For 39 years, our Rotary Club has supported the annual Waterloo-Wellington Science and Engineering Fair (WWSEF) giving students from Grade 7 to 12 the chance to research and report on both actual and potential developments. Science Fairs encourage new generations to consider careers in STEM. At our club meeting on Friday, June 14, 2024, four Grade 11 award winners from GCVI shared their experience and projects from WWSEF 2024 and thanked Rotary for sponsoring the Science Fair.
Bonnie Evans explained our club's long history with the Waterloo-Wellington Science and Engineering Fair, and how Rotarians from our club had helped get it started fifty one years ago in 1974. There is more information about the WWSEF on our club website here. At WWSEF 2024, Bonnie, Liz Sandals and Chelsey Mathieu assisted.
Bonnie introduced each of the students.
Roocha Shukla - Gr. 11 student from GCVI
Science Fair Project: Green Armour: A Novel Plant Biostimulant
At the WWSEF 2024, out of 168 projects, Roocha's was judged "Best of Fair" advancing her to the National Science Fair in Ottawa where she won a Gold Medal, $8,000 in cash and $38,000 worth of university entrance scholarships. She is planning to continue her research and development of her plant stimulant that she named "Green Armour" and may even try to patent it. She hypothesized and proved that extracts from sea buckthorn berry, already well known as a supplement in human health, could benefit the growth of plants as well. Her laboratory testing of plants involved feeding various species with dilutions of Green Armour and evaluating the impact on overall plant growth, protection from cold stress plus abiotic and biotic stress, and also its effect as a bio-insecticide against aphids. She plans to reach out to greenhouses and farmers to test the practical application of Green Armour, and of course, to pursue a career in biology! Read more about Roocha's project in this Guelph Today story here.
Remy Wang - Gr. 11 student from GCVI
Science Fair Project: Biomimicking slime molds to find the path of least resistance
Remy explained the experimental use of slime mold to design efficient highway networks, citing its ability to adapt to existing infrastructure and minimize human costs. What sounded like a science fiction idea has actually been used in practice when scientists in Japan placed slime mold over a map of Tokyo to find optimal paths for placing a new railway system. Watch this short video that explains it.
Arjun Mahes - Gr. 11 student from GCVI
Science Fair Project: Using ML to predict the progressions of heart complications
Arjun's project looked at using AI to analyze heart sounds and provide recommendations for improving health.
Aditya Mahes - Gr. 11 student from GCVI (and identical twin to Arjun)
Science Fair Project: Predicting Palmitoylation Sites To Advance Neurological Research
Aditya's project looked at using AI to predict protein modifications which can cause diseases like Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Liz thanked each student with a certificate of appreciation showing that our club will inoculate 100 people against polio in the name of each student as well as their teacher, Ms. Lisa Stewart - inoculating 500 people in all and further helping to eradicate polio in the world.