Congratulations to over 300 students who participated in the ACPS Science Fair for middle and high school students in January. Fifty-three projects went on to win awards in the Northern Virginia Regional Science Fair in March. ACPS students competed against 293 projects from 17 schools in neighboring school districts. From there, three ACPS projects were nominated for the VA State Science fair.
Ana Humphrey, a sophomore at T.C. Williams High School took second place in the physics category in the state science fair for her project, ‘The Mathematical Identification of Exoplanet Candidates through N-body Simulations.’
Ana tested a method for discovering planets orbiting stars that are outside of our solar system, also called exoplanets. Her computer program mathematically modeled the gravitational interactions between the inner planets of our solar system, accurately predicting the location of Mars based on deviations in the orbits of Mercury, Venus and Mars. Her goal is to use the simulation to discover new exoplanets. As the grand prize winner of the regional science fair, she will go on to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in California in May.
Two teams also advanced to the state level: Martha Christino, Leslie Lytle and Cameron Luther (The Development of an Autonomous Snow Removal Robot) and Kelly Jones and Leah Nickelsburg (The Effects of Different Laundry Detergents on Grass Growth and Stain Removal).
Three students will advance to Broadcom Masters, the National Science Fair competition in June for students in grades seven and eight: Varun Parekh (What Flammable Liquid Acts as the Best Propellant for Bottle Rocket?), Mia Humphrey (The Evolution of Dynamics and Loudness Range in Popular Songs from 1960 to 2009) and Kelly Koury (Bioplastics the future).
Congratulations to all of the ACPS Science Fair Winners from the
Northern Virginia Regional Science Fair
First Place Winners |
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| Varun Parekh | Francis Hammond MS | Chemistry |
| Mia Humphrey | George Washington MS | Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Kelly Koury | George Washington MS | Biochemistry |
| Emil Lasida | George Washington MS | Microbiology |
| Anna Rigby | George Washington MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Emmett Cocke and Townson Cocke | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Engineering |
| Hamza Elmissouab | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Physics and Astronomy |
| Kelly Jones and Leah Nickelsburg | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Biochemistry |
| Barclay Rayome | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Animal Sciences |
| Martha Christino, Leslie Lytle and Cameron Luther | TC Williams HS – King St | Engineering |
| Ana Humphrey | TC Williams HS – King St | Physics and Astronomy |
| Cobie Johnson | TC Williams HS – King St | Behavioral and Social Science |
Second Place Winners |
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| Phoebe Cavanaugh | Francis Hammond MS | Physics and Astronomy |
| Katherine Donnellan | Francis Hammond MS | Engineering |
| Eric Kelly | Francis Hammond MS | Physics and Astronomy |
| Eliza Coast | George Washington MS | Animal Sciences |
| Alana Cohen and Taylor Motsinger | George Washington MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Stella Grimes | George Washington MS | Engineering |
| Rachel Simmons and Maeve Waller | George Washington MS | Chemistry |
| Grace Guimond and Delilah Garvin | Jefferson-Houston School | Physics and Astronomy |
| Second Place Winners (continued) | ||
| Brendan Doney | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Mathematics and Computer Science |
| Ethan Sample | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Plant Sciences |
| Kalista Diamantopoulos | TC Williams HS – King St | Biochemistry |
| Helen Mengel and Caroline Sloan | TC Williams HS – King St | Microbiology |
| Clare Williams | TC Williams HS – King St | Mathematics and Computer Science |
Third Place Winners |
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| Aisha Ahmed and Kayleigh Andrews | Francis Hammond MS | Physics and Astronomy |
| Euodia Asmeron | Francis Hammond MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Karam Burjas | Francis Hammond MS | Mathematics and Computer Science |
| Elizabeth Lo | Francis Hammond MS | Physics and Astronomy |
| Mya Lopez | Francis Hammond MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Aryaman Rajaputra | Francis Hammond MS | Mathematics and Computer Science |
| Peter Rizkallah | Francis Hammond MS | Biochemistry |
| Miranda Sedehi | Francis Hammond MS | Chemistry |
| Casey Dugan | George Washington MS | Medical and Health Sciences |
| Grace Glade | George Washington MS | Engineering |
| Mia Lunati and Caroline Mosier | George Washington MS | Physics and Astronomy |
| Michaela McCormack | George Washington MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Caroline Winakur | George Washington MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Ben Williams | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Medical and Health Sciences |
| Alpha Diallo | TC Williams HS – King St | Plant Sciences |
| Sam Lally | TC Williams HS – King St | Engineering |
| Eyoeal Mekonnen | TC Williams HS – King St | Physics and Astronomy |
Honorable Mention |
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| Kiernan Almand | Francis Hammond MS | Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Neil Gascon | Francis Hammond MS | Chemistry |
| Helen DuPont and Erika Harwood | George Washington MS | Environmental and Earth Sciences |
| Camila Cohen-Suarez | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Chemistry |
| Owen Cardwell | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Engineering |
| Olivia Ernst | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Chemistry |
| James Grimes and Dylan Wright | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Engineering |
| Janelle Krupicka | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Engineering |
| Ayda Negash, Nataliya Solokha and Lilith Todd | TC Williams HS – Minnie | Chemistry |
| Donovan Robinson | TC Williams HS – King St | Engineering |
| Anne Williams | TC Williams HS – King St | Environmental and Earth Sciences |