Kevin Fialkowski, a senior from Heber Springs, and Merin Duke, a senior from Pine Bluff, won first place in the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts West Central Regional Science Fair and Senior Research Symposium, respectively.
The two competitions are the culmination of yearlong Fundamentals in Research Methods (FIRM) projects in which students choose a science-, math- or humanities-based topic to study. Students who choose science or math topics compete in the science fair while students who study humanities topics compete in the Senior Research Symposium.
The competitions were held Feb. 26-28. Students were recognized during an awards ceremony Friday.
Duke won first place in the research symposium for her project, “The Controversy Behind the Sistine Chapel Restoration.” She is the daughter of Lisa and Charles Bauer Duke III.
Fialkowski won first place in the science fair for his project, “Computational Analysis of Beta-Lactam Stabilization in the N-Terminal Domain of Silk Fibroin.” He is the son of Marta and Paul Fialkowski. He will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held May 11-16 in Los Angeles.
Second- through fourth-place overall winners were also recognized in the science fair competition. Russell Bryan, a senior from Conway, won second place overall for his project, “Brownian Motion as a Source of Entropy for the Generation of Random Numbers.” Bryan, the son of Sarah and Eric Bryan, will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Intel ISEF in Los Angeles.
Morgan Willis, a senior from Horatio and the daughter of Susie Willis, won third place for her project ,“Statistical Analysis of Traditional Pedagogy versus Classroom Inversion.” E. Taylor Stone, a senior from Little Rock and the daughter of Sue Stone of Little Rock and Jack Stone of Hot Springs, won fourth place for her project, “Genetic Diversity of Hot Springs Thermophiles.”
Category winners in the West Central Regional Science Fair were:
Animal Science
1. Josie Pigeon of Russellville, daughter of Kimberly and John Pigeon
2. Adrienne Merriott of Bryant, daughter of E’Lane and Robert Merriott
Behavioral and Social Science
1. Morgan Willis of Horatio, daughter of Susie Willis
2. Claire Smith of Oden, daughter of Robin and R.C. Smith
3. Coleman Herman of Monticello, daughter of Erika Herman
Honorable Mention: Kenton Hill of Caraway, son of Christy and Jessie Floyd of Caraway and Mike Hill; Tristan Miller of Greenwood, son of Lisa and Jay Lane; and Bryce Montgomery of Hope, son of Kendal and Bill Montgomery.
Biochemistry
1. Kevin Fialkowski
Cellular and Molecular Biology
1. Joah Clements of Eureka Springs, son of Amy and David Clements
2. Mason Sifford of Little Rock, son of Susan and Charles Sifford
Honorable Mention: Jesse Dai of Magnolia, son of Juping Wang and Yonghu Dai
Chemistry
1. Hunter Pool of Ward, son of Mellisa and Eric Hutchins and David Pool
Honorable Mention: Laura Lin of Stuttgart, daughter of Michael Lin and the late Julia Cheng Lin
Computer Science
1. Russell Bryan
2. Yeongwoo Hwang of Jonesboro, son of Kyongsuk Ahn and Yeonsang Hwang
3. Kyle Hooks of Bentonville, son of Violet and Brian Hooks
Earth Science
1. April Walker of Hot Springs Village, daughter of Alicia and Allan Walker
2. Seth Gilchrist of Springdale, son of Susan Fox
3. Craig Hinman of Lamar, son of Bertha and James Hinman III
Honorable Mention: Morgan Nall of Monticello, daughter of Amanda and Rodney Nall
Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical
1. Jason Lantz of Bradford, son of Marie Lantz of Bradford and Johnnie “Alan” Lantz of Bella Vista
2. Alex Jaeger of Leslie, son of Dana and Jonathan Jaeger
3. Jacob Lawler of Bella Vista, son of Donell Lawler
Honorable Mention: Justin Flynn of Hardy, son of Wendy Flynn of Cape Giradeau, Mo., and Michael Flynn of Hardy
Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering
1. Connor Taffe of Cabot, son of Suzanne and Owen Taffe
2. Tim Selvidge of Charlotte, son of Stacey and Kevin Couch
3. Dylan Johnson of Redfield, son of Laurie and Sean Johnson
Environmental Science
1. Sarah Winters of Eureka Springs, daughter of Nicole and Tom Winters of Holiday Island
2. Hunter Hill of DeWitt, son of Lisa and Scott Hill
3. Jesse Hardin Hufstedler of Imboden, son of Dr. Maenola Jo Hardin and Dr. Robert Hufstedler
Mathematics
1. Luke McEntire of Waldron, son of Ann and Freddie McEntire
2. Rahil Patel of Magnolia, son of Trusha and Ajay Patel
3. Caleb Bright of Van Buren, son of Christina and Greg Thurby of Van Buren and James Bright of Spiro, Okla.
Medicine and Health Science
1. Tabetha Ridgway of Heber Springs, daughter of Tina and Alan Ridgway
2. Zeel Modi of El Dorado, daughter of Devyaniben and Nilesh Modi
Honorable Mention: Sara Smith of Texarkana, daughter of Cindy and Bill Smith; and Kolbi Moore of Earle, daughter of Marilynn and Connie Moore
Microbiology
1. E. Taylor Stone of Little Rock, daughter of Sue Stone of Little Rock and Jack Stone of Hot Springs
Honorable Mention: Sanket Patel of Pine Bluff, son of Hemlata and Bimal Patel; and Amber Corpus of El Dorado, daughter of Caroline and Michael Corpus
Physics/Astronomy
1. Hunter Martin of Benton, son of Amy and Heath Martin
2. Tara Moses of Arkadelphia, daughter of Cheryl MacKay
3. Erica Benoit of Redfield, daughter of Cheryl and Eric Benoit
Honorable Mention: Vicky Pearce of Sherwood, daughter of Leah and Oscar Pearce
Plant Science
1. Inga Nordgren of Eureka Springs, daughter of Ann Nordgren of Eureka Springs and Erik Nordgren of Asheville, N.C.
2. Whitney Schug of Paragould, daughter of Mary Jean Belew of Jonesboro and Gergory and Rebecca Schug of Paragould
The top three winners in each category are eligible compete in the Arkansas Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway on April 4-5.
Several special awards were also awarded by various organizations that recognized students’ research in specific areas. Those awards include:
1. Craig Hinman and April Walker, American Meteorological Society Certificate of Outstanding Achievement in an Atmospheric Science Exhibit;
2. Jesse Hardin Hufstedler, the Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Best Aquatic Sciences Award;
3. Jesse Hardin Hufstedler and Hunter Hill, The Wildlife Society Best Project Fisheries and Wildlife Management;
4. Peter Rick of Hot Springs, son of JuneMarie Shuff Thompson and Shane Thompson of Hot Springs and Tim Rick of Minnesota, U.S. Metric Association Best Use of SI Units;
5. Tim Selvidge, ASM Materials Education Foundation Most Outstanding Exhibit in Materials Science;
6. Adrienne Merriott, U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General’s Special Science Award;
7. Seth Gilchrist, NOAA Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award for Best Project in Climate Science;
8. Jesse Hardin Hufstedler and Craig Hinman, Water Environment Federation Stockholm Junior Water Prize for Best Aquatic Science Project;
