, and FCCS student Elizabeth Willman in Plant Sciences.

In regional awards at the middle school level affiliated with Intel ISEF, the following middle school students won Office of Naval Research junior awards: Krishnav Bose, Charles Bundy and Charlotte HiIvely, and the following won US Public Health Service Awards: Vineet Ravichandran for Meritorious Achievement, Hannah Willman for Distinguishing Achievement first place, Urbana student Radhika Patel second place, and Walkersville student Evan Pinetti third.

The middle school booklet cover art winner was Oakdale student Megan Chang.

Numerous local specialty awards were also presented from the following sponsors: AstraZeneca Frederick Biologics Manufacturing Center and ThermoFisher as well as the Achievers League, Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Baltimore and Clean Air Partners, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Society of Women Engineers and the Western Maryland Veterinary Association.