AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the 43 students who won competitions at the 2015 Texas Science and Engineering Fair, held last weekend in San Antonio, have been awarded scholarships to attend the Governor’s Science and Technology Champions Academy this summer at Texas A&M University.
“In order to remain a national leader in job creation, Texas must take the lead in training and encouraging a new generation of entrepreneurs, particularly in the STEM fields,” said Governor Abbott. “I’m proud of each of this year’s participants, and by providing our students with opportunities like the Governor’s Science and Technology Champions Academy, Texas will continue to ignite a passion for innovation and build a better and brighter future for generations to come.”
“Through the Texas Science and Engineering Fair and the Governor’s Science and Technology Champions Academy, we are encouraging our students to explore creative solutions to current and emerging issues facing our world and developing the future leaders in STEM here in Texas,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar, who presented medals to the senior division first and second place winners in 17 project categories at the Science and Engineering Fair.
The Governor’s Science and Technology Champions Academy participants will engage in hands-on laboratory activities in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry, engineering, veterinary science, and calculus. The scholarships awarded to science fair winners cover the entire cost of the residential summer camp.
More than 1,100 middle and high school students who qualified at regional competitions competed in the Texas Science and Engineering Fair. Winners from the senior division advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair competition in Pittsburgh, PA., in May.
Here are the ones from Texas Forest Country Area Schools –
3rd Place Animal Sciences
Dominique Mellone, Jasper High School
Cryptobiosis of Tardigrades-Water Bears in Suspended Animation
4th Place Behavioral and Social Sciences
Yingyan Ho, Jasper High School
Keystroke Dynamics: Improving Information Security and User Authentication with the Application of Biometric Identifiers
5th Place Mathematical Sciences
Vishal Rajesh and Nisha Rajesh, Jasper High School
Fire Fighting at Work: A Simulation of Envelope Fire Fronts and Locational Fuel Treatment
1st Place Biochemistry
Jierui Fang, Anagha Krishnan and Jierui Fang, Jasper
Testing for the Presence of Harmful Free Radicals in Sunscreens Containing Zinc and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles
5th Place Medicine and Health Sciences
Michael Yuan, Jasper High School
Simulation Study of the Number of Positive Cores in a Prostate Cancer Biopsy Session
2nd Place Plant Sciences
Wenjia Li and Anoop Vemulapalli, Jasper High School
Enhanced Third-Generation Biofuel Production from Genetically Modified Algae
Senior Special Recognition
Earth Day Texas: Environmental Sciences – Presenter: Jim Clement
2.Carolyn Guan, Jasper High School
To view a list of this year’s science fair winners, please visit http://www.txsef.org/awards/.
