Winners Named in NWA Regional Science and Engineering Fair

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More than 200 fifth through 12th-grade students in schools from 15 counties across NWA competed in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Science and Engineering Fair this month.

Over 200 U of A faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students served as judges and volunteers for the 72nd annual fair, coordinated by Shawn Bell, director of the university's Center for Mathematics and Science Education.

The mission of the NWARSEF is to endorse STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) literacy and increase STEM career awareness in Northwest Arkansas for middle and high school students and teachers through inquiry and problem/project-based learning. The vision is to improve STEM education by encouraging students — future scientists, technologists, mathematicians and engineers — to explore STEM disciplines through their own research and problem/project-based learning, to apply the knowledge gained from their research and to communicate their results.

Categories for judging include animal sciences, behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and planetary science, energy and transportation, and engineering.

Senior Division category winners advance to the state Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway on March 31 and April 1. Overall Senior Division NWARSEF winners and their teachers will be sponsored to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas in May.

The winners are:

• 1st Place — Chandra Suda, Computer Science: Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Tuberculosis Via Machine Learning Cough Analysis, Bentonville High School/Ignite
• 2nd Place — Taksh Patel, Physics and Astronomy: Growth & Characterization of Layered Magnets, Fayetteville High School
• 3rd Place — Rohan Singh, Bentonville High School/Ignite, Medicine and Heath Science: Optimizing Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetic Patients using a Deep Learning-Based Artificial Pancreas with a Secure Glucagon and Insulin Delivery System

Visit the NWARSEF page for more information.