More than four dozen Los Gatos and Saratoga students were among the 1,033 kids who participated in the 2015 Synopsys Championship that was held March 11 at the San Jose Convention Center. The championship is the regional Santa Clara County science fair, with some winners going on to the California State Science Fair and other competitions.
The winners will be announced on March 21.
The local students submitted projects covering a wide variety of subjects, including physics, biology, engineering, math, chemistry, botany, ecology and zoology.
The Saratoga student participants were from St. Andrew’s School, Saratoga High and Redwood Middle School. Los Gatos was represented by students from the Yavneh Day School and Los Gatos High School.
Los Gatos High teacher Cathy Messenger sent 19 of her advanced science research students to the championship. Many of their projects had titles that are foreign to the average layman, such as, “The Transformation of Casein into Biodegradable Plastic.”
What is casein? It’s the name for a family of phosphoproteins found in milk. In fact, LGHS senior Michela Gori tells us that casein makes up 80 percent of the proteins found in cow’s milk and between 20 and 45 percent of the proteins found in human milk.
Michela had her project set up at a mini science fair that was held in advance of the championship so students could practice speaking to judges about their findings.
Turns out Michela’s project was a success because she was able to produce a foam-like material from the casein.
A project by Los Gatos senior Olivia Woodford-Berry found that biochar can be used to grow plants with less water. “I read you could use it to improve drought tolerance,” Olivia said. “It’s effective for improving germination time. It doesn’t take as long to germinate, so it takes less water to grow. In the case of tomato plants, a plant watered one-third as much with biochar added has a survival rate equivalent to a fully watered plant.”
Olivia is a championship veteran as this year marks her third time competing. She was awarded a certificate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a sophomore.
Junior Mason Julian’s project used ginger to see if its anti-bacterial properties could be transferred to plastic. Think about raw meat packaged in Styrofoam containers that are wrapped in clear plastic. Now think about that meat being contaminated with E. coli.
“When I let samples grow for 24 hours, only two of the six indicated E. coli had stopped growing,” Mason said. “So this experiment could perhaps apply to meat containers and packaging because there is a possibility for ginger to be an anti-bacterial material.”
Mason is also a Championship veteran–he submitted a chemistry project last year.
Although the regional science fair has been around for decades, it received a big boost in the late 1990s when it received a $3 million grant from Mountain View-based Synposys to encourage local students to pursue science- and math-based careers.
Student projects at the synopsys championship
Zohair Mahmud Ahmed (LGHS): Effects of Carbon Dioxide Concentration on Carbon Sequestration and Biomass of Triticum aestivum
Sabrina Hoi-Pui Chan (LGHS): The Effect of Pseudomonas putida on the Germination of Lepidium sativum Grown in the Presence of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Phenanthrene
Michela Gori (LGHS): The Transformation of Casein into Biodegradable Plastic
Noah Paul Gundotra (LGHS): Comprehensive Prediction of Protein Structures Using Foldit
Ilian Hodges Herzi (LGHS): The Effects of Various Chemoattractants on Chemotaxis-Movement Behavior of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis in a Circulatory Modeled System
Shomik Jain (LGHS): Is Your Sunscreen Safe? A study of sunscreens with photocatalytic particles, their ability to produce hydroxyl radicals in pools, and the effect of these particles on chlorination
Mason Christopher Julian (LGHS): The Use of Trifluoroacetic Acid to Create Biodegradable-Plastic From Food Products
Leron Perez (LGHS): Cost-Effective Prosthetics: Utilization of Artificial Muscles in a 3D Printed Arm
Rachel Diana Resnick (LGHS): The Picture Protected Notepad (PPN): An Android Application
Laila Margaret Sathe (LGHS): The Effects of LED Light on Phototaxis in Drosophila melanogaster Modified with Channelrhodopsin-2 Protein
Sarah Elizabeth Shaw (LGHS): The Effect of Mycorrhizae on Reducing Drought Stress on Lolium perenne
Talal Ahmed Sohail (LGHS): Creating a Self-Sustaining Vertical Herb, Algae, and Invertebrate Garden Utilizing Aquaculture
Jacob Hunter Swenberg (LGHS): Changes in Volumetric Flow Rate of Liquid Dielectric in a Variable Capacitor
Connor Lawton Tinsley (LGHS): Storm Drain Filter For Removal of Common Suburban Pollutants Found in Rainwater Run-off
Chinmay Manish Vaidya (LGHS): An In Vitro Study of The Mitigation of Atherosclerosis via Magnetic Hyperthermia
Michelle Yuen-Chi Wang (LGHS): The Comparison of Plant Waste Materials in the Biosorption of Chromium in Contaminated Water
Olivia Lynn Woodford-Berry (LGHS): A Novel Approach to Improving Drought Tolerance: The Effects of Biochar on Crop Yield
Elina B. Yon (LGHS): Effects of Pistia stratiotes Phytoremediation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus, and Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Enriched Pistia Stratiotes as Organic Mulch Fertilizer on growth of Lactua sativa Anne Zepecki (LGHS): Girls Learn Code – A Lesson in Java for Teenage Girls
Rotem Bar (YDS): What Reduces the Stains from the Fabric
Miles Daniel Bader (YDS): The Effect of Changes in Color of Food Acting Against Humans’ Ability to Perceive the Flavor
Tessa Sara Citron-Pousty (YDS): Affect of Different Chemicals on Crystal Growth
Jacob Fergason (YDS): What is the Effect of Lying on the Human Mind While Exercising in Isolation
Josie Braun Gordon (YDS): Multitasking: Brain Drain or Boost in Efficiency?
