PITTSBURGH--A record of eighteen student finalists from Washington science & engineering fairs competed at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh PA on May 10-15, 2015. The Intel ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college science competition.  This year, almost 1,800 young entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists were selected from 435 affiliate science fairs in 50 states and 70 countries, regions and territories.  About 1000 judges from academia and industry made the final selections.

2015 Intel ISEF Team Washington Finalists and Student Observers

AWARDS:

Sriharshita Musunuri, 15, Henry M. Jackson High School, Mill Creek, WA won a Best In Category Award of $5000, First Grand Award of $3000, and an Innovation Exploration Award (expense paid trip and tour of CalTech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.).  She also won the UTC Special Award of $3000.  Her project was “Application of Tetrahedrite and Magnesium Silicide in a Novel Thermoelectric Unicouple to Generate Electricity from Industrial Waste Heat”

Reesab Pathak, 17, Camas High School, Camas, WA won the First Grand Award of $3,000 in Cellular & Molecular Biology for his project, “Identification and Characterization of a Novel Immune Response against AIDS Virus”

Naveena Bontha, 15, Hanford High School, Richland, WA, won the Second Grand Award of $1,500 in Engineering Mechanics.  She also won the AVASC Foundation Second Award of $500 for her project, “Development of Novel Process for Large-Scale Fabrication of High Surface Area MOF (Metal Organic Framework) Membranes for CO2 and H2 Capture”

Swetha Shutthanandan, 17, Richland High School, Richland, WA, won a Third Grand Award in Chemistry  of $1,000.  She also won the American Chemical Society fourth award of $1000 for her project, “Novel Design of Water Soluble Porphyrin Containing Supramolecular Complex Nanoparticles for Enhanced Photodynamic Cancer Therapy”

Mahalaxmi Elango, 16, Interlake High School, Bellevue, WA, won a Third Grand Award of $1,000 in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics for her project, “Implementation of a Machine Learning Tool for Better Resistance Prediction in Acute Myeloid Leukemia”

Sonia Murthy, 17, Ethan Perrin, 17, and Sophia Tevosyan, 17, of Nikola Tesla STEM High School, Redmond, Washington, won a Third Grand Award of $1,000 in Environmental Engineering.  They also won the Third Place NASA award of $1000 for their project, “Implementation of a Carbon Dioxide Refrigeration System as a Cogeneration Appliance and Alternative to Halocarbon-based Refrigeration Systems”

Surabhi Mundada, 15, Olympia High School, Olympia, WA won a Third Grand Award of $1,000 in Robotics and Intelligent Machines for her project, “MyGlove: Assisting Hand Movements, Grip, and Tremor”

Rosemichelle Marzan, 17, Cameron Beardsley, 17,and Hyrum Bock, 16, of the Northwest Nuclear Consortium, Federal Way, WA won a Fourth Grand Award of $500 in Physics and Astronomy for their project “Optical Ion Reflector: Investigating the Elastic Collision Relationship between Ions and the Chamber Walls during Nuclear Fusion in order to Enhance Plasma Density by Focusing a Plasma Beam”

Mehar Nallamalli, 17, Capital High School, Olympia, WA won the International Council on Systems Engineering First Award of $1,500,  and the Fondazione Bruno Kessler Award to participate in summer school in Trento, Italy for his project “NapX: Safety Alert Mobile Application to Detect Drowsy Drivers”

Payton Sample, 18, Sunnyside High School, Sunnyside, WA wwon the King Aziz & his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, Award for Water Technology for her project, “Development of a Filtration System for Simulated Wastewater Treatment to Reduce Microplastic Pollution in a Freshwater Ecosystem”

2015 Team Washington Students At Their Display Boards: