Two Frisco ISD students were among the grand-prize winners at the Beal Bank Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair held in February at Fair Park.
Independence High School student Megha Vyakaranam won the top prize in the senior division for life sciences. She automatically qualifies for the international competition in Phoenix in May, the first FISD student to ever achieve this feat.
In addition, Gouzia Sivarajah, a student at Maus Middle School, won the grand prize in the junior division for physical sciences.
A total of 16 students advanced from the regional competition and will compete in the Texas Science and Engineering Fair scheduled March 31-April 2 in San Antonio. Each student’s project placed in the top four in its category at the regional fair.
Winners and their teachers were recognized March 22 during the Beal Bank Award Banquet at Southern Methodist University.
See below for the list of FISD students advancing to state competition.
Several others earned Honorable Mention in their category. Click here to see a full list of results from the regional fair.
JUNIOR DIVISION-LIFE SCIENCES
BIOCHEMISTRY
3rd Prize – Ramsha Saleem of Wester Middle School
BIOMEDICAL & HEALTH SCIENCES
2nd Prize – Minuki Medis of Fowler Middle School
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
1st Prize – Braden Tennill, Jonas Roemer and Arjun Nari, all of Pioneer Heritage Middle School; Outstanding Sustainability Award, I-SWEEP; Naval Science Award, Junior Division and Achievement in Environmental Protection Honorable Mention, U.S. EPA - Region 6
PLANT SCIENCES
3rd Prize – Adit Pathania of Clark Middle School
JUNIOR DIVISION-PHYSICAL SCIENCES
CHEMISTRY
3rd Prize – Karston Farragut and Matt Kendrick of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
4th Prize – Maggie Cammack of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
EARTH and ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
1st Prize – Robert Martinez of Griffin Middle School; Junior Division, 3rd Place, WEAT / TAWWA Junior Division; Naval Science Award, Junior Division, U.S. E.P.A. - Region 6
3rd Prize – Maddie Perkins of Pearson Middle School
4th Prize – Catherine Yang of Fowler Middle School
ENGINEERING MECHANICS
1st Prize and Grand Prize Division Winner – Gouzia Sivarajah of Maus Middle School; Naval Science Award, Junior Division, U.S. E.P.A. - Region 6
4th Prize – Abhishek Joshi of Vandeventer Middle School
SENIOR DIVISION-LIFE SCIENCES
EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
1st Prize and Grand Prize Division Winner – Megha Vyakaranam of Independence High School; Environmental Science, Senior Division, 1st Place, Texas Tech University Department of Plant and Soil; 1st Place Senior Division Best Hazardous Materials Project, DFW Chapter of Hazardous Materials; Senior Environmental Science, 1st Place, Genius Olympiad; Achievement in Environmental Protection Honorable Mention, U.S. EPA - Region 6
SENIOR DIVISION-PHYSICAL SCIENCES
ENGINEERING MECHANICS
2nd Prize – SivaKrish Sivarajah, Heritage High School
OTHER AWARDS
AMERICAN METEOROLOGY SOCIETY
Outstanding Achievement in Atmospheric Science, Senior Division – Jackson Young of Pearson Middle School
AMERICAN METEOROLOGY SOCIETY - NORTH TEXAS
Meteorology 1st Place – Jackson Young of Pearson Middle School
THE COOPER INSTITUTE
Exercise/Health/Nutrition, Junior, 1st Place – Neha Bajaj of Fowler Middle School
Exercise/Health/Nutrition, Junior, 2nd Place – Elly Campbell of Vandeventer Middle School
U.S. E.P.A. - REGION 6
Achievement in Environmental Protection Honorable Mention – Owen Archer of Vandeventer Middle School