ASMSA recognizes 2019 West Central Regional Science Fair winners

Developing disease resistance in certain strains of rice, a study of the water quality of the Gulpha Creek Watershed in Hot Springs National Park, and a mathematical equation to track the movement of microplastics in ocean currents were the topics of the top three projects at the 2019 West Central Regional Science Fair at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

Students were recognized during the West Central Regional Science Fair awards ceremony on Feb. 25 in the Creativity and Innovation Complex on the ASMSA campus. The top three winners qualified for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest pre-college science competition. This year’s fair will be held May 12-17 in Phoenix, Ariz.

Mary Jia of Stuttgart won first place overall for her project that studied disease resistant gene mutations in Katy rice and two mutated strains — M2354 and LMM1. She searched for genes related to disease resistance in the rice strains.

Her study comes naturally of sorts. Both of her parents are researchers at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart. During the public viewing hours on Feb. 22, Jia and her father, Yulin, who is a plant pathologist, were having a discussion about her project in front of her display board. He was asking various questions about her testing methods and the information she had shared on the board. Jia said she their discussion was typical.

“My parents and I talk about subjects like that all of the time. We love to talk science and other topics, so it’s not unusual for me. I really enjoy those discussions,” she said.

It was a discussion with her parents about a book they each read called “The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements” by science reporter Sam Kean that inspired her research. The book focuses on the stories about how each element of the Periodic Table affected the people who discovered the elements.

One story focuses on cobalt and the development of nuclear bombs using the element. Her parents told her that certain types of cobalt mutagens are used to knock out genes to study them. That sparked her interest in doing rice research.

She also was influenced by her favorite scientist — Yuan Longping, the “father of hybrid rice.” He won a Nobel Prize in agriculture for his rice research.

Jia’s project recently received national recognition in the Regeneron Science Talent Search. Both ISEF and the Regeneron contest are sponsored by the Society for Science and the Public.

Even with the previous recognition, Jia said she doubted her chances at winning an overall award and trip to the Intel ISEF.

“I bet my roommate her entire stash of ramen noodles that I wouldn’t win. In exchange, I would have to give up some things for Lent if I did win. I was sure I was getting her ramen noodles,” Jia said, laughing, after Monday’s awards ceremony.

Dr. Brian Monson, chair of ASMSA’s Science Department and director of the West Central Regional Science Fair, served as Jia’s project adviser. He had high praise for her dedication to research.

“Mary’s project stands out by the overwhelming amount of work she did as well as the high quality of the work,” Monson said. “She has a graduate-level understanding of plant genetics. I think that she is the hardest-working research student I have ever mentored.

“She has spent most of the last two summers at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center and the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center. She has been very independent while working on the project, and I am amazed at what she has accomplished.

Rachel Stall pf Clarksville won second-place overall. She has the distinction of being the first two-year qualifier from ASMSA for the international fair. The Clarksville senior won fourth-place overall at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair as a junior last year, qualifying her for a trip to ISEF in Pittsburgh. At the 2018 international fair, she earned a full-tuition scholarship from Drexel University. The university awarded eight full scholarships valued at $250,000 each to students whose projects match Drexel’s curriculum.

Stall said she was excited about having another opportunity to go to ISEF. Last year’s competition provided her experience on how the contest works and what to expect.

“I’m just very glad to have another chance to go back to compete again. There is some further testing I want to do to improve my project before the international competition. I really enjoy talking to people about it,” Stall said.

Stall began her work on the project during her junior year through the Research in the Park program. The capstone program allows students to work on various projects through a partnership with Hot Springs National Park. Stall showed early interest in Gulpha Creek, said Dr. Lindsey Waddell, Stall’s project adviser.

“Rachel has always shown a strong passion for environmental science,” Waddell said. “Upon arriving at ASMSA, she ‘adopted’ Gulpha Creek, and water quality in general, as a cause that she has championed, not just through the execution of her project, but also through outreach and citizen science opportunities.

“She is always eager to learn new methods and techniques for measuring water quality, and that shows through in the many parameters she has integrated into her assessment of Gulpha Creek.”

Stall continued her research during the summer of 2018 after being selected for a Murphy USA Summer Research Fellowship from ASMSA. Along with three other previous Research in the Park students, Stall requested the creation of a senior research course that would allow them to stay actively engaged with their junior-year projects. That extra time along with Stall’s dedication to the project made a big difference in the ultimate outcome, Waddell said.

“I could tell by the end of her first semester that she had strong potential to become an ISEF finalist. She is very organized, and data collection and analysis come naturally to her. Sure enough, by the time she competed in science fair her junior year, she had produced a 50-page paper full of graphs and analysis — something I had only seen before from only my most ambitious senior projects,” Waddell said.

Callen Gast of Cabot won third-place overall. Gast said she became interested in developing a mathematical model for tracking microplastics in the ocean after reading several articles about the proliferation of glitter, as the microplastic trash is called, in ocean currents. Someone in class said developing a way to track the trash in oceanic currents would be too hard. Gast took up the challenge.

