February 18, 2010

Academy Student Researchers Rock the Regional Science Fair

Category: Academy Headlines | Academy Spotlight | Community News Featured Story | Community News Headlines | Multimedia

Tags: Middle Division, Students, Upper Division

Article: Dr. Amy Jordan, Mark Heller

“Science Fair was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot,” eighth-grader Colleen Lopez said about the Pasco Regional Science and Engineering Fair at River Ridge High School on Saturday, February 6th.

Colleen was one of seven Academy students who competed in the fair. All seven students placed in the top three slots in their category. Six students won first place and will continue to the state science fair.

Seniors Helen Latimer and Julian Doromal won first place in the teams category of the high school competition with their work, Multilayer Polypeptide Nanofilms. Helen and Julian efficiently and reproducibly generated biological nanofilms, a breakthrough necessary to transform nanotechnology into a marketable commodity. Julian and Helen worked in Dr. Donald Haynie’s laboratory in the USF Physics Department and will continue their work until they leave for college in the fall.

Ninth-grader Alex Stark won first place in the computer category with his project “Tic Tac Toe: Adventures in Decision Making.” Alex programmed an invincible tic tac toe game and demonstrated that his program is infallible compared to its human competitors. Alex earned commendations from both Intel Corporation and the U.S. Army.

In her project Regional Groundwater Study Through Isotopic Analysis, senior Carly Harro analyzed hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios by mass spectrometry to trace surface and groundwater interconnectivity in the Weeki Wachee Ground Water Basin in Hernando County. Her findings will be utilized by the Southwest Florida Water Management District to study local water shortages. Carly won first place and received commendations from the Association of Women Geoscientists and the American Meteorological Society and also took home the U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize Regional Award and an invitation to enter a special competition.

In the middle school science fair, eighth-grader Shayne Fitzgerald won first place in the Environmental Science category with his project Quick Steam II. Shane utilized steam from an exothermic reaction of calcium oxide with water to turn an alternator. This reaction could be a cheap, readily available energy source to power batteries or run a generator. Shayne hopes to apply his work to powering a car.

Eighth-grader Colleen Lopez won first place in the Botany category for her work on The Effect of Centrifugal Force on Radish Seed Germination. Colleen utilized centrifugal force to mimic the mechanism for producing gravity in space. She hopes her work will be applicable to growing fresh food in space.

Seventh-grader David Gamero earned third place in the Environmental Science category with his work titled Electric Magnets. David calculated the productivity of an electrical generator turning at different speeds and compared single generators to multiple generators. He determined that using multiple generators is more efficient than using one large generator. He hopes to charge the lithium ion battery of a laptop or iPod by placing two generators on either side of a bicycle axle.

The spirit of inventiveness and inquiry is a hallmark of the educational experience at Academy at the Lakes. We are most proud of our students, their teachers, and the special school culture that encourages and supports our future leaders, scientists, and innovators.

Academy at the Lakes, located on Collier Parkway in Land O’Lakes, serves students from the entire North Tampa metropolitan area from PK3 through 12th grade.