More than 25 RSD students earned awards at the 2024 Mid-Columbia Science Fair. Two high school students, Hanford junior Isabella Pinto and Richland Junior Advaitha Motkuri were named Grand Prize winners, earning them a ticket to compete in the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair later this year in Los Angeles. The students were commended for their creativity, hard work, perseverance, and the ability to take risks – attributes needed to solve the most pressing problems in the world.
Students in grades 6-12 may compete in the fair by creating and carrying out a research project on a topic of their choosing. Students were evaluated on their research project abstract, display slides, a scientific journal and overview video. Click here to learn more about the Mid-Columbia Science Fair.
2024 Mid-Columbia Science Fair RSD award winners:
Chief Joseph Middle School
Theodore Maier ("The Best Shape for Ice Stupas”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the 7th Grade Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Scientific Thought
Enterprise Middle School
Ali Evans (“A Better Way to Sanitize the Dirtiest Spot on Your Body")
- Award of Distinction: Experimental Design
- Special Award: 'Very Good' Rating from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Columbia River Professional Chapter (CRPC); 8th Grade Winner by The Society of Women Engineers; 2nd Place Junior Division for Using STEM to Make the World a Better Place
Rishi Vijay
- Award of Distinction: Experimental Design
- Special Award: 4th Place Junior Division for Using STEM to Make the World a Better Place
Grace Wang
- Award of Distinction: Creativity
Samuel Wang (“Sonic Fire Suppression: Extinguishing Flames with Sound”)
- Fair Award: 1st Place in the 7th Grade Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
- Special Awards: American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Nominee
Leona Libby Middle School
Lilly Antonissen
- Award of Distinction: Experimental Design
Andre Chin ("The impact of different tail designs on a private jet”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the 7th Grade Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
Chloe Custodio ("Can Laundry Greywater be Reused for Hydroponics?”)
- Fair Award: 1st Place in the 7th Grade Life Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
- Special Award: Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Nominee
Raman Harilal ("Candle vs. Oil lamp: Illuminating the Physics and Chemistry Hiding Behind the Radiant Flames”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the 8th Grade Life & Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Novelty
Krithi Karri ("Safe alternative for edible synthetic Red dye”)
- Fair Award: 3rd place in the 6th Grade Life & Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Scientific Thought
- Special Award: 6th Grade Honorable Mention by The Society of Women Engineers
Akshath Motkuri ("Nail Ninja AI: Detecting Disorders Digitally”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the 8th Grade Life & Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
Rohan Nune ("Powering the Future: Iron-Based Batteries for Sustainable Energy Storage”)
- Fair Award: 1st Place in the in the 8th Grade Life & Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Scientific Thought
- Special Award: Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Nominee
Paige Phillips
- Award of Distinction: Novelty
- Special Award: 8th Grade Winner for The Society of Women Engineers
Aarav Shrivastava ("Diagnosing the impacts of wildfires on visibility and human health in the Western USA”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the 8th Grade Life & Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Creativity
- Special Awards: Wenas Mammoth Camp Scholarship; 1st Place Junior Division for Using STEM to Make the World a Better Place; Inspiring Excellence, Inc. Award
Sriyan Thallapally ("Clean The Air With A DIY Air Filter”)
- Fair Award: 2nd Place in the 7th Grade Physical Sciences Division
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
- Special Award: The Lemelson Early Inventor Outstanding Invention Prize
Hanford High School
Aashrita Bhamidimarri (“‘Root’ for Success: Controlling Agricultural Pollution”)
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Experimental Design
- Special Award: Science Champion Award from the U.S. Agency for International Development; Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Xylem, Inc. Nominee
Prayrona Choudhury ("AquaScope: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Multimodal AI in Diagnosing Water Quality Based on Environmental Context, Sensor Data and Visual Assessments”)
- Fair Award: 1st Place in the 9th Grade Division
- Award of Distinction: Data Collection and Analysis
- Special Awards: 9-10th Grade Winner for The Society of Women Engineers; Institute of Nuclear Material Management Award; Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award; Exceptional Genius Award by GENIUS Olympiad; Outstanding Research-Based Project Achievement by the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair
John Philip Custodio ("Engineering an Elderly-Friendly App for Medication Management Post-Discharge”)
- Award of Distinction: Engineering
- Special Award: 'Very Good' rating from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Columbia River Professional Chapter (CRPC)
Navaj Nune ("Comprehensive Evaluation of AI Frameworks for Accurate Object Detection and Enumeration of Visual Data for Environmental Remediation”)
- Fair Award: 2nd Place in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Experimental Design
- Special Awards: United States Air Force Certificate of Achievement; Institute of Nuclear Material Management Honorable Mention; MCBONES Award
Isabella Pinto ("How Magnetically Suspended Tires Utilizing High-Temperature Superconductivity and Electromagnetism Creates the Most Eco-Friendly Vehicle”)
- Fair Award: Grand Prize in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Engineering
- Special Awards: 11-12th Grade Winner for The Society of Women Engineers; American Society of Mechanical Engineers Award; YALE Science and Engineering Association Award; United States Air Force Certificate of Achievement; ANS, Eastern Washington Section Scholarship; Institute of Nuclear Material Management Honorable Mention; Sivaraman Award
Vibhav Repalle
- Award of Distinction: Thoroughness
Ally Rohdenburg ("What and When do Juvenile Western Screech Owls Eat")
- Fair Award: Honorable Mention in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Clarity of Presentation
Owen Rothwell ("Comparing Recycled Soda Bottle PET Plastic 3D Printing Filament Created With a Homemade Pultrusion Machine vs. Commercial New Material PETG Filament")
- Fair Award: 3rd Place in the 9th Grade Division
- Award of Distinction: Engineering
Nicole Samaan ("Microgrid Optimization: The Future of Efficient, Reliable, and Autonomous Renewable Energy”)
- Fair Award: 1st Place in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Engineering
- Special Awards: Ricoh Sustainable Development Award; ANS, Eastern Washington Section Scholarship; 1st Place Renewable Power Award
Lola Thomas ("Bacteriophage: Killer Virus")
- Fair Award: 2nd Place in the 9th Grade Division
- Award of Distinction: Data Collection and Analysis
Richland High School
Advaitha Motkuri (A Eye Intelligence: The Future of Eye Disease Detection”)
- Fair Award: Grand Prize in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Scientific Thought
- Special Awards: Computer Science 1st Place Award; 11-12th Grade Honorable Mention for The Society of Women Engineers; United States Air Force Certificate of Achievement; Regeneron Biomedical Science Award; Sivaraman Award
Srithan Thallapally ("Rethinking Waste! Bioplastics from Banana Peels!”)
- Fair Award: 3rd Place in the Senior Division (Grades 10-12)
- Award of Distinction: Data Collection and Analysis
- Special Award: Karen Grant Memorial Excellence in Chemistry Award by the American Chemical Society; 2nd Place Senior Division for Using STEM to Make the World a Better Place; Exceptional Genius Award (Alternate) by GENIUS Olympiad