2018 National JSHS Winners
U.S. Top STEM Students Win Scholarships at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 56th National JSHS competition held in Hunt Valley, MD on May 2-5, 2018. The 3-day event was organized and supported by the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force and administered by The Academy of Applied Science, a non-profit STEM education organization. The National competition is the United States’ premiere showcase for STEM research by high school students. Students must first present their research at one of 47 regional competitions hosted by universities and colleges in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe and Pacific. The top five students from each region were invited to participate in oral presentations or poster presentations at the national event. We recognized students presenting their research in poster format with first, second, and third place as well as a special peer review award. In the oral presentation sessions, three winners in each session category earned scholarships ranging from $4,000-$12,000.
1st Place Oral Presentations
Environmental Science
Grace Hall, Missouri JSHS, Camdenton High School
The Inhibition of β-glucosidase Through Exposure to (S)-4-Hydroxymandelnitrile-β-D-glucopyranoside: Applications in the Eradication of Lespedeza cuneata via Enzyme Inhibition
Bioengineering, Biomedical, Behavioral Sciences
Suraj Srinivasan, Ohio JSHS, Strongsville High School
Development of a Mosquito-Inspired Insertion Guide to Prevent Flexible Intracortical Microelectrodes from Buckling During Implantation
Medicine and Health
Cheryl Blackmer, Iowa JSHS, Ballard High School
LAMP Assay for Powassan Virus
Cellular/Molecular Biology
David Huang, Hawaii JSHS, Iolani School
A Morphokinetic and Machine Learning Model for Aneuploidy Screening of Human Preimplantation Embryos
Engineering and Technology
Eshika Saxena, Washington JSHS, Interlake High School
HemaCam: A Computer Vision-Enhanced Mobile Phone Imaging System for Automated Screening of Hematological Diseases with Convolutional Neural Networks
Physical Sciences including physics, astronomy, and engineering
Daniel Shen, North Carolina JSHS, William G. Enloe Magnet High School
Micro Optics to Improve Illumination Uniformity for LED-based Luminaires
Chemistry and Materials Science
Skyler Jones, New York Upstate JSHS, Ossining High School
Large Polaron Formation as a Charge Carrier Protection Mechanism in MAPbBr3 and CsPbBr3 Perovskite
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Lillian Petersen, Southwest JSHS, Los Alamos High School
Predicting Food Shortages in Africa from Satellite Imagery
2nd Place Oral Presentations
Environmental Science
Anjali Chadha, Kentucky JSHS, DuPont Manual High School
Development of a Fully Automated 3-D Printed loT Sensor for Arsenic Detection in Groundwater
Bioengineering, Biomedical, Behavioral Sciences
Arjun Goyal, New York Upstate JSHS, Byram Hills High School
Exploring the Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Treatment of Neuropathic-Depressive Behavior and Acute Anxiety
Medicine and Health
Cole Maxwell, North Central JSHS, Breck School
More Than Skin Deep: Deciphering the Role of Bartonella henselae Infection in Melanoma Cancer Metastasis (Phase 2)
Cellular/Molecular Biology
Rajiv Movva, Northern California-Western Nevada JSHS, The Harker High School
SNPpet: Computational Dissection of the Noncoding Genome Reveals Regulatory Sequence Patterns and Disease-Causing Mutations
Engineering and Technology
Raghav Ganesh, California Northern-Western Nevada JSHS, Lynbrook High School
Serene: An Assistive Solution to Predict and Prevent Autistic Meltdowns Using a Wearable Device, Mobile Application, and Cloud Service
Physical Sciences including physics, astronomy, and engineering
Justin Wang, Virginia JSHS, Chantilly High School
The Effect of Spectral Content on Acoustic and Synthesized Timbre
Chemistry and Materials Science
Brendon Choy, New York Metro JSHS Region, Hunter College High School
Cutting Off Cancer – Design, Analysis, and Synthesis of Novel Vascular Disrupting Agents
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Amaan Khan, Illinois-Chicago JSHS, Plainfield South High School
