A cardboard cutout advertising the Southern Appalachian Science & Engineering Fair
NIMBioS awarded its annual prizes for Research at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology last month to budding young scientists and mathematicians at the Southern Appalachian Science & Engineering Fair. The junior prize went to Piper Halcrow and Olivia Ricche from St. Mary’s Catholic School, the team responsible for “Mutant vs. Wild: Who Will Survive.” Their project was a careful analysis of mutant and wild fruit fly responses to different concentrations of organic compounds. Hunter Vallejos of Oak Ridge High School took home the senior prize for his project: “1/f Power Spectra and Fractals in the Heart” in which he investigated different kinds of noise in electrocardiogram signal data.
NIMBioS Graduate Assistant Jason Bintz and Education & Outreach Intern Virginia Parkman assisted with the judging. Awardees received certificates and cash prizes.
“Mutant vs. Wild: Who Will Survive” received the Junior NIMBioS Prize at the science fair.
NIMBioS also assisted in judging two other special awards: the Association of Women in Science (AWIS) award and the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society award. The AWIS award went to Pittman Center Elementary student Alexis Valentine for her project, “Bat Chat (Using Echolocation to Determine White Nose Syndrome Effects).” The Mu Alpha Theta award also went to Hunter Vallejos.