Author Spotlight
Jet Semrick
Photos provided by Stuti Dalal
Sophomore Stuti Dalal and Junior Ellie Green won a total of eight different awards combined for their individual projects at the 66th Annual Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair on April 7-8. The fair was hosted at Union Station and includes close to 800 different projects from 50 districts in the Greater Kansas City area according to the fair’s handbook.
Dalal and her project about molecular mechanisms behind the ocular symptoms in Parkinson’s disease won the Grand Award along with four other awards, including being a named a 2017 Pioneer in Science. She was one of four students to receive the Grand Award which includes an all expenses paid trip to compete at the 2017 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, CA. from May 14 to May 17.
The project focuses on the investigating the cause of sight disruptions during the prognosis of Parkinson’s disease. There are no effective treatments options for the patients, making long term stability extremely difficult according to Dalal.
“The judges had a way to connect with the applications of this research because everybody uses eyesight as a major way to connect with the outside world,” Dalal said.
Dalal was also recognized as a 2017 Pioneer in Science, which is awarded to the top five senior high projects, grades 9-12. The Pioneer in Science award recognizes outstanding examples of student research, innovation and design according SciencePioneers.org.
“I think being able to compete at such a high level is a great opportunity,” Dalal said. “I also felt very lucky and blessed to have this amazing opportunity to represent Shawnee Mission East.”
Green won the first place award in the Senior High Chemistry Division of with her project on lead in drinking water. Green used a spectrometer to determine the concentration of lead in the water. According to Green, her project appealed to the judges because it deals with a relevant problem and investigates it in our own community.
The Stockholm Junior Regional Water Prize was also awarded to Green and will allow her to enter her project and compete at the state level. According to sciencepioneers.org, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize is the most prestigious award for a water-related science project at the high school level.
“It was an honor to be able to compete with so many other talented students, and so that makes winning [the chemistry division] even more special,” Green said.
The complete list of awards won by the two students is provided below. To learn more about what each awards means visit http://www.sciencepioneers.org/science-fair/awards
Sophomore Sophomore Stuti Dalal was awarded:
Junior Ellie Green was awarded:
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