Round Rock ISD students put their scientific knowledge to the test and came out among some of the top minds in the nation at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles earlier this month.
The fair, hosted by the Society for Science, is the world’s largest pre-collegiate science and engineering competition. They feature work from students in 49 U.S. states and nearly 70 countries, regions, and territories.
Students from Round Rock and Westwood high schools were selected after advancing from the Greater Austin Regional Science and Engineering Fair in March.
Gargi Sharma from Round Rock High School was selected to compete in the Biochemistry category with her project The Design of Spirooxindole-Pyrrolidinyl Scaffold as an Inhibitor of the MDM2 Protein Biochemistry.
Naithruv Kashyap and Suchir Kumar, from Westwood High School, also participated in the contest, taking fourth place in the Environmental Engineering category with their project Sustainable Bee Keeping Project – Sensor-assisted monitoring for operational, investigative, and predictive hive health management for honeybee colonies. The pair also won a Special Award from Arizona State University, scholarships renewable for four years and valued at up to $58,000 each.
Uma Sthanu, from Westwood High School, also placed in her category, Mathematics. She will receive $1,000 for his project Mathematical Techniques to Analyze Multiple Sclerosis Dynamics and Accurately Predict Patient Outcomes, which placed third.
This year, over $9 million was awarded to finalists based on their projects’ creativity, innovation, and depth of scientific inquiry. The fair saw approximately 2,000 student entries in various categories such as physics, environmental sciences, animal sciences, and more.
