Megan Yeager, a junior at Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School, won second place in the Environmental Engineering category and a $2,000 Grand Award at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) recently held in Los Angeles. She also received a special award of $500 from the Qatar Research, Innovation, and Development Council.
Her project, Aerosol Driven Purification: A Novel Method for Purifying Water Utilizing Phase Changes, “looks to explore methods for water filtration and design a unique process for efficiently creating drinkable water from non-potable supplies” with the purpose of testing “a novel method for efficiently purifying water while reducing waste water.”
AACPS was also represented at ISEF by John Paulenich and Ayden Marhefka, seniors at Broadneck High School, with the project Ground-Truthing the Chesapeake Bay, and Elias Arnold and Eric Gu, seniors at South River High School, with the project Haptic Sound Guide that also entered the pending patent process.
According to its website, each year, millions of high school students around the globe develop original research projects and present their work at local science competitions with the hope of making it to ISEF, a program of the Society for Science & the Public. Only the best and brightest – nearly 2,000 winners of local, regional, state, and national competitions – are invited to participate in this week-long celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). At the event, these young innovators share ideas, showcase cutting-edge research, and compete for $5 million in awards and scholarships.