STUDENTS ACROSS MINNESOTA RECOGNIZED AT STATE SCIENCE FAIR
357 students presented STEM research and competed for awards
[ST. PAUL, MN, March 28, 2024] -- More than 350 middle and high school students from 58 schools across Minnesota competed in the 87th annual Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) on March 22 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. SSEF is proudly organized by the Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS). Participating students advanced from regional science fairs throughout Minnesota to compete in this prestigious state event.
"The State Science Fair showcases Minnesota students who are asking really interesting questions and using science and engineering practices to solve problems in their communities," said Lara Maupin, MAS Executive Director. "I was impressed and inspired by students' innovation and knowledge and clearly our judges were too. There's a reason they love giving their time to this event!"
Over 40 companies and organizations gave awards valued at more than $20,000, including:
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 Los Angeles, California from May 11-17. The 2024 ISEF finalists from the SSEF are:
Fernanda Arreola-Lucio (Shorewood), Like finding a needle in a blood sac! Novel creation of Gelatinous Microneedle Adhesive (Gel MNA) polymerized with methacrylic anhydride, fibrinogen, and zeolite coagulation agents to eliminate axial body frame hemorrhage
Finn Cairns (Minneapolis), ViABL: Visual Assistant for the Blind with VLMs
Noah Getnick (Bloomington) & Evan Johnstone (Minneapolis), Collision-Free Commutes: Designing a Blind Spot Detection System for Cyclists Using an Ultrasonic Sensor and Computer Vision
Corinne Moran (Minneapolis), Deciphering DUX4 (Year II): Is transient expression of the DUX4 gene sufficient to cause muscular dystrophy?
The Medtronic Innovation Award recognizes students whose projects exemplify excellence through innovative ideas, self-motivated independent work, passion for discovery and science, and the potential to impact their category or the world. All winners receive an invitation to spend a day at Medtronic with a Technical Fellow.
First place high school ($750): Alexander Bartholomew (Minneapolis), Analysis of machine learning techniques on electroencephalography data to detect mild traumatic brain injury in humans
Second place high school ($500): Fernanda Arreola-Lucio (Shorewood), Like finding a needle in a blood sac! Novel creation of Gelatinous Microneedle Adhesive (Gel MNA) polymerized with methacrylic anhydride, fibrinogen, and zeolite coagulation agents to eliminate axial body frame hemorrhage
Third place high school ($250): Cerena Karmaliani (Minneapolis), The Absorbency of Home-Compounded Transdermal Pain Medication in Comparison to Industrially Manufactured Voltaren Gel
First place middle school ($750): Jack Gao (North Oaks), The Impact of Electric Vehicle Adoption and Electrification
Second place middle school ($500): Aditi Sriram (Rochester), How Does Motion Artifact Affect the Accuracy of a Photoplethysmogram
Third place middle school ($250): Grace Hunt (Minneapolis), Powder Prints
The Medtronic Technical Achievement Award recognizes students whose projects demonstrate excellence through imagination and inventiveness, tackling a challenging technical question, rigorous scientific inquiry and execution, and the potential to solve a technical problem.
Biomedical Applications high school winner ($500): Snigdha Tungtur (Plymouth), Lineage-Tracing of Cardiac Fibroblasts that are Reprogrammed to Endothelial Cells
Biomedical Applications middle school winner ($500): Nora Fay (Thief River Falls), Light Timer
Science & Engineering high school winner ($500): Finn Cairns (Minneapolis), ViABL: Visual Assistant for the Blind with VLMs
Science & Engineering middle school winner ($500): Olivia Zhou (Eden Prairie), Growing Marshmallows
Sustainability high school winner ($500): Mitchel Masters (Lake Crystal), Are Tesla Turbines worth it? A deep dive into Tesla turbines in the hydroelectric industry
Sustainability middle school winner ($500): Sandor Pratt (Elk River), Sour Power! Testing how the acidity of certain foods impact how much power they can generate if they are put in a lemon battery-like form
Ecolab’s Water Vision Awards of $700 went to high school student Ella Holleran (Northfield) for her project Filtering Microplastics in Fresh Waterways with Easily Obtainable Supplies Using Iron Ore Tailings for Filter Housing and middle school student Bhavya Yerriboyina (Rochester) for her project Eco-Flow: Water Solutions for Third World Country Contamination.
Ecolab’s Food Safety Awards of $700 were given to high school students Adam Jacobson & Paige Jacobson (Grand Rapids) for their project Fantastic Bioplastic and middle school student Lauren Arnold (Rochester) for her project Impact of essential oils on the rate of mold growth on bread.
The Broadcom Foundation’s Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award, which includes a $250 gift certificate, was awarded to Nora Fay (Thief River Falls) for her project Light Timer.
Please visit mnmas.org/2024-ssef-awards to see the full list of award winners. The Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair is a program of the Minnesota Academy of Science. Medtronic is the event’s Premier Sponsor. Additional support comes from the Alliance for Volunteer Advancement / Americorps Volunteer Generation Fund, Minnesota Department of Education, Ecolab, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Broadcom Foundation, Hardenbergh Foundation, and H.B. Fuller.
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2024 participating schools include:
Al-Amal School
Avail Academy
Blessed Trinity Catholic School
Breck School
Burnsville High School
Byron Middle School
Carondelet Catholic School
Century High School
Cloquet Middle School
Cloquet High School
Dakota Middle School
DaVinci Academy of Arts & Science
Duluth East High School|
East Ridge High School
Eden Prairie Central Middle School
Eden Prairie High School
Edina High School
Franklin Middle School
Grand Rapids Senior High School
Hermantown Middle School
Hidden Oaks Middle School
Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary School
John Adams Middle School
John Marshall High School
Kellogg Middle School
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Secondary School
Lake Middle School
Lake Nokomis Keewaydin Elementary School
Lincoln K-8 School
Magnuson Christian School
Mahtomedi Senior High
Mankato West Senior High
Maple Grove Senior High School
Math and Science Academy
Mayo High School
Minnehaha Academy North Campus
Minnetonka East Middle School
Minnetonka High School
Minnetonka Middle School West
Mounds View High School
Murray Middle School
Nativity of Our Lord
Newfolden Elementary
Northfield High School
Park Christian School
Perham Senior High School
Robert J Elkington Middle School
Rosemount High School
Salk Middle School
Scandia Elementary IB World School
Chatfield High School
St. Paul Academy Summit School
St. Peter Catholic School in Forest Lake
St. Thomas More Catholic School
Stillwater Area High School
Stillwater Junior High
Wayzata High School
Willow Creek Middle School
