More than 40 budding scientists in middle and high school are moving on to the Berkeley County Science Fair in January after placing in the Saint Joseph School science fair on Dec. 5.
With projects spanning a variety of topics, including antiperspirant effectiveness, emoji interpretation, how music affects plants, sports ball movement and cola reactions, 63 students in grades seven to nine presented 50 projects to a panel of judges at the home of Monsignor Lackey Council 1169 of the Knights of Columbus at 108 W. Stephen St. in Martinsburg.
The following students placed at the school level and are moving on to compete against students across Berkeley County on Jan. 10 at Musselman Middle School in Bunker Hill, W.Va.:
Middle school
Animal science: Lindsey Smith, first; Cheyanne Bennett, second
Behavioral/social science: Gisela Aparicio, first
Chemistry: Jacob Severance, first; Rhea Rawat, second; Gracie Burkett and Jimena Olvera, third
Energy: Elijah Ala, first; Josie Delozier and Aiden Watters, second; Wyatt Fiorita, third
Environmental science: Charlotte Carter, second
Material science: Liam McGibbon, first; Camilla Stewart, second; Charlee Fiorita, third
Mathematics: Jax Riggleman, second
Medical science: team of Sarah Burns and Elizabeth McMillan tied for first with Isabelle Price; Alana Espenlaub, second; Calvin Fanjoy and Rebecca Sharp, third
Physics: Diego Garcia and Ethan McCreery, first; team of Lucas Harding and Camden Hersh tied for second with the team of Christian O’Meara and Nicolas O’Meara; Darren Nguyen, third
Plant science: Adalynn McGibbon and Vivienne Olsen, first; Lola Perkins and Aubrey Lee, third
High school
Behavioral science: Addison Michael and Madison Regalia, first; Mia MacDonald, third
Chemistry: Annabelle Ayers, second; Oliver Heng, third
Medical science: Matthew Billmyer, second
Physics: James White, first; Maya Byers, second
Plant science: Gabriela Galicia Ruiz, second; Jeanene Acuna, third
The projects were judged by Harold Bostic, director of artificial intelligence for Voyager Search, a software company; Ruben Ferreira de Carvalho, microbiology lab supervisor at WVU Health System; Griffin Niamatali, a graduate of Saint Joseph School who studied chemistry at West Virginia University and is currently a substitute teacher at SJS; Dr. Devika Sood, a family practice physician in Berkeley County; and Procter & Gamble employees Isac VanMetre, quality control specialist; Andrea Gonzalez, microbiologist; Chase Mungo, laboratory technician; and Daniel Lambert, quality launch leader.
