Students Demonstrate Exemplary Work at Douglas County STEM Fair

DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA – Student scientists along with their proud parents and teachers filled the Murray Educational Center January 17 to hear the winners of the Douglas County Science and Engineering Fair. Awards for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and Honorable Mention were given out along with special awards and “Best in Show” for middle and high school.

"Once again, the students continue to amaze us with their work and the research and time they put into their projects," said Pam Walker, STEM coordinator for the Douglas County School System. "We had judges with outstanding credentials who were truly impressed with the projects and the ability of the students to explain their research and results. Thank you to the teachers and parents who worked tirelessly with the students to produce these high quality projects."

For middle school, “Best in Show” top honors went to Kennedy Rogers and Meagan Greene. For high school, “Best in Show” went to Lawren Francis. All three students received a laptop, trophy, and cash award. Their teachers received a cash award as well.

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Kennedy, an 8th grade student at Chapel Hill Middle School, did further work on her project from last year’s science fair, titled “Data that Matters.” Kennedy designed a prototype for a device that athletes can wear when playing sports to detect impact. To make the device, Kennedy used Arduino programming software with a LilyPad textile circuit board. Kennedy’s science teacher is Chris Baxley.

For her project, titled “De-Pollunator,” Meagan Greene created a device that floats on water and will clean debris from a lake or ocean. The device will protect turtles and other animals from hazardous debris, including drinking straws and plastic bags. The device is also capable of filtering bacteria from the water. Meagan is a 7th grader at Mason Creek Middle School. Her science teacher is Amber Keim.

High school “Best in Show” winner Lawren Francis won for her project “Brace Yourself.” She engineered a wet suit that will keep a swimmer’s shoulder at the proper angle to prevent injuries. Lawren, an 11th grade student at Lithia Springs High School, competes on the school’s swim team and was able to test the device herself. Her science teacher is Patrick Krouba.

Among the esteemed judges for the science fair were a professor and a department chair from the University of West Georgia, extension agents from the University of Georgia, a local chiropractor, and engineers from Google and the Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority (WSA). They spent the afternoon on January 15 scoring projects and interviewing the students in detail.

Sponsors for the Douglas County Science and Engineering Fair include Google, Baxley Jewelry, and Hightower’s Family Funeral Homes.

The 25 middle school projects and 13 high school projects that placed 1st or 2nd in the district level fair will advance to the West Georgia Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the University of West Georgia on February 15.

First place winners for middle school include the following students. For some projects, two or more students collaborated.

Chapel Hill Middle School: Perla Castanon-Contreras, Nicholas Busbin, and Roshan Patel; Chase Curtis and Samuel White; Peter Gorsynski; Regis Harris; and Kennedy Rogers.

Factory Shoals Middle School: Elijah Lewis

Fairplay Middle School: Isabella Ellerbee; Alyssa Roe

Mason Creek Middle School: Meagan Greene

Turner Middle School: Caylie Brennan; and Charoltte Hunter.

Second place winners for middle school include:

Chapel Hill Middle School: Jack Anderson; Charles Butts; and Jared Williams.

Fairplay Middle School: Zach Giddens and Noelle Ledford.

Factory Shoals Middle School: Om Patel; Shiv Patel; and Jazmine Trowers.

Mason Creek Middle School: Larkin Anderson and Kayce Brown; Kylee Green and Kendyl Jones; Lilly Jaillet; Christopher Manchiraju; and Avery Parker.

First place winners for high school include the following students:

Lithia Springs High School: D. Alex Bright; Lawren Francis; Remiah Jones and Rebecca Scarbrough; Binaya Timsina; and Imani Young.

Second place winners for high school include:

Douglas County High School: Michael Manchiraju; Alexa Robles; and Sydney Roe.

Lithia Springs High School: Desaray Anderson and Tiolu Popoola; Walter Hendrix IV and Cordell Palmer; Ricky Jones and Jordan Carr; Mark Phillips; and Nia Simon.

Photos courtesy Douglas County School System