Two local students won big last month in recognition of their STEM research and presentations at the 87th annual Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) at the St. Paul Rivercentre March 22.
Corinne Moran of Kenwood won the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Award for her project, “Deciphering DUX4 (Year II): Is transient expression of the DUX4 gene sufficient to cause muscular dystrophy?” ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college science competition.
With this award, Moran gained the chance to compete amongst thousands of students from around the world in Los Angeles, May 11-17.
She also won the Beckman Coulter Award for Excellence in Science, First Place - High School.
Cerena Karmaliani of East Isles won the Medtronic Innovation Award, Third Place - High School, for her work, “The Absorbency of Home-Compounded Transdermal Pain Medication in Comparison to Industrially Manufactured Voltaren Gel.” The Medtronic Innovation Award recognizes students whose projects exemplify excellence through innovative ideas, self-motivated independent work, passion for discovery and science, and the potential to impact their category or the world. Karmaliani won $250 plus an invitation to spend a day at Medtronic with a technical fellow. In addition, Karmaliani won the Minnesota Academy of Science Bronze Award.
Additional area students who won awards include Milan Mishra, whose project “Usage of a Convolutional Neural Network in DroneBased Algae Bloom Monitoring”won the Aquatic Sciences Achievement Award from the American Fisheries Society, Minnesota Chapter. Mishra was also selected as the alternate for the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF.) Michael Setterberg and Charlotte Vasicek’s work together, “Refining the Ring: Engineering Nanobodies for a Faster Path to CSAN Cancer Immunotherapy” won the Minnesota Academy of Science Silver Award.
More than 350 middle and high school students from 58 schools across Minnesota competed in this year’s fair. SSEF is organized by the Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS). Participating students advanced from regional science fairs throughout Minnesota to compete in this prestigious state event. Over 40 companies and organizations provided awards valued at over $20,000.
"The State Science Fair showcases Minnesota students who are asking really interesting questions and using science and engineering practices to solve problems in their communities," said Lara Maupin, MAS Executive Director. "I was impressed and inspired by students' innovation and knowledge, and clearly our judges were too. There's a reason they love giving their time to this event!"
