The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts won first place overall in the school category and three ASMSA students placed in the top four in the individual overall competition at the 2014 Southwestern Energy Arkansas Science and Engineering Fair.
The fair was held April 5-6 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
ASMSA won first place overall for the second consecutive year. Also placing in the top five were Little Rock Central High School, second; Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, third; Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, fourth; and Alma High School, fifth.
Overall school winners were determined by the number of points each school accumulated based on their award winners divided by the school’s total number of projects entered in the fair. Each school was required to have a certain number of projects entered in the fair to be considered for the overall prize.
In the overall individual awards, ASMSA seniors Russell Bryan of Conway, Kevin Fialkowski of Heber Springs and Yeongwoo Hwang of Jonesboro each placed in the top five. Bryan, the son of Sarah and Eric Bryan, placed second overall. Fialkowski, the son of Marta and Paul Fialkowski, took third place. Hwang, the son of Kyoungsuk Ahn and Yeonsang Hwang, placed fourth overall.
Fialkowski placed first overall in the West Central Regional Science Fair at ASMSA in February. Bryan took second place overall in the regional science fair. Their finishes in the regional qualified them to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair to be held Los Angeles on May 11-16. Because they had already earned a trip to ISEF, Bryan and Fialkowski were only eligible to compete in the overall division.
Hwang qualified for the Intel ISEF with his state science fair performance. He finished as the top ISEF qualifier at the state competition. Bryan, Fialkowski and Hwang will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the international competition in May.
ASMSA state science fair category winners were:
Animal Science
Adrienne Merriott, second place, a senior from Bryant and the daughter of E’Lane and Robert Merriott; Josephine Pigeon, honorable mention, a senior from Russellville and the daughter of Kimberly and John Pigeon;
Behavioral and Social Science
Morgan Willis, first place, a senior from Horatio and the daughter of Susie Willis; Claire Smith, third place, a senior from Oden and the daughter of Robin and R.C. Smith; and Erica Benoit, honorable mention, a senior from Redfield and a daughter of Cheryl and Eric Benoit;
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Joah Clements, first place, a senior from Eureka Springs and the son of Amy and David Clements;
Computer Science
Yeongwoo Hwang, first place, a senior from Jonesboro, the son of Kyoungsuk Ahn and Yeonsang Hwang;
Earth and Planetary Science
Seth Gilchrist, second place, a senior from Springdale and the son of Susan A. Fox;
Engineering: Electrical and Mechanical
Jason Lantz, honorable mention, a senior from Bradford, the son of Marie Lantz of Bradford and Alan and Amanda Lantz of Bella Vista;
Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering
Tim Selvidge, third place, a senior from Charlotte and the son of Stacey and Kevin Couch;
Environmental Sciences
Sarah Winters, honorable mention, a senior from Eureka Springs and the daughter of Nicole and Tom Winters of Holiday Island;
Mathematics
Luke McEntire, first place, a senior from Waldron and the son of Ann and Freddie McEntire;
Medicine and Health
Zeel Modi, first place, a senior from El Dorado and the daughter of Devyaniben and Nilesh Modi; Tabetha Ridgway, second place, a senior from Heber Springs, daughter of Tina and Alan Ridgway;
Microbiology
E. Taylor Stone, first place, a senior from Little Rock and the daughter of Sue Stone and Bill Birch of Little Rock and Jack Stone of Hot Springs;
Physics and Astronomy
Tara Moses, honorable mention, a senior from Arkadelphia and the daughter of Cheryl MacKay; and Hunter Martin, honorable mention, a senior from Benton and the son of Amy and Heath Martin; and
Plant Sciences
Inga Nordgren, honorable mention, a senior from Eureka Springs and the daughter of Ann Nordgren of Eureka Springs and Erik Nordgren of Asheville, N.C.
Several ASMSA students also received special awards, which were awarded for certain categories by various organizations, including:
• Acxiom Award for the project that best utilizes computer science, Yeongwoo Hwang;
•American Fisheries Society — Arkansas Chapter for best aquatic science award, Jesse Hardin Hufstedler, first place, a senior from Imboden and the son of Dr. Maenola Jo Hardin and Dr. Robert Hufstedler;
• American Psychological Association for the most outstanding project related to behavioral science, Morgan Willis;
• Arkansas Computer Science Teachers Association Award for the top computer science project, Yeongwoo Hwang, first place;
• Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission for projects related to preserving Arkansas’ natural heritage, E. Taylor Stone and Jesse Hardin Hufstedler;
• Arkansas Chapter of the Wildlife Society for the best project related to wildlife or wildlife conservation, Jesse Hardin Hufstedler, first place;
• Intel Excellence in Computer Science for the first place project in computer science, Yeongwoo Hwang; and
• Mu Alpha Theta for the most outstanding project in mathematics, Luke McEntire.