Riverside County Students Earn Gold Medals, Advance to State, National, and International Science Fairs

RIVERSIDE – Eighty-six students earned gold medals, including three sweepstakes winners, while dozens of prizes and entries into state, national, and international fairs were awarded at the conclusion of the Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair held at the Riverside Convention Center on April 2-3, 2019.

Nearly 500 students from 36 affiliate fairs represented public, charter, and private schools and presented their findings in 405 projects spanning 19 subject matter categories from Biochemistry and Behavioral and Social Sciences to Microbiology and Robotics and Intelligent Machines.

Gold, and silver (runner-up) medals were presented, along with community awards. Within each of the 19 subject matter categories, students competed in the Grade 4/5 division, Junior division (grades 6-8), and Senior division (high school). Winners in the Junior and Senior division advance to the California State Science and Engineering Fair to be held April 29-30, 2019, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California.

Sweepstakes awards were presented to one project in Grades 4/5 combined, one project in the Junior Division, and one project in the Senior Division:

• Elementary Division Sweepstakes (Grades 4-5)
  Rigatoni Pasta Rocket Engine
  Amanda Mata
  Orange Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD
• Junior Division Sweepstakes (Grades 6-8)
  Space Particles from Space
  Andrew Pool
  Ysmael Villegas Middle School, Alvord USD
• Senior Division Sweepstakes (Grades 9-12)
  The Effect of Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Partitioning of AAR2 and HLY1 on microRNA Biogenesis
  Isabelle Do
  Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Three Senior division students advanced to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held May 12-17, 2019, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Facilitating Emergency Thermal Protection via an Integration of Materials Augmented by an Endothermic Process
Nicholas Perez
Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Anacardic Acid Analogs for the Inhibition of Matrix Metalloproteinasa-2
Maanasi Kademani
Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Na/Ca/K Pollution Scrub: A Domestic Approach to Chemical Carbon Capture
Dimple Garuadapuri
Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair Gold Medal Winners

Grade 4 Gold Medal Winners

Haylee Blackwell, Katherine Finchy Elementary School, Palm Springs USD

Anneliese Brasher, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Kathryn Clayton, Katherine Finchy Elementary School, Palm Springs USD

Morgan Collins, Katherine Finchy Elementary School, Palm Springs USD

Alexa Cortez, Triple Crown Elementary School, Val Verde USD

Sophia Dunn, Lasselle Elementary School, Val Verde USD

Daniel Galvan, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Riverside USD

Carter Gilliatt, Temescal Valley Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Aiden Grover, John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Riverside USD

Hope Howard, Home Gardens Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Brian Hsieh, James Earl Carter Elementary School, Desert Sands USD

Sisanee McFadden, Victoriano Elementary School, Val Verde USD

Andrea Olivarez, Camino Real Elementary School, Jurupa USD

Fabian Rivera, Cielo Vista Charter School, Palm Springs USD

Emil Solorio-Coyle, Brookside Elementary School, Beaumont USD

Grade 5 Gold Medal Winners

Allister Arsua, Washington Charter School, Desert Sands USD

Andrew Carney, Sundance Elementary School, Beaumont USD

Tenzing Carvalho, Hemet Elementary School, Hemet USD

Tiffany Chang, Sacred Heart School

Shaeyna Delasalas, Avalon Elementary School, Val Verde USD

Emily Feffer, Katherine Finchy Elementary School, Palm Springs USD

Brady Guinn, Hemet Elementary School, Hemet USD

Hank Jennings, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Riverside USD

Damien Luis, Perris Elementary School, Perris Elementary SD

Amanda Mata, Orange Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Nicholas Neimeyer, Rosemary Kennedy Elementary School, Alvord USD

Lucille Oakes, Rancho Christian School

Chloe Phillips, Anna Hause Elementary School, Beaumont USD

Makayla Ruth, Moreno Valley Online Academy, Moreno Valley USD

Holly Sciarra, Brookside Elementary School, Beaumont USD

Thomas Sherrill, Eastvale Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Joshua Stice, Sycamore Academy of Science and Cultural Arts

Junior Division Gold Medal Winners (Grades 6-8)***▲

Adani Ahmad, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Natalie Araujo, Bobby Duke Middle School, Coachella Valley USD

Heidi Bishop, Elsinore Middle School, Lake Elsinore USD

Zachary Brasher, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Fredy Centeno, Bobby Duke Middle School, Coachella Valley USD

Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School

Joseph Dadlez, Frank Augustus Miller Middle School, Riverside USD

Ryan Drake, Rancho Christian School

James Glenny, Clara Barton Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Nicholas Gomez, Temescal Valley Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD

Suraj Jayaraman, Raney Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Kirolls Moussa, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD

Charlotte Myers, Temecula Preparatory School

David Ouk, Raney Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Melissa Perez, Bobby Duke Middle School, Coachella Valley USD

Andrew Pool, Ysmael Villegas Middle School, Alvord USD

Aisha Randhawa, Auburndale Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Nala Stewart, Auburndale Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Sarah Stutsman, Auburndale Intermediate School, Corona-Norco USD

Lilia Tomoff, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Alexa Vasquez, John Glenn Middle School, Desert Sands USD

Lily Yang, Nicolet Middle School, Banning USD

Senior Division Gold Medal Winners (Grades 9-12)***

Tyler Billman, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Jacob Bright, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Curtis Chen, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Jiahan (Peter) Cheng, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Kayla Cunningham, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Isabelle Do, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Anurag Gajaria, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Dimple Garuadapuri, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Dillon Gonzalez, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Saira Gupta, Riverside STEAM Consortium

