A dozen students from the School District of Lee County are competing this week in The State Science & Engineering Fair of Florida 2021. The District saw public school students sweep the top awards at the 2021 Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Regional Science & Engineering Fair.

The competitors this week are:

Mason Huffman, Trafalgar Middle School, Grade 7

Charlie Della-Luna, Oak Hammock Middle School, Grade 6

Kaelie Della-Luna, Oak Hammock Middle School, Grade 6

Maria Urakawa, Three Oaks Middle School, Grade 8

Kurukulasuriya Fernando, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 7

Dhruva Sharma, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 8

Davis Wold, Trafalgar Middle School, Grade 6

Makayla Mitchell, Trafalgar Middle School, Grade 6

Aum Dhruv, Fort Myers High School, Grade 10

Heidi Kinsey, Fort Myers High School, Grade 11

Vanessa Kinley, Bonita Springs High School, Grade 10

Bryce Krohnfeldt, Estero High School, Grade 10

The State Science & Engineering Fair of Florida 2021 is a virtual event this year. More than 900 aspiring engineers, scientists and mathematicians from across Florida are competing in the SSEF STEM Competition. Students have an opportunity to win $1.2 million in awards, prizes, scholarships and internships. The top senior projects will advance to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering (ISEF) STEM Competition .

Three students have already qualified for the International Science and Engineering competition:

Heidi Kinsey, Fort Myers High School, Grade 11

Vanessa Kinley, Bonita Springs High School, Grade 10

Bryce Krohnfeldt, Estero High School, Grade 10

The Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Regional Science Fair was held in February and the awards presented March 11. Public school students won all the Best of Fair awards.

Junior Division, Best-of-Fair

Mason Huffman, Trafalgar Middle School, Grade 7

Project Title: Assessing Mask Efficacy with Laser and Sound Transmission

Senior Division, Best-of-Fair – Biological Sciences

Vanessa Kinley, Bonita Springs High School, Grade 10

Project Title: Testing the Antibacterial Effectiveness of Yunnan Baiyao, Propolis, Turmeric, and Tea Tree Oil on the Growth of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis in Comparison to Antibiotics on an Agar Plate

Senior Division, Best-of-Fair – Physical Sciences

Heidi Kinsey, Fort Myers High School, Grade 11

Project Title: A comparison of domestic dryer contributions to previous domestic washer data of microplastic fiber emissions in waste water generated from synthetic textiles

The top 3 places in the Junior Division all went to District students:

Best-of-Fair: Mason Huffman, Trafalgar Middle School, Grade 7

1st Runner-Up: Dhruva Sharma, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 8

2nd Runner-Up: Kurukulasuriya Fernando, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 7

Video of the awards ceremony is available on the District’s YouTube channel.

Public school students were well represented in the 2021 Thomas A. Edison Festival of Light Regional Inventors Fair, winning two of the three divisions:

Elementary School Winner: Freya Shah, Rayma C. Page Elementary School, Grade 5

Invention: Safe Distance at Last

Middle School Winner: Kurukulasuriya Fernando, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 7

Invention: The Eco-Filter

13 students are moving on to compete in the 2021 Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals in May:

Dominic Wood, Lehigh Elementary, Grade 3

Kylee Farnsworth, The Alva School, Grade 3

Kara Toor, Allen Park Elementary, Grade 4

Donovan Pierre, Allen Park Elementary, Grade 4

Anthony Rice, Skyline Elementary, Grade 4

Jacob Liljegran, River Hall Elementary, Grade 4

MacKenzie Hubner, North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts, Grade 7

Kurukulusuriya Fernando, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 7

Serena Kasai-Hazekamp, Lee Virtual School, Grade 8

Dhruva Sharma, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Grade 8

Faith Farnsworth, Riverdale High School, Grade 9

Michaela Williamson, Bonita Springs High School, Grade 10

Aum Dhruv, Fort Myers High School, Grade 10

Video of the awards ceremony is also available on the District’s YouTube channel.

Source: School District of Lee County