The Shelton High School Sixteenth Annual Science Fair was held on Thursday, Feb. 3, in the school’s auxiliary gymnasium.
More than 230 projects were entered into the competition. Eighty-three projects made it to the second round of judging.
The fair was organized by the Shelton High School Science Department. Members from various community corporations, universities, retired educators, central office employees, and science teachers within the district served as judges for the day. They communicated with students about their projects and projects findings.
The Awards Assembly was held on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in the school’s auditorium. Mrs. Clark congratulated all of students for their accomplishments.
Mayor Mark Lauretti, Superintendent of Schools Chris Clouet and Board of Education Chairperson Mark Holden offered congratulatory remarks to the students. Housemasters Mr. John Skerritt Dr. James Zavodjancik and Mr. James Colandrea, announced the winners. Dr. Beth Smith, headmaster, Clouet and Holden, awarded certificates, plaques and cash prizes.
Those projects receiving honorable mention from the freshmen class were: Can Your Fingers Predict How Athletic You Are? by Amanda LoMonte; Rabbit Feces as Fertilizer? An Investigation by Haley Adcox, Jacob Falanga and Mackenzie Joyce; How Fast Do Your Eyes Recover by Jillian Uanino.
Sophomore class honorable mention went to: Disinfect-It! by Steven Atilho; Greywater and its Effects on the Environment by Carly Bryant; Fruits to Fluorescence by Deloshene Sittambalam.
Junior honorable mention was awarded to: The Mask Theory by Matthew Wells, James Ball and Andrew Reis; The Temperature of Radiant Luminol by Renee Pontbriant.
Senior class honorable mention was awarded to: Reading Rainbow – How Does the Hue of the Font Influence the Speed of Recognizing Words? by Avni Kapadia and Lourdes Rivera.
Third place winners were: The Effect of Antibiotics Compared to Herbal Remedies Against E. Coli by Sarah Gloria (freshman); The Seebeck Effect in Action by Rebecca Fabrizi (sophomore); Moisturizer or Even Drier? by Kathryn Arena, Olivia Gill and Kaleigh Panek (juniors); The Effects of Sea Squirts on the Habitats of native Species in Long Island Sound by William Simics III (senior).
Second place winners were: 122 Effects of Disinfectants on Bacteria Growth by Noah Vargoshe (freshman); Clean the Seas: The Effects of Pollutants on Aquatic Life by Lauren Pawlowski and Courtney Litts (sophomores); The Kinetics of Chemiluminescence by Kelly Sou (junior); Going Potatoes!! A Bio-Polymer to Replace Plastic by Christian Tallo, Emma Vittori, and Jafar Vohra (seniors).
Those entries which placed first were: The Efficiency of Various Air Foil Designs in a Wind Tunnel by Siddharth Jain (freshman); How Does Pitch Effect Turbine Efficiency by Jacob Zuklie (sophomore); Biodegradable Plastic Study to Prevent Oceanic Pollution by Marissa Peck (junior); Can Connecticut’s Water Quality be Dependent on the Type of Riverbank? by Allison Brown (senior); Programmable LEGO Controller Used to Autonomously Analyze and Efficiently solve a Rubik’s Cube Puzzle by Joseph Niski.
The following eight projects were overall winners and will participate in the Connecticut State Science Fair at Quinnipiac University in March: The Effects of Sea Squirts on the Habitats of native Species in Long Island Sound by William Simics III; Going Potatoes! A bio-Polymer to Replace Plastic by Christian Tallo, Emma Vittori, and Jafar Vohra; Clean The Seas: The Effects of Pollutants on Aquatic Life by Lauren Pawlowski and Courtney Litts; How Does Pitch Effect Turbine Efficiency by Jacob Zuklie; Biodegradable Plastic Study to Prevent Oceanic Pollution by Marissa Peck; The Efficiency of Various Air foil Designs in a Wind Tunnel by Siddharth Jain; Can Connecticut’s Water Quality be Dependent on the Type of Riverbanks? by Allison Brown.
The following project came in first place and was declared the Best in Show: A Programmable LEGO Controller Used to Autonomously Analyze and Efficiently Solve a Rubik’s Cube Puzzle by Joseph Niski.
More than $1,500 in prize money was awarded with monetary donations from Mayor Lauretti and the Shelton High School PTSO.