Two Nevada entries place at international science fair
Winners were announced as the 60th annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair concluded Friday at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
The event consisted of 1,563 American and international finalists competing for $4 million in scholarships and awards. About 900 professionals judged the competition.
The first-prize winners were Tara Adiseshan, 14, of Charlottesville, Va.; Li Boynton, 17, of Houston and Olivia Schwob, 16, of Boston. Each earned a $50,000 college scholarship from the Intel Corporation Foundation.
"I hope that more young people will look at these students and realize they can be recognized for using their brains," Craig Barrett, chairman of Santa Clara, CA-based Intel, said in a statement. "You don’t have to be a quarterback, a basketball player or a baseball player to be recognized by your peers and the public."
The top local finisher was 15-year-old Taylor Wilson (right), a freshman at Davidson Academy of Nevada in Reno. A duo from Fernley High School also placed.
Wilson won fourth place in the physics and astronomy category. The project he designed would keep terrorists from sneaking nuclear material into U.S. seaports.
"I enjoyed it, and it was one of the neatest things I’ve ever done," said Wilson, who has goals of getting an undergraduate degree in physics, a master’s degree in nuclear engineering and a doctorate in nuclear chemistry. "There were so many different disciplines, and it was cool to meet other kids."
Fernley High students Christian Burleson, 15, and Amberleigh Thompson, 17, (right) were awarded a fourth place prize Friday during the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Grand Awards Ceremony. Their team project was titled "Lichen as indicators of human impact."
Wilson said he plans to take part in next year’s Intel science and engineering fair, which is scheduled to be in San Jose, Calif.
Adiseshan said she plans to attend Stanford University in the fall as a biology major and hopes to eventually do research. Her project looked at evolutionary relationships between sweat bees and the microscopic worms that live inside them.
Boynton said she’s not sure where she plans to attend college but wants to study science. She developed a biosensor from bioluminescent bacteria to detect the presence of contaminants in public water.
Schwob isolated a gene that can be used to improve intelligence of worms. Such results would help one better understand how humans learn, and possibly prevent, treat and cure mental disabilities, according to Intel.
"I’ve been interested in how the brain works and how we learn," said Schwob, who hopes to become a doctor and work for a human rights organization.
The Intel ISEF was open to the public on Thursday. Based on registration of school groups at the Convention Center entrances, organizers estimate that 4,500 Nevada students attended the event, with students coming from as far away as Owyhee, NV. The Society for Science and the Public, which owns and administers Intel ISEF, noted this as the largest ever participation of elementary, middle and high school students at an Intel ISEF event.
Intel ISEF 2010 will take place in San Jose, CA.
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