TOP STUDENTS ACROSS MINNESOTA RECOGNIZED AT STATE SCIENCE FAIR
323 students presented STEM research and competed for awards

[ST. PAUL, MN, March 29, 2023] -- More than 300 middle and high school students from 50+ schools across Minnesota competed in the 86th annual Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) on March 24 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. SSEF is proudly organized by the Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS). Dozens of companies and organizations gave awards valued at more than $15,000. Participating students advanced from regional science fairs throughout Minnesota to compete in this prestigious state event. MAS announced the top winners during an award ceremony on March 26, including the following awards:

• The Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Award recognizes Minnesota’s top high school projects. ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college science competition, where thousands of students from around the world showcase their research. This year’s ISEF competition will be held in Dallas, Texas from May 14-19. The 2023 ISEF finalists from the SSEF are:

  • Muminah Nihaar Mohammed (Blaine), Unbind the Blind

  • Yash Dagade (Eden Prairie), WATT from VAWT : Design of A Novel Vertical Airborne Wind Turbine (VAWT) Clean Energy Farm

  • Karen Nakamura (Woodbury), Personalization of Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Pre-Operational Planning: Integration of 7-Tesla MRI Segmentations into 3-D Brain Visualization Platform

  • Rishi Bhargava (Mendota Heights) and Humza Murad (Inver Grove Heights), Project WASP: Watering Atmospheric Self-Irrigating Planters

• The Seagate Excellence in Science Mentoring Award spotlights two outstanding science educators who find creative ways to nurture students’ interest in scientific research and discovery. Karissa Baker (an educator at St. Paul Academy and Summit School) and Sydney Lundell (a mentor at John Adams Middle School) each received $1,000 and a Seagate portable hard drive. Their schools will also receive $1,000.

• The Seagate Rising Star Award recognizes two emerging student scientists whose projects not only exemplify excellence but also demonstrate high degrees of difficulty, complexity, innovation, and effective communication. High school student Mina Adabag (Minneapolis) received a $2,000 award and a Seagate portable hard drive for her research project titled Lead’s Butterfly Effect: Determining the impact of Lead Pollution on Danaus plexippus and Pieris rapae. Middle school student Rathan Duggirala (Rochester), received a $1,500 award and a Seagate portable hard drive for his work on De Novo Synthesis of Bio-Paint Using Bacteria; Analysis of Spectral Trends and Comparison to Commercial Paint.

• Ecolab’s Water Vision Awards of $700 went to high school student Khadija Kouser of Blaine for her project, Designing and Testing a Solar-Powered, Eutrophication-prevention (SPEP) Robot for Stagnant Waters and middle school student Makenzie Little of Babbitt for her project What is the best way to desalinate water?

• Ecolab’s Food Safety Awards of $700 were given to high school student Dureti Gamada of Brooklyn Park for her project Fungi vs. Bacteria: Using Beneficial Microbes Naturally Recruited by Corn Crops to Combat Corn Fungal Pathogens and middle school student Peyton Werner of Cloquet for her project Fermentation in sauerkraut.

• The Broadcom Foundation’s Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award, which includes a $250 gift certificate, was awarded to Samuel Kaspar (Rochester), for his project Machine Learning solution to improve care management for pneumonia.

Please visit mnmas.org to see the full list of award winners as well as videos and judge quotes for select presentations.

The Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair is a program of the Minnesota Academy of Science. Seagate Technology remains the event’s premier sponsor. Additional support comes from the Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement / Americorps Volunteer Generation Fund, Ecolab, the Broadcom Foundation, and the Hardenbergh Foundation.

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Participating schools include:

A.I. Jedlicka Middle School
Al-Amal School
Avail Academy
Blaine High School
Blessed Trinity Catholic School
Breck School
Burnsville High School
Carondelet Catholic School
Century High School
Chatfield School
Cotter School
Cloquet Middle School
Cloquet High School
Concordia Academy
Convent of the Visitation School
Dakota Meadows Middle School
Dakota Middle School
DaVinci Academy of Arts Science
Duluth East High School
East High School
East Ridge High School
Eden Prairie Central Middle School
Eden Prairie High School
Grand Rapids Senior High
Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary School
John Adams Middle School
John Marshall High School
Kellogg Middle School
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Secondary School
Lakeville North High School
Lincoln K-8 School
Lincoln Senior High School
Mahtomedi Senior High School
Maranatha Christian Academy
Math and Science Academy
Mayo High School
Minnehaha Academy North Campus
Minnetonka East Middle School
Minnetonka High School
Minnetonka Middle School West
Mounds Park Academy
Mounds View High School
Nativity of Our Lord
New Life Academy
Northeast Range Secondary School
Park Christian School
Perham Senior High School
Robert J. Elkington Middle School
Salk Middle School
Southwest Metro School
St. Croix Preparatory Academy
St. John Lutheran School
St. Paul Academy Summit School
St. Thomas More Catholic School
Stella Maris Academy
Stillwater Middle School
Virginia Secondary School
Waconia High School
Wayzata High School
Willow Creek Middle School