2016 vssef - fauquier co students win awards

8/17/2019 2016 VSSEF - Fauquier Co Students Win Awards

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Discover the World through Science.Then, Engineer It.

Pursue Progress.

Fauquier County Public Schools

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2016Karen Parkinson, Coordinator of InformationPhone (540) 422-7031

[email protected]

FCPS STUDENTS WIN AWARDS

AT 2016 VA STATE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR

By Vineeta Ribeiro, Mathematics Teacher at Warrenton Middle School

and Director of the Fauquier County Regional Science & Engineering Fair

Fauquier County’s students made a show of force at the 31

st

annual Virginia State Science andEngineering Fair (VSSEF) last month. Competing in one of 17 categories with over 260 high school

students representing one of 12 affiliated regional fairs in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Fauquier

County students walked away with four prizes on Saturday, April 9. To see a complete list of the awards,

visit http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/ .

Micensie (pronounced “Mackenzie”) Barrett won first place in the state in physics and

astronomy, while Meredith Palmore won third place in the state in environmental sciences. Two

students received a special award: Kristen Kelly won the Mu Alpha Theta (math) award, and Ivy

Sandberg received an honorable mention from Leidos.

“Fighting Fire with Base Frequency and Harmonic Overtones,” Micensie’s project, topped 17

other entries from the state, including those from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and

Technology, Loudoun County Academy of Science, and New Horizon’s Governor’s School for Science and

Technology. Micensie showed that fire can be extinguished with sound frequencies and tested to findthe most effective frequency between 30Hz and 50Hz, testing at intervals of 5 Hz. Recording the time it

took to extinguish a fire, Micensie found 45Hz to be the most effective frequency in that range. At this

optimal frequency, she extended her research to test the effect of harmonic ratios. On average,

frequencies of 45Hz coupled with its first harmonic ratio extinguished fire in 6 to 20 seconds, whereas

without the harmonic it took 20 to 40 seconds. Micensie’s research found that frequencies of 45 Hz,

coupled with harmonic overtones, was the optimal way to fight fires with sound.

In the fall Micensie plans to double-major in applied mathematics and chemistry as she

completes a premedical program at Case-Western Reserve University in Ohio on a $62,000 Academic

Scholarship. She will also be playing varsity tennis for the University Spartans. Micensie is graduating

from Mountain Vista Governor's School and Fauquier High School.

Meredith Palmore’s project, “Reuse of Rattus norvegicus 18S Oligonucleotide Primer for theDNA Amplification of Notophthalmus viridescens,” took third place in a category with 20 projects.

Meredith’s project was a “study to improve the cost efficiency of genetic analysis, suggesting the reuse

of primers to amplify RNA in various species members of the domain Eukarya.” She drew inspiration

from her summer laboratory research experience through George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists

Summer Internship Program (ASSIP). (Rattus norvegicus is the scientific name for the common brown

rat.) Meredith is a graduating senior at Mountain Vista Governor's School and at Kettle Run High School.

She will be attending the University of Virginia this fall.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/mailto:[email protected]


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Mu Alpha Theta, the national math honor society, recognized Kristen Kelly ’s project for

excellence in math. In her project “The Relationship Between North Atlantic Oscillation and Gadus

morhua,” Kristen analyzed research to identify a relationship between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)

and Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) around Iceland and to understand why the Atlantic cod is more

abundant in Iceland when compared with fisheries around the world. Kristen cited a study by Keith

Brander in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Journal of Marine Science that

concluded that there is a relationship between NAO and cod recruitment. Kristen created a scatterplot

by using the NAO index as the independent (x) variable and the cod-spawning stock biomass (SSB) as the

dependent (y) variable. The NAO index fluctuated from approximately -3 to 3, while the SSB of cod

ranged from approximately 100,000 tons to 2 million tons. Kristen employed a regression slope test to

analyze the data, but found the results to be inconclusive because the conditions of the test had not

been met. Kristen is graduating from Mountain Vista Governor's School and Kettle Run High School. She

plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall.

In other special awards, Leidos, a major sponsor of the Virginia State Science and Engineering

Fair, recognized Ivy Sandberg’s project, “Data Analysis on Diagnosing Breast Cancer,” with an honorable

mention. Ivy’s project was inspired by Dr. William Wolberg's study on data analysis and fine needle

aspiration. Ivy used Dr. Wolberg's 699 Fine Needle Aspiration cell sample data. She analyzed and

condensed the data to 683 incidents, evaluating each for nine characteristics. She studied differencesbetween benign and malignant incidences in an effort to create more accurate cancer diagnoses. After

evaluating the data for common trends, Ivy constructed a decision tree classifier to train a computer

program to determine the diagnosis of cell samples based off of the nine characteristics. Training the

program on given data provided a predictive model to use in accurately diagnosing new incidences. The

model was 99% accurate in classifying new incidences as malignant or benign. The accuracy surpassed

that of Dr. Wolberg's model. In either case, the consensus was that the more data used in the training

sample, the more accurate the model for diagnosing. Graduating from Mountain Vista Governor's

School and Kettle Run High School, Ivy plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall, where she is

considering majoring in neuroscience. She may also continue her equestrian pursuits by joining the

University’s Virginia Riding Team.

Also participating were Molly Cesanek, a freshman at Wakefield School; Maxon Mendel, a seniorat Liberty High School; and Niles Ribeiro, a senior at Mountain Vista Governor’s School and Fauquier

High School. Molly evaluated the effect of sending a text message on a person's reaction time. Max’s

project was to find extreme values in the popular gaming app, 2048. Niles developed a prototype to

alert parents and emergency services when a child or pet is left unattended in a vehicle in danger of

overheating.

In its third year of operation, the Fauquier County Regional Science & Engineering Fair, because

of its generous sponsors, was able to fully fund this overnight trip including registration, transportation,

meals and lodging. The fair is a partnership of Fauquier County Public Schools, Learning Tree

International, Inc., and the Sharp Science Students Foundation. Its major sponsors include Linda and

John Suter and The Patricia and David Vos Foundation. Businesses and individuals who donated

specifically toward students attending the State Science Fair (micro-sponsors) were The Van Metre

Companies Foundation, Meridian Financial Partners, Oak View National Bank, the Cold War Museum,

and George R. Thompson, Jr.

(See photos on following pages.)


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Micensie Barrett wins first place in physics and astronomy

Micensie, a senior, takes Molly, a freshman,

under her wing.VMI Cadets greet Fair visitors

31st Annual VA State Science and

Engineering Fair

Micensie Barrett beams after the results


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Virginia Military Institute processes participants


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Meredith Palmore stands with VSSEF President (left) Adrian

Felts and VSSEF Fair Director Dr. Geoff Cox

Micensie Barrett

Molly Cesanek, a freshman, is the

youngest Fauquier student presenting.

Ivy Sandberg - Leidos Honorable

Mention

Kristen Kelly - Mu Alpha Theta award Meredith Palmore - Third plac

Environmental Sciences


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Kristen KellyIvy Sandberg

Niles RibeiroMaxon Mendel

Meredith PalmoreMolly Cesanek

2016 vssef - fauquier co students win awards

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