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Suwanee Students in Gwinnett Regional Science Fair on Friday

More than 1,000 students will participate in the fair Friday, Feb. 22.

Students from several Suwanee schools will be among more than 1,000 students participating Friday in the 35th annual Gwinnett County Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

It is the county's largest regional event for science learning, and students from public schools, charter schools, private schools and home schools are among those participating. (See full list below)

The fair takes place Friday, Feb. 22, at Gwinnett Center, located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Visitors may attend the open house, which begins at 4:00 p.m. The awards ceremony takes place at 7:30 p.m.

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-- Do you know any of the students involved in the science fair? Share your experiences in the comments below.

The theme this year is "Motivating the Next Generation of Science and Engineering Leaders—from Classroom to Career."

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Jonathon Wetherington, director of science at Gwinnett County Public Schools, said the fair allows students to explore the world of science by seeing how it affects culture and economy.

"To be successful, students have to apply critical and creative thinking to develop their research, and then they have to be able to communicate their ideas, thought processes, and results effectively," he said.

"For students, this process allows them to gauge their proficiency against their peers, demonstrating their readiness for college and careers," Wetherington added. "The real-world nature of the experience truly prepares students to discover not only a little bit about science and engineering, but a great deal about how they are being prepared for a bright future."

Among the following schools clusters involved are:

Collins Hill Cluster:

  • Collins Hill Hill School: 72 students, 45 projects
  • Creekland Middle School: 49 students, 34 projects
  • McKendree Elementary School: 8 students, 8 projects
  • Taylor Elementary School: 8 students, eight project
  • Walnut Grove Elementary School: Seven students, seven projects

North Gwinnett Cluster:

  • North Gwinnett Middle School: Five students, three projects 
  • Level Creek Elementary School: Two students, two projects

Peachtree Ridge Cluster: 

  • Peachtree Ridge High School: 44 students, 27 projects
  • Hull Middle School: Five students, four projects
  • Burnette Elementary School: Six students, six projects

GCPS Charter schools:

  • Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology: 59 students, 31 projects
  • Gwinnett Online Campus: 11 students, 11 projects

Private Schools and Homeschooled Students:

  • Berean Homeschool (elementary level): Seven projects, seven students
  • Notre Dame Academy: 20 students, 20 projects
  • City of Knowledge (middle school level): 15 students, 15 projects

In addition, the fair features student scientific work during the “Distinguished Research Symposium,” scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. All of the projects earned first place at their local school's science fair and advanced to the districtwide event.

At the regional fair, the projects will be judged by Georgia professionals and scientists for scientific quality, accuracy, creativity, and experimental design.

The following Gwinnett County students will present their original research as part of the symposium:

  • Ryan Hawks and Jake Inderrieden – 12th graders from Collins Hill High “Harvesting Electricity from Manure Using a Microbial Fuel Cell”
  • Florey Fung – 11th grader from Collins Hill High “Citrus Fruits on the Percentage of E. Coli in Water”
  • Willie Jin – 11th grader at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology “Investigaing Heme Pocket Residues in a Globin Coupled Sensor”
  • Fatima Kamal – 11th grader from Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology “Mechanistic Evaluation of Rhodium Carbenoid Mediated Cyclopropanation using ReactIR”
  • Melanie Lee and Ashley (Hye ji) Cho – 12th graders at Collins Hill High “Effects of Fat and Carotenoid Absorption”
  • Daniela Ruiz – 11th grader at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology “Synthesis, Characterization and Kinetics of the Fastest-Folding WW Domains”
  • Prachi Patel – 10th grader at Collins Hill High “The Effect of Stress on Teenagers”
  • Aksal Vashi – 10th grader from Collins Hill High “Swine Manure as an Accelerating Agent for Oil Biodegradation”
  • Michael Yang – 11th grader at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology “Modulating Peptide Self-Assembly with Zinc2+, Nickel2+, and Cadmium2+”

In addition to the fair's aforementioned science projects and presentations, industry professionals will be available to talk with students about future career opportunities in science and engineering at the Career Expo.

Presenters include organizations from: American Chemical Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Gwinnett County Crime Scene Investigations, Gwinnett Medical Center, Jackson EMC, UPS, among many others.


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