North Idaho students fare well at science fair

COEUR d'ALENE — Two student projects from Kamiah High School earned Best in Fair at the 2020 Northern Idaho Science and Engineering Fair, and one from Coeur d'Alene High School garnered Fair Runner Up.

They were among 85 projects that 135 students from a dozen North Idaho schools presented at the fourth annual event, which the Idaho STEM Action Center staged March 13 in The Coeur d'Alene Resort Conference Center.

BEST IN FAIR WINNERS

"Effectiveness of Lavandula Scents on Deterring Odocoileus Virginianus and Cervus Canadensis from Harming Agricultural Crops" by Kamiah High School junior Cecily Puckett earned one of two Best in Fair awards. In addition, Cecily garnered the Best in Category award in animal, biomedical and microbiological sciences, a Category Gold award and a Genius Olympiad award. She also earned a Best in Fair award at the 2019 Northern Idaho Science and Engineering Fair.

Fellow Kamiah junior Mya Barger's "Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Types of Equine-assisted Therapy on Anxiety and Stress in Humans" garnered the other Best in Fair award, as well as the Best in Category award in behavioral and social sciences. Mya also received a Category Gold award and several special awards, including the American Psychological Association award, third place from the Idaho Academy of Science and Engineering and an Office of Naval Research award.

On top of serious bragging rights, the Best in Fair winners will represent Idaho at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

FAIR RUNNER UP

Coeur d'Alene High School seniors Hope McWilliams, Kristen Nethercott and Lucy Pavey earned Fair Runner Up for their project "Synthesizing a Fluorescent Molecule Using the Copper Catalyzed Azide Alkyne Cycloaddition Reaction." They also won Best in Category in physical sciences and a Category Gold award.

FIVE STRANDS, MANY AWARDS

Students in ninth through 12th grades throughout North Idaho were eligible to submit entries in six categories: animal, biomedical, and microbiological sciences; behavioral and social sciences; Earth, environmental and plant sciences; physical sciences; engineering; and mathematics, computer Science and embedded systems.

Students from Grangeville, Lewiston, and Moscow captured the three remaining Best in Category awards:

• "Magnetic Space Plants" by Grangeville High School junior Laney Daniels and senior Katrina Wolfrum earned a best in Earth, environmental and plant sciences and a Category Gold award.

• "Recycling Generator" by Lewiston High School seniors Dylan Horak, Ty Johannesen and Alexander Pfaff earned a Best in Category in engineering, a Category Gold award, and the Ricoh Sustainable Development award.

• "Name Authority Control in a Linked Data Environment" by Moscow High School senior Jieyan Wang — a 2018 Best in Fair winner — earned a Best in Category in mathematics, computer science and embedded systems, as well as a Category Gold award and the Bearden Award for Women in computer science. The latter award, which includes a $500 cash prize, is a new accolade funded by longtime Idaho resident Elizabeth "Betsy" Bearden for the female or team of females whose research exemplifies high standards of innovation in creating solutions with computer science.

Moscow High School junior Ammon Kunzler, whose project "Patterns and Proofs in the Collatz Conjecture" earned a Category Gold award, the Mu Alpha Theta award and an Office of Naval Research award, was named the fair's official observer at Regeneron ISEF in May. The STEM Action Center selects observers for the international fair so they can apply what they learn to their state fair entries the following year and share insights with fellow students.

The STEM Action Center selected a second observer from NISEF based on available spaces and statewide rankings: Nicole Xiao, also from Moscow High. In addition, the sophomore's Earth, environmental and plant sciences entry, "Genetically Modifying Tomatoes to Have Earlier Flowering Periods," earned a Category Gold award, a Genius Olympiad award, a certificate from the U.S. Agency for International Development and first place from the Idaho Academy of Science and Engineering.

Judges honored seven more projects with Category Gold awards: "Electrophysiology: Cockroach Manipulation," by Lewiston High junior George Forsmann and senior Conner Kottkey; "Parental Influence on Climate Change," by Grangeville High junior Emma Edwards; "Turning Algae Into Fertilizer," by Grangeville High School freshman Tyler Zimmerman; "Methods to Reduce Food Waste in Local Schools," by Post Falls High sophomore Miles Butler; "Solar Panel Roof for EV's," by Lewiston High seniors Carlos Arteaga, Connor McKinley and Nicholas Rinard; and "Balistics Test," by Post Falls High School freshman Pierce Gural.

The STEM Action Center also presented 22 projects with Category Silver awards and an additional 19 special awards from the American Meteorological Society, ASM Materials Education Foundation, Association for Women Geoscientists, Genius Olympiad, the Idaho Academy of Science and Engineering, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of Naval Research, the Society for In Vitro Biology, the Stockholm International Water Institute, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Metric Association and the Yale Science and Engineering Association.

Grangeville High earned the Top School award. The accolade is calculated based on total projects and total category awards, including silver, gold, Best in Category and Best in Fair. Science teachers Shaun Bass and Naomi Finnegan coached Grangeville High's participants, who earned one of the six Best in Category awards, three of the 14 Category Golds and two of the 22 Category Silvers.

Kamiah High science teacher Janna Privette, who mentored both Best in Fair winners, was named NISEF's top-performing educator.

A group of local experts from an array of STEM-related fields served as judges.

ONE OF THREE REGIONAL FAIRS

NISEF is one of three regional science fairs the STEM Action Center stages statewide each spring. Boise State University hosted the Western Idaho Science and Engineering Fair March 6, and Idaho State University hosted the Eastern Idaho Science and Engineering Fair in Pocatello Feb. 28. The Best of Fair winners from those events and select observers will also represent Idaho at the international science fair courtesy of the STEM Action Center.

ENSURING ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

According to STEM Action Center executive director Angela Hemingway, competitions like the Idaho Science and Engineering Fairs are important to the state's future because they offer students opportunities to engage in original research projects aligned with their interests and meet and learn with other motivated students in their area.

"The quality of the research presented at Idaho STEM competitions is impressive and the work our students are doing is competitive at the international level," Hemingway said. "The technical skills gained from participating in these events, as well as the ability to communicate results, think deeply and critically about issues, and solve real-world problems, will serve our students well as they transition into the workforce."

In addition to facilitating critical and creative thinking, problem solving, innovation and collaboration, she said STEM skills are needed for 17 of Idaho's 20 fastest-growing jobs and that STEM jobs pay more than twice as much as non-STEM jobs.

"The state anticipates 20 percent job growth in STEM careers -- including health care, computing, engineering and advanced manufacturing -- by 2026," Hemingway said. "Currently there are nearly 86,000 STEM workers statewide, and the Idaho Department of Labor predicts we may have 105,000 STEM jobs by 2026 -- a 19,000-job increase in just six years from now. It is critical we build the STEM talent pipeline now so Idahoans have the knowledge and skills required to fill these high-demand STEM jobs now and in the future."

She said these jobs will represent about $7 billion in personal income and about $352 million in tax revenue if Idaho's workforce is poised to fill them.