Five students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned eligibility for the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair at the Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair held April 1-2 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
The team of seniors Sheridan Dethrow of Jonesboro and Gwen Keith-Powell of North Little Rock won fourth place in the ISEF Finalists category. Senior Emma Cavaneau of Benton won fifth place while the team of seniors Spencer Lile of Benton and Paul Massey of Conway finished sixth in the category, all qualifying for international fair.
They join three other ASMSA students who qualified for ISEF at the West Central Regional Science Fair that was held in February at ASMSA. Those students were Abby Berger of Jonesboro, Claire Green of North Little Rock and Danielle Luyet of Conway. The 2022 ISEF will be held in Atlanta in May. The Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest and most prestigious undergraduate research competition. The contest is sponsored by the Society For Science.
ASMSA earned second place in the overall school competition. The school competition uses an equation that uses the number of entries from a school and points accumulated by their individual award winners. Pulaski Academy won the overall title this year, ending ASMSA’s nine-year streak winning the top award.
Individual category student awards included:
First place: Emma Cavaneau of Bention, Animal Sciences; Jasmine Conn of Van Buren, Behavioral and Social Science, and the team of Olivia Norman of Hot Springs and Evan Elk of Jonesboro, Environmental Science.
Second Place: Levi Pile of North Little Rock, Chemistry; team of Hannah Harsson of Concord and Ella Blackstock of Dover, Environmental Science; Shamiso Zindoga of Conway, Medicine and Health; and the team of Sheridan Dethrow of Jonesboro and Gwen Keith-Powell of North Little Rock, Plant Sciences.
Third Place: Bobby Thomas of El Dorado, Animal Sciences; the team of Paul Massey of Conway and Spencer Lile of Benton, Behavioral and Social Science; the team of Trey Clark of Harrison and Meadow Kelly of Fayetteville, Computer Science; Bear Moore of Hampton, Environmental Science; Mika Brown of Hope, Physics and Planetary Science; and the team of Connor Helms of Bentonville and Charlotte Boehme of Little Rock, Plant Sciences.
Honorable Mention: Team of Cadence Ventress of Benton and Ervonicca Smith of Delaware, Ark., Animal Sciences; team of Alyssa Thomas of El Dorado, Joshua Johnson of Sherwood and Drew Johnson of Crossett, Animal Sciences; team of Robert Boerwinkle of El Dorado and Josh Favorite of Hot Springs, Computer Science; Alex Bowlin of Fort Smith, Environmental Science; and Jayita Ujjaini of Jonesboro, Medicine and Health.
Special Awards
Arkansas Soybean Challenge for projects that advance our knowledge of soybean science: First Place: Abby Berger of Jonesboro; Honorable Mention: Cameryn Berryhill of Evening Shade.
Edmond E. Griffin Award for a project that demonstrates creativity in the life sciences: team of Connor Helms of Bentonville and Charlotte Boehme of Little Rock.
Mark Welch Excellence in Animal Science Research Award: Emma Cavaneau of Benton.
NASA EARTH System Science Award: Sarina Patel of North Little Rock.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration award for a project related to ecosystems, climate, weather and transportation: Nash Anandaraj of Mountain View.
Pepperman-Albert Memorial Award for an excellent project related to cancer research: Shamiso Zindoga of Conway.
Society for Neuroscience, Arkansas Chapter award for an outstanding project in neuroscience: First Place: Amy Hoang of Hartman.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize for the top water-related projects: Emma Cavaneau of Benton.