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Education Mar 09, 2024
Superintendent Edwin Gomez and an unidentified student stand near a science fair exhibit. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Office of Education
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School officials on Thursday released the results of the 2024 Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair.
Local students earned medals, including three sweepstakes wins, dozens of prizes and entries into state and international science competitions were awarded at the fair’s conclusion March 2 at the Riverside Convention Center, according to the Riverside County Office of Education.
More than 500 students from 29 affiliate fairs held at public, charter and private schools in the county participated in the annual event. Students presented 359 projects covering 19 subject matter categories.
“This year’s event Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair attracted the highest participation since 2016, and we are excited for the award-winning scientists and innovators who will be representing Riverside County at state, national, and international fairs,” Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez said in a statement. “The STEM leaders who will shape our shared future, are developing their skills and exploring new findings inside of our school classrooms and laboratories every single day.”
Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded, as were community donor awards, officials said. Within the 19 subject matter categories, students competed according to grade levels. The Elementary division was for grades 4-5, the Junior division for grades 6-8 and the Senior division for high school students.
Gold medal recipients in the Junior and Senior divisions advance to the online California State Science and Engineering Fair that’s scheduled for April 16.
“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,” according to the Office of Education’s announcement. The sweepstakes winners were:
Elementary Division — Senitha Weerakoo from John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Riverside Unified School District. Her project was titled, “Surface Comparison for Basketball Bouncing.”
Junior Division — Vienna Zhou from El Cerrito Middle School, Corona-Norco USD; “Decoding the Matrix of Movement: Using Python to Determine Physical Activities.”
Senior Division — Angelina Yang from the Eastvale STEM Academy at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD; “Fabrication and In-Depth Evaluation of Reconfigurable Metallo-Polyelectrolyte Complexed Gels for Heavy Metal Ion Filtration.”
Angelina and four other high school students advanced to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair set for May 11-17 in Los Angeles:
Yoonchan Lee, Brian Ngo, and Andrea Vo, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD; “Evolving an Epidemic: Optimizing Sialic Acid Receptor Configurations to Increase the Binding Affinity of Avian Influenza H5N1 to Human Cell Glycoproteins.”
Harleen Virk, Eastvale STEM Academy at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD; “Wired for Sustainability: Minimizing Copper in Vehicles.”
A full list of science fair winners is available at www.rcoe.us/Home/Components/News/News/510/66.