9. Morgan Nall, Association of Women Geoscientists Best Earth Science Project by a Female Student; and
10. Inga Nordgren, Most Aesthetically Pleasing Backboard.
Each student participating in the science fair also participated in the West Central Regional Junior Academy of Sciences. Students were required to do a 10-minute presentation discussing their research. The category winners were:
Animal Science
1. Adrienne Merriott
2. Josie Pigeon
Biochemistry
1. Kevin Fialkowski
Cellular and Molecular Biology
1. Mason Sifford
Computer Science
1. Simon Boerwinkle of El Dorado, son of David and Robin Boerwinkle
2. Yeongwoo Hwang
3. Kyle Hooks
Honorable Mentions: Russell Bryan and John Haynes
Earth Science
1. No first-place award given
2. Morgan Nall
Honorable Mention: April Walker and Seth Gilchrist
Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering
1. Tim Selvidge
2. Dylan Johnson
3. Baleigh Almond of Pea Ridge, daughter of Shelly Kellenberger of Rogers and Joseph and Penny Almond of Hot Springs
Honorable Mention: Connor Taffe
Engineering Electrical and Mechanical
1. Jason Lantz
2. Justin Flynn
3. Peter Rick
Honorable Mention: Alex Jaeger
Environmental Science
1. Sarah Winters
2. Name withheld by request
3. Jesse Hardin Hufstedler
Honorable Mention: Hunter Hill
Mathematics
1. Jacob Hammers of Trumann, son of Katherine and Rick Hammers
2. Spencer Moody of Russellville, daughter of Debbie Moody Weibler and Bob Weibler of Russellville and Robert Moody of Blytheville
3. Luke McEntire
Medicine and Health Science
1. Zeel Modi
2. Tabetha Ridgway
Microbiology
1. E. Taylor Stone
Physics and Astronomy
1. Tara Moses
2. Erica Benoit
3. Vicky Pearce
Plant Science
1. Whitney Schug
2. Inga Nordgren and Jessica Nguyen of Sherwood, daughter of Hong Thi and Ban Van Nguyen
3. Alex Reed of Paris, son of Brandy Ragains of Paris and Nathan Reed of Mountainburg
The category winners for the Senior Research Symposium were:
Arts and Literature
1. Merin Duke
2. Brandon Kanwischer of Little Rock, son of Randa York of Conway and Norman Kanwischer of Little Rock
3. Kayla Bolin of Jasper, daughter of James Bolin
Honorable Mention: Joseph Dobson of Little Rock, son of Andrea and Bruce Dobson
Political Science and Government
1. Ashley Semiche of West Memphis, daughter of Kristina and Richard Semiche
2. Bryan Hernandez of Clinton, son of Cici and Joaquin Hernandez
3. Carly Roitz of Roland, daughter of Louise Roitz of Little Rock and Joseph Roitz of Roland
Honorable Mention: Zaria Sumler of Poplar Grove, daughter of Avis Donahoo of Poplar Grove and Amoja Sumler of Little Rock
History
1. Tyler Hendrix of White Hall, son of Susan Hendrix of White Hall and David Hendrix of Greenville, Miss.
2. Tucker Henderson of Smackover, son of Jan and Dan Henderson
3. Claire Turkal of Hot Springs Village, daughter of Margie Gilbertson of Hot Springs Village and Bruce Turkal of Hot Springs Village
Honorable Mention: Emmi Kitkoski of Hot Springs, daughter of Wendy and Richard Kitkoski
Social Science
1. Name withheld by request
2. Vivian Le of Hot Springs Village, daughter of Tuyet Hoa Huynh and Tanh Thien Le
3. Brisa Bartczak of North Little Rock, daughter of Summer and Ken Bartczak
Bartczak also won the award for the Most Aesthetically Pleasing Backboard for the Senior Research Symposium.
Students who competed in the SRS also competed in a Junior Academy, giving 10-minute presentations on their work. The winners of the SRS Junior Academy were:
Arts and Literature
1. Merin Duke
2. Lukas Young of Waldo, son of Lisa Van Donsel of Waldo and Charles Young of Waldo
3. Brandon Kanswicher
Honorable Mention: Kayla Bolin
Political Science and Government
1. Carly Roitz
2. Ashley Semiche
3. Bryan Hernandez
Honorable Mention: Zaria Sumler
History
1. Claire Turkal
2. Tucker Henderson
3. Tyler Hendrix
Social Science
1. Barbarae Limbrick of Clarksville, daughter of Georgia and Raymond Limbrick
2. Vivian Le
3. Mylisha Nauden of Augusta, daughter of Rose and Winston Nauden
Students were awarded gift cards and cash prizes as rewards for various achievements. The Arkansas Environmental Foundation provided cash prizes for the first- and second-place overall winners in the science fair and their sponsoring teachers. Additional cash awards for first- through fourth-place overall winners in the science fair were made possible through a grant from the Arkansas Legislature.