Self-Driving Autonomous Car
3rd Place Oral Presentations
Environmental Science
Beatrice Milnes, Pennsylvania JSHS, Taylor Allderdice High School
Marcophages are Required for Lizard Tail Regeneration
Bioengineering, Biomedical, Behavioral Sciences
Katelyn France, North Central JSHS, Hinckley-Finlayson High School
“Anaphylactic Shocker!”: The Use of a Dynamic QR Code Medical Bracelet and Connected Bluetooth Carrying Case to Locate and Administer a Practice Epinephrine Auto-Injector During a Staged Medical Emergency
Medicine and Health
Arukshita Goel, Ohio JSHS Region, Sylvania Southview High School
Platelet Releasates Kill C. albicans
Cellular/Molecular Biology
Lily DeBell, Maryland JSHS, Baltimore Polytechnic High School
Mental Dependency of E. coli Cas1
Engineering and Technology
Tyler Delargy, New England Northern JSHS, Bangor High School
Developing a Tactile Depth Map for the Blind
Physical Sciences including physics, astronomy, and engineering
Anderson Thrasher, Georgia JSHS, Henry W. Grady High School
The Search for Newborn Stars: Observing Bok Globules Using Infrared Archival Data
Chemistry and Materials Science
Kendra Zhang, New York Long Island JSHS Region, Jericho High School
Paper-based Microbial Fuel Cells for Self-Powered Sustainable Disease Monitoring
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Tiffany Fang, New Jersey Shore JSHS, High Technology High School
A Hierarchical Traffic Safety Model with Human Factors and Road Characteristics
Poster Presentations
1st Place Poster Presentations
Environmental Science
Ankush Dhawan, Signature School, Indiana JSHS
Biomedical, Molecular/Cellular Biology
Stuti Dalal, Shawnee Mission East High School, Kansas-Nebraska-Oklahoma JSHS
Medicine, Health, Behavioral Sciences
Vaidya Parthasarathy, Clear Lake High School, Texas JSHS
Life Science
Sepher Asgari, Carmel High School, Indiana JSHS
Engineering and Technology
Raina Jain, Greenwich High School, Connecticut JSHS
Physics and Astronomy
Ana Humphrey, T.C. Williams High School, Greater Washington, DC JSHS
Chemistry; Materials Science
Vikram Ruppa-Kasani, Chattahoochee High School, Georgia JSHS
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Maanasa Mendu, William Mason High School, Ohio JSHS
2nd Place Poster Presentations
Environmental Science
Natasha Stamler, The Bronx High School of Science, New York Metro JSHS
Biomedical, Molecular/Cellular Biology
Rachel Silverstein, Shawnee Mission West High School, Kansas-Nebraska, Oklahoma JSHS
Medicine, Health, Behavioral Sciences
Jonathan Ko, Mission San Jose High School, California Northern-Western Nevada JSHS
Life Science
Aslan Cook, Kamehameha High School Kapālama, Hawaii JSHS
Engineering and Technology
Andrei Spiride, IB World School at Plano East Senior High School, Texas JSHS
Physics and Astronomy
Lilly Gonzalez, DuPont Manual High School, Kentucky JSHS
Chemistry; Materials Science
Maya Geradi, Wilbur Cross High School, Connecticut JSHS
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Varun Shenoy, Cupertino High School, California Northern, Western Nevada JSHS
3rd Place Poster Presentations
Environmental Science
Martha Christino, T.C. Williams High School, Greater Washington DC JSHS
Biomedical, Molecular/Cellular Biology
Nora Gera, Sylvania Northview High School, Ohio JSHS
Medicine, Health, Behavioral Science
Julienne Chaqour, High Technology High School, New Jersey Shore JSHS
Life Science
Ritikraj Arya, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, Alabama JSHS
Engineering and Technology
Veenadhari Kollipara, Interlake High School, Washington JSHS
Physics and Astronomy
Celeste Jongeneelen, Homeschool, Hawaii JSHS
Chemistry; Materials Science
Saehui Hwang, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, California Southern JSHS
Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Adelle Fernando, North Allegheny Senior High School, Pennsylvania JSHS
Poster Peer Review Award
Andrea Alvarado Zarate, Puerto Rico JSHS, Thomas Armstrong High School
Study of Epigenetic and Morphological Effects due to the Decrease of p53 in Ovarian Cancer Cells on the (TOV-21G) by Applying a Treatment Based on the Ethanolic Extract of the Annona muricata