RVC science center hosts STEM competition

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Teams of high school students from across the nation and around the world recently showcased their award-winning projects and solutions at the 2017 Spellman High Voltage Electronics Clean Tech Competition. The contest was managed by the Rockville Centre-based Center for Science Teaching and Learning, an institution focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

The theme of the competition, held for the first time this year at Stony Brook University, was “Creating a Greener Future.” The nine finalist teams that traveled to Long Island presented their STEM-based solutions and projects for mitigating environmental challenges. The winners of the competition were selected after several rounds of judging. Winners of the competition received monetary awards totaling $30,000.

Alyssa Iryami and Audrey Shine, from Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School, won first place — and $10,000 — for their project involving silkworms. The two students fed graphene to silkworms and demonstrated that the naturally produced silk was strengthened. They proved that the stronger natural silk could be used in many ways, including making water filters.

“We were honored to be selected to be in the top 10 and win first place,” Iryami said. “It was an amazing day, just learning what all these young people have innovated.”

Shine added: “Meeting people from the Philippines and Singapore has been amazing. It has been such a journey and a long year since September and we cannot believe we came this far.” 

The first place team will have the opportunity to continue its relationship with a professional mentor, who will advise and assist the team in furthering its work and education. The winning team will also work with the United States Patent Office to get their idea into the real world. 

A second place award of $7,000 was presented to a team from Philippine Science High School in Quezon City in the Philippines, which comprised of students Justine Marcus Opulencia, Maded Batara III and Philippe Gene Bungabong. Their project was titled: Development of an Integrated Online System for the Regulation of Household Electricity Consumption.

 Team “Eco-Breathe” student Jubin Gorji from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, received a third place award of $5,000 for project: A Portable Low-Cost Filtration System For Kerosene Lamps Aimed at Combating Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in Low-Resource Regions. The remaining finalist teams each received $1,000 to help further their research and innovation.

“These students are ambassadors for STEM and I am confident that their compassion, commitment and ingenuity will bring to life how clean tech can make a difference in our world,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Stony Brook University.  “I am highly impressed and so encouraged by their incredible ideas for technologies that can sustain a broad range of communities and populations.”

Rockville Centre’s CSTL is a not-for-profit organization with a mission of encouraging science learning and literacy. This is the sixth year it has managed the competition, which this year included 742 students from 330 teams from 26 different countries.

“The projects that the teams presented demonstrated their ingenuity, creativity and knowledge of science and were truly inspiring,” said Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, director of The Center for Science Teaching and Learning. “The enthusiasm and camaraderie was very present, with all of the students interacting and demonstrating their projects for each other. To be competitive, our nation needs more students like these young competitors to gain interest in science and technology.”