On April 3rd , 2019, the Philadelphia Section of STLE awarded the following 6 students who presented projects in the Delaware Valley Science Fair with $100 awards for their projects about Lubrication, Corrosion and related topics. The winners of the awards and their respective projects are listed below. The Delaware Valley Science Fair is the culmination of the fairs at the individual schools throughout the Tri-state region for students from grades 6-12. It was held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. There were estimated 1000 exhibits. The exhibitors at this fair have previously received awards in the fairs at their respective schools for their category. The exhibits we awarded were related to topics concerning lubrication, corrosion evaluation, biodiesel fuels, & spill remediation control among others. I participated in the judging and awards selection with Tom O Brien and Mandi McElwain from the Phila. Section. The list of awardees follows:
1) Anand Shah, Grade 6, from Patton Middle School in Kennett Square,PA., for his project entitled “Nitrates-A Possible Carcinogen Lurking In Our Drinking Water?” This project involved a statistical study of drinking water records in the US and incidence of cancer in those areas.
2) Arthur Armaing, Grade 6, from French International School of Philadelphia, for his project entitled “The Tension Between US”. This project evaluated surface tensions of various household substances, and their importance in our daily lives..
3) Jordan Checkoff, Grade 11, of Council Rock HS South in Holland PA,for his project “Comparing Ideal Salinities of Potential Oil-Eating Bacteria Pseudomonas putida and Bacillus subtilis for Oil Degradation for More Efficient Bioremediation”. This project evaluatedmethods to improve remediation of oil spills.
4) Prem Modi, Grade 10, of Central HS in Philadelphia PA,, for his project “Jatropha Biodiesel:Ethanol Based”. This project involved the study an alternative fuel from an otherwise useless plant species.
5) Aashika Shah, Grade 10, from Parkland HS, Allentown PA, for her project “ Fuel It Up:Convering Trash and Biofuel” which measured the effectiveness/stability of various blends of biodiesels in fuel at various temperatures.
6) Aishwarya Suresh, Grade 8, from Springhouse Middle School, Allentown PA, for her project “Optimizing Algae Growth For Sustainable Environment”, which was an experimental study of the effect of light intensity on algae growth, in order to optimize reduction of carbon dioxide.
This was an excellent event for the STLE Philadelphia Section to support! There are numerous students interested in science and also very familiar with the scientific method of experimentation. There seems to be a huge interest in saving our environment and finding “greener” methods to accomplish difficult tasks.
Nick Ariano
Nick Ariano Science Fair Committee Chair
STLE Philadelphia section
215-324-4000 ext 227