Leading U.S. Student Researchers in STEM and Humanities Connect Virtually to Compete for Scholarships and Awards at the 58th National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

The competition, sponsored by U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force and administered by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), gives students (grades 9-12) a chance to present original scientific research and compete for scholarships and cash awards, while participating in workshops, panel discussions, career explorations, and research lab visits. After 57 years of bringing students and researchers together for face-to-face national competitions, this year’s competition brought students and researchers together virtually.

The national winners, announced last Friday at the virtual awards ceremony, first presented their original scientific research at one of 47 regional competitions hosted by universities and colleges in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Department of Defense (DoD) Schools of Europe and the Pacific Rim. The top five students from each region—230 high school students in total—then participated in oral or poster presentations during the national event. The first and second place regional finalists competed for a chance to earn scholarships ranging from $4,000-$12,000, while the third, fourth, and fifth place regional finalists competed in the poster competition for a chance to win cash awards.

“We were honored to be able to create a virtual space this year to recognize the work that these young researchers have been working on all year long,” said Alexis Mundis, JSHS Project Manager.

1^st Place Oral Presentations:
Earning $12,000 scholarships

Environmental Science
Julia Kagiliery, The Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
Research Title: A Dual Sensor Machine Learning Approach to Sulfur Quantification of Lignite Coal

Biomedical Science
Evelyn Bodoni, Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Research Title: Novel Preventative Strategies for Acute Kidney Injury & Chronic Kidney Disease

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Sarah Burkey, Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, Conyers, Georgia
Research Title: Developing A Urinalysis Immunoassay for Cortisol Detection Year 2

Life Science
Audrey Anderson, Omaha North High Magnet School, Omaha, Nebraska
Research Title: Resilin Distribution and Abundance in Apis mellifera Wing Joints across Biological Age Classes

Engineering and Technology
Ryan Westcott, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, Oregon
Research Title: Development of a Fully Reusable and Autonomously Landing Suborbital Launch Vehicle

Physical Science
Mina Mandic, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, St. Paul, Minnesota
Research Title: Exploring the Wonders of the Early Universe: Green Pea Galaxies and Light Flux

Chemistry
Emma Steude, The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, North Carolina
Research Title: Synthesis of a Tau Aggregation Inhibitor in Relation to Alzheimer’s Disease

Mathematics and Computer Science
Ryan Park, Millburn High School, Millburn, New Jersey
Research Title: X-Net: A Deep Convolutional Neural Model for X-Ray Threat Detection

2^nd Place Oral Presentations:
Earning $8,000 scholarships

Environmental Science
Elise Scheuring, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park, Illinois
Research Title: The Application of Advanced Oxidation Using an Isopropyl Alcohol and β-Cyclodextrin Enhanced Fenton Reaction to Remove Pharmaceuticals from Synthetic Wastewater

Biomedical Science
Ishaan Brar, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, California
Research Title: Designing, Prototyping and Testing of a Multi-lumen Urinary Catheter with Sustained Unidirectional Biocide Flow

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Shan Lateef, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
Research Title: Using Drosophila melanogaster as an Integrated Model to Elucidate the Cellular and Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Life Science
Caroline Reed, Ossining High School, Ossining, New York
Research Title: North Atlantic Minke Whales Exhibit Spatially Varied Vocal Responses to Ambient Noise and a Novel Paradigm for Passive Acoustics Research

Engineering and Technology
Axel Toro, Dr. Carlos González High School, Aguada, Puerto Rico
Research Title: Guiding Device for the Visually Impaired using Artificial Intelligence Category: Engineering and Technology

Physical Science
Alay Shah, Plano West Senior High School, Texas
Research Title: Computational Eye-Tracking Biomarker for Improved Neuropsychological Evaluation via Deep Learning

Chemistry
Reagan Guerra, Metro-East Lutheran High School, Edwardsville, Illinois
Research Title: Evaluation of Isoheme: A Novel Replacement for Blood in Forensic Science

Mathematics and Computer Science
Tarun Martheswaran, The Waterford School, Sandy, Utah
Research Title: An Enhanced Early Detection Model of Dengue Fever Outbreaks Using SEIR Infectious Disease Epidemiological Compartments, Generalized Linear Regression Relationships, and Statistical Computing

3^rd Place Oral Presentations:
Earning $4,000 scholarships

Environmental Science
Ella Dommert, Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Research Title: Oil Adsorption Capacities of Organic Materials

Biomedical Science
Anne Liang, DuPont Manual High School, Louisville, Kentucky
Research Title: Grape Polyphenols Inhibit Dental Bacteria and Pro-Inflammatory Signaling

