2019 CONNECTICUT SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR

THREE FINDING OUR WAY ALUMNI EARN AWARDS

AT 2019 CONNECTICUT SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR

KHUSHI PARIKH, SRISHTI RAMAKRISHNAN, AND SHARVA KARTHIKEYAN ALL WINNERS!

Khushi Parikh, a ninth grader at Danbury High School, presented her project, “Engineering a Polylectic Biomimetic Micro Aerial Vehicle to Pollinate Flowers.” The research earned Parikh several honors, including a Petit Family Foundation Women in Science & Engineering Award, Second Place, High School; CASE PepsiCo Urban School Challenge Award with IBM, Senior High Finalist; and a Meyer and Young Woman Scientist Award, High School, Physical Sciences. As a seventh grader in 2017, Parikh won first prize in the “Finding Our Way” Stewardship Competition for her project, “Chemical Fertilizer is Ruining the World.”

Srishti Ramakrishnan, in eighth grade at the Westside Middle School Academy, presented “The Study of Effectiveness of Different Separation Methods in Removing Suspended Microplastics from Water.” Ramakrishnan’s work earned her the following recognition: CSF Finalist, Physical Sciences, Eighth Grade; Petit Family Foundation Women in Science & Engineering Award, First Place, Middle School; Urban School Challenge Award, First Place, Middle School; Environmental Sciences Awards, Third Place; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award; Talcott Mountain Science Center & Academy, Founder’s Award; Air and Waste Management Association Connecticut Chapter Award; and GENIUS Olympiad Competition (Oswego, New York) for Highest Placing USC Eighth Grade Project.

In 2018, as a seventh grader, Ramakrishnan won first prize in the “Finding Our Way” Stewardship Competition for her project, “The Environmental Harm Caused by Microbeads in Consumer Products.” Her winning 2019 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair entry further explores this topic and offers a mitigation approach.

Sharva Karthikeyan, also in eighth grade at the Westside Middle School Academy, studied “Impact of Microwave-irradiated Plastic on Microbiological Health Indices.” His work earned him an Urban School Challenge Award, Middle School Finalist.

As a member of the 2018 “Finding Our Way” class, Karthikeyan’s stewardship project investigated “How Plastic Pollution Affects Candlewood Lake.” His winning 2019 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair entry continues his research into plastics.

WCSU Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr. Dora Pinou is director of the “Finding our Way” program said “I’m extremely proud of our young scientists.”

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Khushi Parikh, a ninth grader at Danbury High School, won multiple awards for her project, “Engineering a Polylectic Biomimetic Micro Aerial Vehicle to Pollinate Flowers.”