Faith Inverary, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Jibiana Jakpor, Woodcrest Christian School

Hara Jo, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Maanasi Kademani, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Spencer Krock, Norco High School, Corona-Norco USD

Jillian Labador, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Lana Lim, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Jeff Liu, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Briana Marquez, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Kenny Nguyen, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Seeta Patel, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Nicholas Perez, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Hyunjin Rheem, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Thomas Rife, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

Jesus Rivera, Nuview Bridge Early College High School, Nuview Union SD

Brantley Ryan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Sophia Santoso, Poly High School, Riverside USD

Jimmy Shi, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Mirabella Smith, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Gary Song, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Wenxuan Tang, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

August Wetterau, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

*** Gold medal winners in Junior and Senior division advance to California State Science and Engineering Fair

▲ Gold medal winners in Junior division also advance to National Broadcom MASTERS Competition

2019 Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair Community Awards

California Society for Biomedical Research

• Plaque and $250 monetary award – Kenny Nguyen, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

California Association of Professional Scientists

• Plaque – Jibiana Jakpor, Woodcrest Christian School

Chemistry and Air Pollution Research Center at University of California Riverside

• Trophy and $50 gift card – Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School
• Trophy and $50 gift card – Kayla Cunningham, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

HDR, Inc.

• Certificate and book – Logan Hafen, Margaret White Elementary School, Palo Verde USD
• Certificate and book – Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School
• Certificate and book – Gavin Joyce, Corona High School, Corona-Norco USD

Inland Geological Society

• Certificate of Merit – Joshua Ramirez, Jose Ramos, Ryan Lazalde, Jurupa Valley High School, Jurupa USD
• Certificate of Merit – Mirabella Smith, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD
• Certificate of Merit – Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School
• Certificate of Merit and $100 scholarship – Dillon Gonzalez, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Mojave Environmental Education Consortium

• $50 gift card, certificate and ribbon – Dimple Garuadapuri, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD
• $50 gift card, certificate, and ribbon – Shaeyna Delasalas, Avalon Elementary School, Val Verde USD
• $50 gift card, certificate, and ribbon – Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School

Inland Empire Professional Engineers in California Government

• $350 – Leah Blanford, REACH Leadership Academy
• $750 – Alyssa Leyva, Ethan A. Chase Middle School, Romoland SD
• $1,000 – Gavin Joyce, Corona High School, Corona-Norco USD

Science and Technology Education Partnership (STEP)

• $50 – Amanda Mata, Orange Elementary School, Corona-Norco USD
• $125 – Andrew Pool, Ysmael Villegas Middle School, Alvord USD
• $250 – Isabelle Do, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Affiliated Regional Awards

(awards provided as part of affiliation with INTEL ISEF)

American Meteorological Society

• Dimple Garuadapuri, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD
• Cameron Conner, Highland Academy Charter School 

American Psychological Association

• Sandra Rodriguez, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD

ASM Materials Education Foundation

• Ayana Hall and Danae Borders, Patriot High School, Jurupa USD

Association for Women Geoscientists

• Mirabella Smith, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Intel Excellence in Computer Science

• Jiahan (Peter) Cheng, Thomas Rife, and August Wetterau, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

The Lemelson Foundation

• Kayla Jensen, REACH Leadership Academy

Mu Alpha Theta

• Malika Nindra and Avantika Rozario, Centennial High School, Corona-Norco USD

NASA Earth System Science Award

• Dimple Garuadapuri, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

NOAA

• Kayla Jensen, REACH Leadership Academy

Ricoh

• Mack Lyons, Riverside STEM Academy, Riverside USD

Society for In Vitro Biology

• Hara Jo, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Stockholm Jr Water Prize

• Brantley Ryan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD
• Nicolas Almeida, Alexander Nguyen, and Nicholas Tan, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD
• Mirabella Smith, Temescal Canyon High School, Lake Elsinore USD

Naval Science Award

• Rubi Alvarez, St. Catherine of Alexandria
• Alyssa Leyva, Ethan A. Chase Middle School, Romoland SD
• Emily Blackwell, Raymond Cree Middle School, Palm Springs USD
• Aminah Khan, Jurupa Middle School, Jurupa USD
• Brantley Ryan, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD
• Brian Chu, Springs Charter School
• Andre Huerto, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Corona-Norco USD

United States Metric Association

• Allison Dieges, Western Center Academy, Hemet USD

Yale Science and Engineering Association

• Carey Yoon, Martin Luther King High School, Riverside USD

Participating districts and charter/private schools included:

• Banning USD
• Beaumont USD
• Coachella Valley USD
• Corona-Norco USD
• Desert Sands USD
• Excel Prep Charter
• Hemet USD
• Highland Academy Charter
• Jurupa USD
• Lake Elsinore USD
• Moreno Valley USD
• Murrieta Valley USD
• Nuview Union SD
• Oakhill Academy
• Palm Springs USD
• Palo Verde USD
• Pechanga School
• Perris Elementary SD
• Rancho Christian School
• REACH Leadership STEAM Academy
• Riverside STEAM Consortium
• Riverside USD
• Romoland SD
• Sacred Heart School
• San Jacinto USD
• Springs Charter School
• Catherine’s of Alexandria
• Edward’s School
• Hyacinth Academy
• Jeanne de Lestonnac
• John’s Lutheran School
• Sycamore Academy
• Temecula Preparatory School
• Val Verde USD
• Woodcrest Christian School