ACPS Student Scientists Win Big at Regional and State Science Fair Competitions

Congratulations to over 300 students who participated in the ACPS Science Fair for middle and high school students in January. Fifty-three projects went on to win awards in the Northern Virginia Regional Science Fair in March. ACPS students competed against 293 projects from 17 schools in neighboring school districts. From there, three ACPS projects were nominated for the VA State Science fair.

Ana Humphrey, a sophomore at T.C. Williams High School took second place in the physics category in the state science fair for her project, ‘The Mathematical Identification of Exoplanet Candidates through N-body Simulations.’

Ana tested a method for discovering planets orbiting stars that are outside of our solar system, also called exoplanets. Her computer program mathematically modeled the gravitational interactions between the inner planets of our solar system, accurately predicting the location of Mars based on deviations in the orbits of Mercury, Venus and Mars. Her goal is to use the simulation to discover new exoplanets. As the grand prize winner of the regional science fair, she will go on to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in California in May.

Two teams also advanced to the state level: Martha Christino, Leslie Lytle and Cameron Luther (The Development of an Autonomous Snow Removal Robot) and Kelly Jones and Leah Nickelsburg (The Effects of Different Laundry Detergents on Grass Growth and Stain Removal).

Three students will advance to Broadcom Masters, the National Science Fair competition in June for students in grades seven and eight: Varun Parekh (What Flammable Liquid Acts as the Best Propellant for Bottle Rocket?), Mia Humphrey (The Evolution of Dynamics and Loudness Range in Popular Songs from 1960 to 2009) and Kelly Koury (Bioplastics the future).

Congratulations to all of the ACPS Science Fair Winners from the
Northern Virginia Regional Science Fair

First Place Winners

Varun Parekh Francis Hammond MS Chemistry
Mia Humphrey George Washington MS Behavioral and Social Sciences
Kelly Koury George Washington MS Biochemistry
Emil Lasida George Washington MS Microbiology
Anna Rigby George Washington MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Emmett Cocke and Townson Cocke TC Williams HS – Minnie Engineering
Hamza Elmissouab TC Williams HS – Minnie Physics and Astronomy
Kelly Jones and Leah Nickelsburg TC Williams HS – Minnie Biochemistry
Barclay Rayome TC Williams HS – Minnie Animal Sciences
Martha Christino, Leslie Lytle and Cameron Luther TC Williams HS – King St Engineering
Ana Humphrey TC Williams HS – King St Physics and Astronomy
Cobie Johnson TC Williams HS – King St Behavioral and Social Science

Second Place Winners

Phoebe Cavanaugh Francis Hammond MS Physics and Astronomy
Katherine Donnellan Francis Hammond MS Engineering
Eric Kelly Francis Hammond MS Physics and Astronomy
Eliza Coast George Washington MS Animal Sciences
Alana Cohen and Taylor Motsinger George Washington MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Stella Grimes George Washington MS Engineering
Rachel Simmons and Maeve Waller George Washington MS Chemistry
Grace Guimond and Delilah Garvin Jefferson-Houston School Physics and Astronomy
Second Place Winners (continued)
Brendan Doney TC Williams HS – Minnie Mathematics and Computer Science
Ethan Sample TC Williams HS – Minnie Plant Sciences
Kalista Diamantopoulos TC Williams HS – King St Biochemistry
Helen Mengel and Caroline Sloan TC Williams HS – King St Microbiology
Clare Williams TC Williams HS – King St Mathematics and Computer Science

Third Place Winners

Aisha Ahmed and Kayleigh Andrews Francis Hammond MS Physics and Astronomy
Euodia Asmeron Francis Hammond MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Karam Burjas Francis Hammond MS Mathematics and Computer Science
Elizabeth Lo Francis Hammond MS Physics and Astronomy
Mya Lopez Francis Hammond MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Aryaman Rajaputra Francis Hammond MS Mathematics and Computer Science
Peter Rizkallah Francis Hammond MS Biochemistry
Miranda Sedehi Francis Hammond MS Chemistry
Casey Dugan George Washington MS Medical and Health Sciences
Grace Glade George Washington MS Engineering
Mia Lunati and Caroline Mosier George Washington MS Physics and Astronomy
Michaela McCormack George Washington MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Caroline Winakur George Washington MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Ben Williams TC Williams HS – Minnie Medical and Health Sciences
Alpha Diallo TC Williams HS – King St Plant Sciences
Sam Lally TC Williams HS – King St Engineering
Eyoeal Mekonnen TC Williams HS – King St Physics and Astronomy

Honorable Mention

Kiernan Almand Francis Hammond MS Behavioral and Social Sciences
Neil Gascon Francis Hammond MS Chemistry
Helen DuPont and Erika Harwood George Washington MS Environmental and Earth Sciences
Camila Cohen-Suarez TC Williams HS – Minnie Chemistry
Owen Cardwell TC Williams HS – Minnie Engineering
Olivia Ernst TC Williams HS – Minnie Chemistry
James Grimes and Dylan Wright TC Williams HS – Minnie Engineering
Janelle Krupicka TC Williams HS – Minnie Engineering
Ayda Negash, Nataliya Solokha and Lilith Todd TC Williams HS – Minnie Chemistry
Donovan Robinson TC Williams HS – King St Engineering
Anne Williams TC Williams HS – King St Environmental and Earth Sciences
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