HONOLULU — Kauai student representatives at the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair (HSSEF) finished the event with several Junior and Senior Division awards.
“One of the biggest stories at HSSEF, Lauryn Hashimoto’s, a senior at Kauai High School, the project was selected for the second round of judging,” said Dan Matthews, the volunteer coordinator for the Kauai Regional Science and Engineering Fair that is a qualifier for the HSSEF. “That meant her project was amongst the very best at the competition.”
Among the three projects from the Junior Division that ended up in Honolulu, the trio of students from St. Theresa School won the Emergency Amateur Radio Club Junior HEAP JR, Environmental Engineering award for their project, “Is Somebody Going to Match My Freak-quency?”
Waimea High School teacher Brendan Smith received the McIrney Foundation Teacher Award.
Three of the five projects in the Senior Division earned awards, including Hashimoto’s “Evaluating the Use of Stichopus horrens (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) as a Bioremediator,” which finished second in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category, and the Honorable Mention NOAA Award.
Waimea High School senior Jada Lau finished first in the Environmental Engineering category and earned the Chinese Women’s Award and the McIrney Foundation Award for her project, “Growing Together —Hydroponic Towers.”
Ashley Chun of Island School finished second in the Emergency Amateur Radio Club’s senior project, “Using the Mechanics of the Paperfluge to Create a Hand-powered Generator.”
Matthews said the top eight projects — three in the Junior and five in the Senior divisions — earned trips to the HSSEF by finishing strong in the Kauai Regional Science and Engineering Fair held in early February at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.
This event and travel to HSSEF were supported by a new local nonprofit, Kauai Student Research.
“Much like we see the strong support for athletics on the island, our community-based organization is committed to supporting our island students and teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics research,” Matthews said. “The ohana that is Kauai is always behind our school programs, and with their support, our students can consistently compete with the best. The results of last week’s competition on Oahu is a reflection of the efforts by these students, their teachers, their schools, and our community.”