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Grace Sun, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana
Research Title: The Potential Role of Trophoblast Slc20a2 Mutations in Vascular Calcification of the Placenta

Life Science
Emily Tianshi, The Cambridge School, San Diego, California
Research Title: Atmospheric Moisture Harvesting Device: Biomimicking Torrey Pine Needles

Engineering and Technology
Vetri Vel, Bangor High School, Bangor, Maine
Research Title: Embedded System for the Real-Time Fall Detection of Elderly Individuals using Thermal Imaging and Deep Learning

Physical Science
Owen Skriloff, Byram Hills High School, Armonk, New York
Research Title: An in vitro evaluation of the relationship between stress and mineralization through the use of a piezoelectric barium titanate composite

Chemistry
Anna Grondolsky, Kamehameha - Kapālama, Honolulu, Hawai’i
Research Title: Building an Efficient Reversible Fuel Cell Stack for Use as a Backup Power Source

Mathematics and Computer Science
Michelle Tang, Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland
Research Title: Deep Multimodal Learning for the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

1^st Place Poster Presentations
Earning $550 cash award

Environmental Science
Diya Desai, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

Biomedical Science
Shruthi Ravichandran, Brown School, Shaker Heights, Ohio

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Samuel Aberman, Byram Hills High School, Armonk, New York

Life Science
Pooja Kasiviswanathan, Ames High School, Ames, Iowa

Engineering and Technology
Brendan Crotty, Hickory Hill Academy Home School, Muskogee, Oklahoma

Physical Science
Ashley Granquist, William H. Hall High School, West Hartford, Connecticut

Chemistry
Emma Price, Camdenton High School, Camdenton, Missouri

Mathematics and Computer Science
Sadhana Lolla, Poolesville High School, Poolesville, Maryland

2^nd Place Poster Presentations
Earning $450 cash award

Environmental Science
Sonja Michaluk, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Pennington, New Jersey

Biomedical Science
Margaret Kennedy, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park, Illinois

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Rishab Jain, Westview High School, Portland, Oregon

Life Science
Jake Miller, Cypress Bay High School, Weston, Florida

Engineering and Technology
Rachel Pizzolato, John Curtis Christian School, River Ridge, Louisiana

Physical Science
Eric Zhong, Upper Dublin High School, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania

Chemistry
Lisa Zhang, Providence High School, Charlotte, North Carolina

Mathematics and Computer Science
Isha Narang, Ardrey Kell High School, Charlotte, North Carolina

3^rd Place Poster Presentations
Earning $350 cash award

Environmental Science
Katherine Pommerening, The Potomac School, District of Columbia

Biomedical Science
Halla Clausi, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Connecticut

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Science
Abihith Kothapalli, Blue Valley West High School, Overland Park, Kansas

Life Science
Siona Beaudoin, Lake Linden-Hubbell High School, Lake Linden, Michigan

Engineering and Technology
Irelyn Meckley, Camdenton High School, Camdenton, Missouri

Physical Science
Ethan Mandojana, Ankara High School, Turkey

Chemistry
Nadine Meister, Centennial High School, Ellicott City, Maryland

Mathematics and Computer Science
AnaMaria Perez, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Poster Peer Review Awardees (Peer Selected)
Receiving certificate and digital badge of achievement

Environmental Science
Esha Agarwal, Enloe High School, Cary, North Carolina

Biomedical Sciences
Ishraq Haque, Academic Magnet High School, Summerville, South Carolina

Life Sciences
Pooja Kasiviswanathan, Ames High School, Ames, Iowa

Medicine & Health/Behavioral Sciences
Taylor Moniz, Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Honolulu, Hawai’i

Engineering & Technology
Berkan Ottlik, Northview High School, Duluth, Georgia

Mathematics & Computer Science
Benjamin Yan, Century High School, Rochester, Minnesota

Physical Sciences
Paxson Swierc, Hellgate High School, Missoula, Montana

Chemistry
Vikram Ailiani, Onalaska High School, Onalaska, Wisconsin

During the three-day virtual event, administered by the National Science Teaching Association, students also participated in interactive activities to enrich their JSHS experience and were exposed to additional DoD opportunities available to them. Approximately 130 high school teachers, mentors, university faculty, ranking military guests, and others also attended.

For more information about the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS), visit https://www.jshs.org/.

About JSHS

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is a tri-service program founded by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force to encourage high school students to conduct original research in STEM fields. In cooperation with higher education, program sponsors include the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology); Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA; and Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Washington, DC. JSHS is administered by the National Science Teachers Association, the larger professional organization in the world promoting science teaching and learning for all.

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