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20 Ardent Students Win Awards at the 2022 Orange County Science & Engineering Fair

Nineteen projects, from honey encryption to heart-cell models and microplastics in drinking water, won five first places and six special awards.

Science & research2 min read

The Orange County Science & Engineering Fair is the county's annual research competition for students in grades 6 through 12. Students present original work to judges in a Junior Division for grades 6–8 and a Senior Division for grades 9–12. Winners can go on to the California Science & Engineering Fair and national competitions. This year twenty Ardent students won awards for nineteen projects.

The projects ranged widely. Lakshmi studied honey encryption, a defense against password-guessing attacks. Ming modeled the electrical signals of heart cells in Brugada syndrome. Mari used brain-wave recordings and machine learning to predict Alzheimer's disease. Sailee looked for microplastics in drinking water. Two students placed for a second year: Nikita, 3rd Place in 2021, won 2nd Place, and Ming won an Honorable Mention again.

20students with awards
5first places
6special awards

First Place

  • AdelaThe Effect of Neem Oil and Eucalyptus Oil on Plant Growth. Botany Applications. Special Award: Arnold & Mabel Beckman Chapman Award.
  • Audrey and MarissaAnalyzing Asian Hate Through Social Media Data. Behavioral Sciences.
  • KaylaThe True Color of Caffeine: The Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Interference. Cognitive Science.
  • MahimaCavities, Here I Come! The Antibacterial Activity of the Extract from Plectranthus amboinicus (Indian Borage) vs from Azadirachta indica (Neem) on the Dental Caries Causing Bacteria Streptococcus mutans. Pharmacology/Toxicology.
  • MarkMonitoring Health of Elderly Using Machine Learning Anomaly Detection. Physiology/Medical Biology.

Second Place

  • MariPredicting Alzheimer's Disease Using Electroencephalography and Machine Learning. Cognitive Science. Special Award: American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), Southern California Section.
  • SamanthaProtection and Prevention: How UVR Affects Yeast Colony Growth. Microbiology and Cell Biology.
  • LakshmiHoney Encryption: A Nightmare for Cyber Criminals. Mathematics and Software.
  • LukeSpecialized Training on Arm Stress and Pitching Performance. Cognitive Science.
  • NikitaCan Microsatellite Distribution Be Used to Classify Beta-Coronaviruses? Biochemistry/Molecular Biology.
  • RheaSilent But Deadly: SmartM Detector to Reduce Food Waste. Electricity and Electronics. Special Awards: Energy Coalition; Los Angeles Society of Petroleum Engineers.
  • SaileeHow Much Plastic Are You Drinking? Detecting Microplastics in Drinking Water. Environmental Science/Environmental Engineering. Special Award: Orange County Water District.
  • ZoeUsing Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Identification of Novel Treatment Targets for SARS-CoV-2. Biochemistry/Molecular Biology.

Third Place

  • BradenWhat Combination of Video Characteristics Will Maximize Viewership? Behavioral Sciences.
  • JacobFrequency Dependent Sound Absorption. Physics/Astronomy.
  • SophiaMusical Computers: A Study to Build on Music Recognition Software. Mathematics and Software.

Honorable Mention

  • AmberReducing Reactive Oxygen Species Through Nanotechnology. Biochemistry/Molecular Biology.
  • MingModeling the Action Potentials of Heart Cells with Brugada Syndrome. Physiology/Medical Biology. Special Award: American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), Southern California Section.
  • Gene"Zing" Through Zinc: Zinc Supplements Augment Growth in Brassica oleracea. Botany.

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