After successful showings at both regional and statewide science fairs, five students from the School District of Palm Beach County are in Phoenix this week to represent the School District of Palm Beach County in the 2016 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair.
Lindsay Placius of Palm Beach Central High School and Stefan Wan of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts were invited to represent the Florida Region at the 2016 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, after winning the Grand Award at the 2016 Florida Science & Engineering Fair in Lakeland.
In addition, based on their outstanding performances at Palm Beach Regional Science & Engineering Fair and the state competition, Jason Kaufmann of Suncoast High School, Celinie Nguyen of Palm Beach Central and Jessica Young of Palm Beach Central also were invited to the international competition.
The 2016 Florida Science & Engineering Fair was held March 29-31 in Lakeland and included 23 finalists from district schools who qualified during the Palm Beach Regional Science & Engineering Fair in December. An impressive 70 percent of state finalists from Palm Beach County won a place award, compared with the state average of 44 percent.
Placius’ Grand Award in the biological sciences was for her project, titled Determining the Effect of Extracellular Matrix on the Differentiation and Functionality of Stem Cells for Bioengineering Organs. Wan’s Grand Award in the physical sciences was for his project, titled Functionalizing Biochar with Layered Double Hydroxides for Phosphate Removal from Aqueous Solutions.
This is the first time that the Palm Beach Region science fair produced two Grand Award winners at the state level.
The state-level award winners from the district in the Senior Division for grades nine to 12 were: Lindsay Placius, Stefan Wan, Jason Kaufmann, Celinie Nguyen, Jessica Young, Nathan Blood, Nikita Bozicevic, Gabrielle Marvez and Amy Polen. Honorable mention went to Jacqueline Chen. A special award went to Cody Coombs.
Junior Division winners, grades six and eight, include: Tesla Radulovic, Rachel Rosenberg, William Bartenslager, Jacques Coury and Elise Weber. Recognition went to Ryan Alea, and a special award went to Zachary Bouras.
