Prizes announced for this year’s Riverside County science fair

Nearly 70 Riverside County students earned gold medals, including three sweepstakes winners, while dozens more earned prizes and entries into state, national and international competitions at the conclusion of the county’s 2023 Science and Engineering Fair, the Office of Education announced.

A total of 450 students from 25 affiliate fairs representing public, charter and private schools presented their research in 347 projects covering 19 subject matter categories last week at the Bourns Technology Center in Riverside.

Gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to the students, along with community donor awards. 

Within each of the 19 categories, students competed in the Elementary division for students in grades 4-5; Junior division, grades 6-8; and Senior division for high school students. 

Winners in the Junior and Senior divisions advance to the California State Science and Engineering Fair scheduled for April 11 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Gold medal winners in Junior division advance to the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. 

Sweepstakes awards were presented to one project in Grades 4/5 combined, one project in the Junior division, and one project in the Senior division:

Elementary — Elijah Holm, Seneca Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD, “Understanding the Algorithms of a Rubik’s Cube: What is the Most Efficient Method to Solve a Rubik’s Cube?”

Junior — Aiden Grover, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD, “Decreasing Pickleball Noise”

Senior — Angelina Yang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD, “Mosquito Synthesis and In-Depth Evaluation of Biodegradable 2-methylyne-1,3-dioxepane Copolymers”

In addition to Angelina Yang, three other Senior division students will advance to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair to be held virtually May 14-19 in Dallas, Texas:

Moises Hur & Sungwon Hur, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD, “Understanding the Impact of Various Metabolites on the Motility of Glioblastoma Cancer Cells”; Brooke Vansuch, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD, “Battle of the Bacteria Busters”; Angelina Yang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD, “Mosquito synthesis and In-Depth Evaluation of Biodegradable 2-methylyne-1,3-dioxepane Copolymers.”

Grade 4 gold medal winners:

Nile Fells, Winchester Elementary School, Hemet USD

Jay Hakomaki, Tomás Rivera Elementary School, Riverside USD

Aldo Hernandez-Mera, Creekside Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD

Lorenzo Rodriguez, Anna M. Hause Elementary School, Beaumont USD

Grade 5 gold medal winners:

William Chase Berkeley, James Carter Elementary School, Desert Sands USD

Emma Carrillo, Edward Hyatt World Language Academy, San Jacinto USD

Roy Dagrella, Lake Mathews Elementary School, Riverside USD

Victoria Duran, Garretson Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD 

Samuel Flores, Harvest Valley Elementary School, Romoland SD

Elijah Holm, Seneca Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD

Kash Lopez, Amelia Earhart Elementary School, Desert Sands USD

Cecilia Munoz, Valley View Elementary School, Nuview Union SD 

Amina Qazi, Susan B. Anthony Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Arianna Reyes, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, Desert Sands USD

Corbin Richard, Hemmerling Elementary School, Banning USD 

Abril Sanchez, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, Desert Sands USD

Atputhan Sivathasan, Corona Ranch Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Angelle Sullivan, Sugar Hill Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD

Junior gold medal winners:

Aubrianna Abayasekara, James Workman Middle School, Palm Springs USD

Lily Abeyta, St. Edward School

Ethan Bhakta, El Cerrito Middle School, Corona-Norco USD

Danni Brasher, Dr. Augustine Ramirez Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Megan Burke, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Jordyn Castro, Philistine Rondo School of Discovery, Corona-Norco USD

Caydence Chitwood, Matthew Gage Middle School, Riverside USD

Jennavieve Covington, Vista Heights Middle School, Riverside USD

Alia Duckworth, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Leila Isabella Evangelista, Temecula Preparatory School

Aiden Grover, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Jocelyn Harris, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Makayla Hernandez, Temecula Preparatory School

Isabella Koral, Temecula Preparatory School

Kristen Mason, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Eloise Miller, Sacred Heart School

Shivani Talati, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Andrew Waghorn, St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish School

Asha Zachariah, Corona Fundamental Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Senior gold medal winners:

Mia Abonza, Ramona High School, Riverisde USD

Natalie Araujo, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley USD

Jason Asariah, Ramona High School, Riverside USD

Jaden Contreras Polo, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Rylee Coomber, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD 

Ryan Drake, Rancho Christian School

Caleb Dyal, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD

Shreyash Goli, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Gema Gonzalez, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley USD

Moises Hur, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Sungwon Hur, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Jack Jennings, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Arabella Kats, Polytechnic High School, Riverside USD

Sydney Katzenstein, Polytechnic High School, Riverside USD

Dania Khan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Aminah Khan, Patriot High School, Jurupa USD

Hala Koreatam, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Arturo Perez, Ramona High School, Riverside USD

Melissa Perez-Rodriguez, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley USD

Anisha Prasad, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD

Pranav Radhakrishnan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Krish Raval, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD

Carson Ruhnke, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD

Hewanam Arachchige Flowery Samaranayake, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Bryan Saucedo Gutierrez, Valley View High School, Moreno Valley USD

Krrishika Saxena, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Suhani Shah, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Luke To, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Claire VanDerLinden, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Brooke Vansuch, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Angelina Yang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Joseph Zenarosa, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Community Awards:

The Air Pollution Research Center at University of California Riverside — $100 gift card Aniket Bag, Francine Habacon, Eliana Habtamu, Vista Verde Middle School, Val Verde USD; $100 gift card Bibinaz Nami, John W. North High School, Riverside USD

HDR, Inc. Sustainability Awards and Award Ribbons — Kash Lopez, Amelia Earhart Elementary School, Desert Sands USD; Isabel Villegas, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD; Carson Ruhnke, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD

Inland Empire Professional Engineers in California Government — $250 Jay Hakomaki, Tomas Rivera Elementary School, Riverside USD; $750 Jocelyn Harris & Shivani Talati, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD; $1,000 Tenzing Carvalho & Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD

National Geographic Award 2023 — $100 Tenzing Carvalho & Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD

The Energy Coalition — $50 Natalie Araujo and Melissa Perez-Rodriguez, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley USD

Science and Technology Education Partnership — $100 Elijah Holm, Seneca Elementary School, Moreno Valley USD; $250 Aiden Grover, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD; $500 Angelina Yang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Lemelson Early Inventor Prize — Sophia Lipata & Blaja Thomas, Landmark Middle School, Moreno Valley USD

The 2023 International Science and Engineering Fair Affiliated Regional Awards were provided as part of the Riverside County science fair’s affiliation with Regeneron ISEF:

American Psychological Association, Caroline Corr, St. Catherine of Alexandria Perish School; Association for Women Geoscientists, Rachel Lu & Audrey Mai, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; Broadcom Foundation, Roy Dagrella, Lake Mathews Elementary School, Riverside USD; NASA Earth System Science Award, Natalie Araujo and Melissa Perez, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley USD; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tenzing Carvalho and Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD; Naval Science Awards Program (NSAP), Isabel Villegas, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD, Jennavieve Covington, Vista Heights Middle School, Moreno Valley USD, Aiden Grover, STEM Academy, Riverside US, Ryan Drake, Rancho Christian; Regeneron Biomedical Science Award, Hala Koreatam, Hewanam Arachchige Flowery Samaranayake, Luke To, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; Ricoh, Tenzing Carvalho & Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD; Society for In Vitro Biology, Krish Raval, Santiago High School, Corona-Norco USD; Stockholm Jr Water Prize, Ryan Drake, Rancho Christian School, Tenzing Carvalho & Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD, Crystal Renteria & David Zaragoza-Quezada, Valley View High School and Moreno Valley HS, Moreno Valley USD; United States Air Force, Eileen Lin, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD, Syed Shaheer Ali, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD, Odera Arene, Martin Luther King HS, Riverside USD; United States Agency for International Development, Tenzing Carvalho & Zubin Carvalho, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD; United States Metric Association, Aravella Kats and Sydney Katzenstein, Polytechnic High School, Riverside USD; Yale Science and Engineering Association, Dania Khan and Claire VanDerLin, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

More information on the Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair are available at www.rcoe.us/student-events/science-engineering-fair/.

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