Science fair entrants Saanvi Kadu and Taylor Gomez present their project to one of three judges who will evaluate the projects in the Senior Earth & Environmental Science category.

More than 250 future inventors, engineers, scientists and computational geniuses showed up with their posters on Saturday, April 13, for the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair 2024, held at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Everything and anything is fodder for these exhibitors’ scientific inquiry: from earthworm-assisted agriculture to chemical analysis of archaeological finds; from novel models for cancer treatments to innovations in hydroponics and environmental air and soil testing; from building a better propeller blade to the effects of GMO on the “three sisters”—corn, beans and squash. There were also projects such as keeping cocoa hot and hot garbage, combating pimples and “killer beauty” products, calming dogs with music and chile extract as insecticide.

The judging is split into Junior (grades 6-9) and Senior (grades 9-12) Divisions, and at the state level, the competition is pretty fierce. Students bring their tri-fold posters, dress their best, and rehearse their presentations for each other before leaving the floor to give the judges plenty of time to evaluate the posters.

 

By 10 a.m., the students return to their stations and wait for a judge to come hear the presentation and ask questions. This is the round where it’s “make it or break it.” The three judges do their interviews individually so the student has three chances to walk them through their math, science or engineering exploration. But at the state level, they have practiced enough that all of the students are impressive.

 

For the category awards, those who made the cut are asked to participate in the Grand Award round. In the Junior Division, there are two Grand Award winners, one in the life sciences and one in the physical sciences. These exhibitors receive cash awards and/or merchandise.

 

In the Senior Division, the top two exhibitors in the life sciences and the top two exhibitors in the physical sciences qualify for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). Their awards include all-expenses paid trips for the students and their sponsors to attend and exhibit at Intel ISEF, held in May 12-17 this year in Los Angeles.

 

The senior Grand Prize winner was V. Sue Cleveland High School’s Gene Huntley with his project, “A Realtime Camera Fusion 3D Model with a Novel Feature-Matching and Star Identification-Based Calibration for Tracking Smoke Plumes.” Huntley won $750, a plaque, and first place on the qualifying team going to the Intel ISEF, as well as first in his category, Earth and Environmental Science, and several special awards.

Kyuryeon Kim gives his presentation to one of the judges at the New Mexico State Science Fair.

A student from La Cueva High School (Albuquerque), Kyuryeon Kim, presented a project titled “Learning Drug Representation Using Drug-Drug Similarity for the Large Scale Prediction of Drug-Drug Interactions.” When asked where he got the idea, he said, “I was visiting my grandfather last summer, and noticed how many pills he had to take. I learned that this practice of ‘polypharmacy’ is common among seniors, and I thought there has to be issues with that.” His inquiry led him to develop a computer model that would compare the chemical formulas of drugs and predict any issues during the research and development phase. For his project, Kim earned several accolades: third place in Senior Biology and Plant Sciences, a Special Award from the American Chemical Society ($200), and second in the NMJAS Paper Competition.

In the Junior Division, the Grand Prize winner in physical science was Alisha Wald from Mandela International Magnet School (Santa Fe) for “Beyond Detection: Exploring the Science Behind Stealth Innovations,” and in life science, Harry Lee III from Los Alamitos Middle School (Grants) for “Oryctolagus cunniculus Urine Fertilizer 2.0.”

Head judge Mark Petersen said, “I would like to extend my thanks to the NM Tech faculty and staff who make this event possible, particularly Ann Hatch and Sharon Sessions.  A total of 87 judges spent the day interviewing these students, including many NM Tech professors, graduate students, and undergrads. The science fair students often say that the interaction with our judges is the best part of the day, and that it is exciting to discuss their research with specialists in those fields.”

Petersen continues to volunteer because the science fair experience was life changing for his daughter, Lillian Petersen. She participated in NMSEF for six years beginning in 2015, and is now pursuing a career in science. Lillian will begin graduate school in genetics and molecular biology at Stanford this fall.

About the science fair, Dr. Sharon Sessions, director of the STEM Outreach office at New Mexico Tech and chair of the physics department, said, “We had more than 250 students participate, many for the first time—including some of our ISEF finalists.”

A total of 250 students attended to present 214 projects. For many of the students, it was their first visit to Tech’s campus.

The full slate of award winners is linked at the bottom of this web page: https://www.nmt.edu/stem/sciencefair/

Enjoy this photo gallery from the event.

A collaborative project in Senior Biomedical and Health Sciences,

with Lucas Tang (right), Victor Barbosa Nunes da Silva (left), Yanming Wu (not pictured)

A judge carefully examines the research findings in the Senior category

Students in the Junior Division wait for the judges' interviews

A project by Xarinah Manlapaz, Senior Animal Sciences and Microbiology

A project by Ahana Koushik in Junior Plant Sciences

A project by Irina Gruzdeva in Senior Chemistry