Lily Rose Guggenheim (YDS): Ken vs. Barbie: Do gender stereotypes still play a role in marketing and advertising in 2015?
Rachel Homayonfar (YDS): Affect of Different Chemicals on Crystal Growth
Maya Kolyer (YDS): Affect of Different Chemicals on Crystal Growth
Jalen Alexander Milrad (YDS): The Effect of Changes in Color of Food Acting Against Humans’ Ability to Perceive the Flavor
Ella Anna Myers-Lipton (YDS): Multitasking: Brain Drain or Boost in Efficiency?
Josiah Isaac Myers-Lipton (YDS): Multitasking: Brain Drain or Boost in Efficiency?
Ari Myron (YDS): What is the Effect of Lying on the Human Mind While Exercising in Isolation
Phillip Jacob Salowe (YDS): Determining Biofuel potentials for organic materials
David Shamis (YDS): Determining Biofuel potentials for organic materials
Evan Weissbart (YDS): What is the Effect of Lying on the Human Mind While Exercising in Isolation
Anusuya Arjavalingam (SHS): Electrolysis in the Presence of a Magnetic Field: The effect of the Lorentz Force and the Measurement of Hall Voltage
Nathan Brandon Ching (SHS): Identification of Bacteriophages for Therapeutic Use
Aayush Gupta (SHS): Principal Component Analysis of Flow Cytometry Data to analyze the Efficacy of Allergy Immunotherapy with Omalizumab
Stephanie Huang (SHS): Breaking Antibiotic Resistant Biofilms with Natural Herbs
Nidhi Jain (SHS): Charging Low Powered Devices by Mountain Biking: A Novel Approach to Electric Energy Generation using Interconnected Electromechanical Piezo Actuators
Sathvik Koneru (SHS): Modeling effective methods to prevent ankle injuries using simulation-based software
Alexander Li (SHS): Coronal Energy Buildup due to Sunspot Rotation
Mayank Pandey (SHS): Traffic Flow Optimization with Sensor and Historical Data
Sohil Pokharna (SHS): Superhydrophilic Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes for Selective Absorption of Oil for Post Spill Cleanup of Oceans
Trishla Pokharna (SHS): Superhydrophilic Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes for Selective Absorption of Oil for Post Spill Cleanup of Oceans
Meera Reddy Rachamallu (SHS): Synthesis of Acid-Sensitive, Taxol-Loaded, Enzyme-Responsive Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery, part 1
Karthik Ramachandran (SHS): Take the Plunge: Detecting Falls Using Smartphone Sensors (Computers/Mathematics)
Indraneel Tambe (SHS): Inverse Problem Approach to Designing Better Optical Waveguides
Michelle Xu (SHS): Breaking Antibiotic Resistant Biofilms with Natural Herbs
Kristine Alexandra Zhang (SHS): A New Molecular Model for Congo Red-Amyloid-Beta Interaction: Implications for Diagnosis and Inhibition of Brain Plaque Formation in Alzheimer’s Disease
Emily Debs (SAS): Cell phones reveal unique microbiome responses to specific cleaners
Malika Ahuja (RMS): Edible Warfare-An Educational Video Game
Surbhi Bhat (RMS): Magic of Flying Frisbees
Hayaa Asifa Hyder (RMS): Edible Warfare-An Educational Video Game
Sathvik Kaliyur (RMS): Effect of acidic and basic soil on Swiss Chard plant growth
Shivam Verma (RMS): Fitness Tracker using a Pulse Sensor