“People said it would be too difficult track it, and some people told me I couldn’t do it, so I decided to make a whole project out of it,” Gast said during the public viewing session on Friday. She said she was excited when she found out she was a finalist but did not expect to be in the top three to earn a trip to ISEF.

Nikki Kennedy, her adviser and a math instructor at ASMSA, said she liked the spin Gast put on her research, which was an environmental one but through creativity and research became mathematics based.

“We spoke about her interest in this environmental problem, and I liked her spin on her particular concern regarding glitter as a pollutant,” Kennedy said. “We began discussing the ocean currents and the main collection sources of these pollutants. Our conversation evolved into a college-level topic called the Riemann Mapping Theorem.

“In our next meeting, I taught her a brief lesson related to complex functions, the Riemann Mapping Theorem, spherical coordinates and Mobius Transformations. This was completely new information for her, but I remember how invested she seemed. Each time we set a goal, she went above and beyond to complete the tasks.”

Luke Nester of Hot Springs finished fourth overall for his examination of ostracods and limestone associated with the thermal springs in Hot Springs National Park. He did not qualify for ISEF at the West Central Regional Science Fair, but will have another opportunity at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway on March 29-30.

Students who earned a first-place, second-place, third-place or honorable mention award in each of the individual categories in the West Central Regional Science Fair are allowed to compete in the state science fair. ASMSA has won the state science fair title for six years in a row. Monson said he the school has a good chance of competing for the title again and for a few of the projects to vie for a state overall award and an opportunity to travel to ISEF.

Individual category winners in the 2019 West Central Regional Science Fair were:

Animal Science: 1. Saorise Disney-McKeethen of Fayetteville 2. Emily Sullivan of Bryant 3. Virginia Halterman of Lincoln

Behavioral and Social Science: 1. Jon Rowe of Hot Springs 2. Madelynn Hickey of Hot Springs 3. Rachel Blocker of Vilonia Honorable Mention: Kristen Best of Hermitage

Cellular and Molecular Biology: 1. Landan Stuard of Dierks 2. Ly Hoang of Jonesboro 3. Montea’l Williams of Holly Grove

Chemistry: 1. Andrew Astre of Alma 2. Briawna Stigall of Mayflower Honorable Mention: Team of Kanny Anandaraj of Mountain View and Elijah Clanton of Fayetteville

Computer Science: 1. Haven Whitney of Searcy 2. William Ziegler of Hot Springs 3. Devin Patel of Blytheville

Systems Software: 1. Toby Ebarb of Sherwood 2. George Selden of Jonesboro 3. Ian Panzer of Hot Springs Honorable Mention: Jared Johnson of Jacksonville

Intel Excellence in Computer Science Award: Toby Ebarb of Sherwood

Earth Science: 1. Luke Nester of Hot Springs 2. Howard Orlina of Little Rock 3. Team of Esther Filipek of Bismarck and Sydney Hazeslip of Cabot

Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical: 1. Worthy Fleming of Little Rock 2. Team of Isabel Vasquez of North Little Rock and Alex Mooney of Helena-West Helena 3. William Rigsby of Crows Honorable Mention: Collin Wycoff of Dover

Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering: 2. Team Taylor Compton of Heber Springs and Marco Mederos of Little Rock 3. Team of Kenneth Ventress Benton and Luke Stouffer of Fort Smith

Environmental Science: 1. Rachel Stall of Clarksville 2. Ethan Talley of Conway 3. Halo Skinner of Sherwood

Mathematics: 1. Callen Gast of Cabot 2. Sarah Balenko of Dover 3. Prince Dalal of Benton

Medicine and Health Science: 1. Team of Nnume Nwankwo of Alexander and Macey Ross of Jonesboro 2. Team of Alexx Weaver of Lonoke and Sophia McLain of Van Buren 3. Aiden Cates of North Little Rock Honorable Mentions: Megan Gray of Sheridan and Maria Quintero of White Hall

Microbiology: 1. Team of Solomon Ni of Jonesboro and Blaine Martin of Texarkana 2. Team of Emily Smith of Cabot and Minnie Lee of Charleston 3. Team of Katrina Smith of Franklin and Sarah Xie of White Hall Honorable Mention: Team of Gwen Coleman of Clarksville and Caitlin England of Magnet Cove

Physics and Astronomy: 1. Micah Vess of Dover 2. Blake Jefferson of Benton 3. Brandon Norman of Jacksonville Honorable Mention: Gabriel Webb of Drasco

Plant Science: 1. Mary Jia of Stuttgart 2. Kendele Kramer of Batesville 3. Emily Sookaserm of Stuttgart Honorable Mention: Theresa Markwardt of Fayetteville

Society for Science and the Public Community Innovation Award: Isabel Vasquez of North Little Rock and Alex Mooney of Helena-West Helena

The Junior Academy of Sciences is a separate competition in which students are judged on the presentation of their project and findings in a classroom-like atmosphere. Competitors speak about their project, and judges name individual winners in each category. Students who placed in the top four of their individual categories may also compete in the state science fair’s Junior Academy of Sciences. Individual category winners in the Junior Academy of Sciences included:

Animal Science: 1. Saoirse Disney-McKeethen of Fayetteville 2. Virginia Halterman of Lincoln 3. Jaxon Cummings of Ward Honorable Mention: Emily Sullivan of Bryant

Behavioral Science: 1. Jon Rowe of Hot Springs 2. Kristin Best of Hermitage 3. Madelynn Hickey of Hot Springs Honorable Mentions: Wyatt Southard of Bryant and Matthew Lathrop of Heber Springs

Cellular and Molecular Biology: 1. Landan Stuard 2. Ly Hoang 3. Montea’l Williams

Chemistry: 1. Andrew Astre of Dierks 2. Team of Kenny Aanadarj of Mountain View and Elijah Clinton of Fayetteville 3. Briawna Stigall of Mayflower

Computer Science: 1. Ronan Devlin of DeQueen 2. Trinity Robinson of Fayetteville 3. Vraj Modi of Hot Springs Honorable Mentions: Shaan Hyder of Cabot and Devin Patel of Blytheville

Earth Science: 1. Luke Nester of Hot Springs 2. Team of Esther Filipek of Bismarck and Sydney Hazeslip of Cabot 3. Howard Orlina of Little Rock

Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical: 1. Worthy Fleming of Little Rock 2. Team of Isabel Vasquez of North Little Rock and Alex Mooney of Helena-West Helena 3. William Rigsby of Crows

Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering: 2. Team Taylor Compton of Heber Springs and Marco Mederos of Little Rock 3. Team of Kenneth Ventress Benton and Luke Stouffer of Fort Smith

Environmental Science: 1. Halo Skinner of Sherwood 2. Rachel Stall of Clarksville 3. Ethan Talley of Conway Honorable Mentions: Tyler Crabtree of Altus and Carson Hardin of East End

Mathematics: 1. Callen Gast of Cabot 2. Sarah Balenko of Dover 3. Prince Dalal of Benton

Medicine and Health Science: 1. Aiden Cates of North Little Rock 2. Team of Alexx Weaver of Lonoke and Sophia McLain of Van Buren 3. Team of Nnume Nwankwo of Alexander and Macey Ross of Jonesboro Honorable Mention: Maria Quintero of White Hall

Microbiology: 1. Team of Katrina Smith of Franklin and Sarah Xie of White Hall 2. Team of Gwen Coleman of Clarksville and Caitlin England of Magnet Cove 3. Team of Emily Smith of Cabot and Minnie Lee of Charleston Honoroable Mention: Team of Solomon Ni of Jonesboro and Blaine Martin of Texarkana

Physics and Astronomy: 1. Blake Jefferson of Benton 2. Brandon Norman of Jacksonville 3. Tie between Gabriel Webb of Drasco and Micah Vess of Dover Honorable Mention: Kyle Smith of Emerson

Plant Science: 1. Mary Jia of Stuttgart 2. Tie between Emily Sookaserm of Stuttgart and Kendele Kramer of Batesville

Systems Software: 1. Toby Ebarb of Sherwood 2. George Selden of Jonesboro Honorable Mentions: Jared Johnson of Jacksonville and Ian Panzer of Hot Springs

Several Special Awards were also announced during the ceremony. Special Awards presented to students by various organizations included:

American Fisheries Society Outstanding Aquatic Science Project: 1. Rachel Stall of Clarksville Honorable Mentions: Halo Skinner of Sherwood and the team of Esther Filipek of Bismarck and Sydney Hazeslip of Cabot

American Meteorological Society Outstanding Climate or Earth Science Project: Luke Nester of Hot Springs and Saorise Disney-McKeethen of Fayetteville

Association of Women Geoscientists Outstanding Geoscience by a Female Student Award: Rachel Stall of Clarksville

NASA Earth Systems Award for Outstanding Earth Science Project: Luke Nester of Hot Springs

NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Outstanding in NOAA-related Science Award: Wyatt Southard of Bryant

Office of Naval Research Outstanding Project Related to the Mission of the Navy and Marine Corps: Toby Ebarb of Sherwood, George Selden of Jonesboro and Gabe Webb of Drasco

Richo Sustainable Development Outstanding Sustainable Development Project: Tyler Crabtree of Altus

Society for In-vitro Biology Outstanding 11th-grade Life Science Award: Kasey Meyer of Center Ridge

Soybean Science Challenge Award: 1. Emily Sookaserm of Stuttgart 2. Mary Jia of Stuttgart 3. Kendele Kramer of Batesville 4. Theresa Markwardt of Fayetteville

U.S. Air Force Awards for Outstanding Projects Supporting the USAF Mission: Draper Williams of West Helena, Andrew Astre of Dierks, Callen Gast of Cabot and Blake Jefferson of Benton

U.S. Metric Association Best Use of SI Units: Team of Taylor Compton of Heber Springs and Marco Mederos of Little Rock

Stockholm Junior Water Prize for Best Aquatic Science Project: Rachel Stall of Clarksville, Halo Skinner of Sherwood and the team of Sydney Hazeslip of Cabot and Esther Filipek of Bismarck

Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for Best 11th-grade Exhibit in Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry or Engineering: Team of Kenny Ventress of Benton and Luke Stouffer of Fort Smith