The Home of Midwood Science Research

Over 100 sophomore research students competed in the annual science fair back in May 2019. The students showcased their findings in front of about 130 judges made up of junior and senior research students, alumni, and Midwood teachers.

The year's first place winners included Nicole Gutierrez '21, Tiffany Ng '21, and Jacklyn Vu '21. Second place winners included Aliyeh Khan '21, Nitu Farhin '21 and Malayka Mudassar '21, and Jessica Serheyeva '21. Lastly, third place went to Ivy Chen '21 and Emily Chen '21, and Walter Rosales '21.

During the science fair, students put up big tri-fold posters outlining their whole experiment. The students waited and presented their work to the judges assigned to them.

"I am incredibly proud seeing how confident the students were in their work while talking to strangers," said Ms. Shaniece Mosley, one of the science research teachers. "It was an amazing experience."

Dr. Stephan Riemersma, one of the science fair judges, said, "They have to be ready to handle questions that they are not ready for, which is a part of the criteria on the rubric."

Nicole Gutierrez '21 researched worm regeneration.

Gutierrez was one of the first place winners of the science fair. Her research dealt with planarian worm regeneration with respect to different magnetic fields. She had three worms in each dish with three magnets under six of the nine petri dishes.

However, science has unexpected challenges. One of Gutierrez's worms was a carnivore, so it ate the other worms in the same dish and messed up her data. In addition, halfway through the experiment, there was a change in the measuring device used.

Still, the results showed that worms had a higher chance of dying when placed in a higher magnetic field, whereas weaker fields prompted radical repair regeneration, thus allowing worm regeneration.

"It was rewarding because you were able to conduct your own experiment," said Gutierrez. "Throughout the entire year, we had to read research papers made by professors. Now we got to conduct experiments and come up with results like those professors."

Similarly, Mr. Glenn Elert, the science research coordinator of the event, said, "[The science fair] allows students to actually do science. In regular science classes, they just learn about traditional scientific methods, facts, and techniques, but you never really do actual science."

Aliyeh Khan '21 was one of the second place winners. Her research focused on the impact of gene expression on the effectiveness of transcription factors. In other words, she analyzed the DNA from the heart and compared it to other organs to see if those transcription factors can be useful in programming.

"Thirty-three percent of all deaths are from cardiovascular disease, which can be solved through regenerative medicine," said Khan. "Body cells can be used as heart cells, which can save a lot of money."

In a way, the science fair allowed students to find solutions to problems that could work to benefit society, while learning to deal with the obstacles that come with getting there.

"Science is a process, but also a way of life," said Mosley. "Things don't always work the way you want, but the important thing is to keep going."

Written by Tiffany Ngo and Sharon Wong (Class of 2020)
This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Argus.

May 30th will be a exciting day for many of the sophomore research kids. The science fair will be taking place all over the third floor of the annex, starting at 3:30 pm and ending at 6:00 pm. There, student projects will be judged by five different judges.

All sophomore research students must make a project, and they are given about a month to work on it. While working as a team or individually, they can choose their own topic, with approval from a teacher. There are under 100 contestants, but about 120 judges. The judges are a mix of alumni, juniors and seniors in AP Research, and a handful of teachers.

As a bonus, there will be free food, Mr. Glenn Elert, a physics teacher, said, adding, "Everyone likes that. Free food is good."

Mr. Elert is also the teacher who compiles the scores from the judges into a spreadsheet. From there, the winner, runners up, and honorable mentions are calculated based on their scores.

Maham Ghori '21 explains her research results to Dr. Trevor Stokes, biology teacher and judge for the science fair. Photo Credit: Justin Chow.

Sophomore Aaliyah Gordon's project involves the cleanliness of water and the effect of boiling. She said, "I chose this project because my parents boil water instead of using tap, so I was wondering if that was effective. They also buy cases of bottled water to drink, so I was wondering if it has little to no bacteria. There is a stigma in America that tap water is bad and bottled water is good, and I wanted to test this for myself."

Though the teachers don't choose the project topics, they do help guide the students in their work.

Jeanine Jardine '21 said, "My research teacher Mrs. [Shaniece] Mosley has worked so hard to support us. She constantly gives us ideas and advice to make our experiment better."

Ms. Mosley, a chemistry and research teacher, said, "I've got some very inventive projects this year, but I won't say specifically [who she thinks will win]. I think some great things will come out of my class."

Jaden Thomas '21 and Tasnia Shadat '21 tested the effect of color on the
efficiency of water purification. Photo Credit: Justin Chow.

Some projects have presented unexpected challenges. Sophomore Lucie Lim's project dealt with how the fat percentage of cheese could affect bacteria.

"Since we are making our own cheeses at home, the experiment is flawed," she said. "We don't know how to make cheese, so we could disrupt the controlled experiment. I now have a newfound appreciation for people who make cheese."

And sometimes, science just stinks, literally.

Gordon said, "I absolutely despise the smell of growing bacteria. It is horrendous, but being able to see what's inside of my water is fascinating."

Overall, the experience has been a valuable one.

"What I like about the experiment is getting a taste of how a lab works and what we do in a lab," said Lim.

The fair itself is on May 30, and the award ceremony will most likely take place June 14.

"May the best project win," said Mr. Elert.

Written by Hillary Michel (Class of 2020)
This article originally appeared in the June 2019 issue of Argus.

The stage was set for sophomore researchers as they presented their projects for all research students to see during the annual science fair.

Even though the science fair was for the sophomores of AP Capstone, it was mandatory for juniors and seniors who had previously taken AP Capstone to attend.

Juniors and seniors had a job to fulfill. The job of utmost importance was that of a judge. Some students prepared the tables so that food could be placed on them.

"The science fair was the biggest ever," said Mr. Glenn Elert, the research teacher. "We had more seniors this year than last year. We had more alumni than ever before. Normally teachers are substitute judges. We had so many judges that we didn't need any teachers to judge."

Not all projects are graded the same. Depending on whether or not they worked alone or with someone else, the total points someone could receive differed. For example, if you worked alone, the presentation would be scored out of 60 points. However, if you worked with a partner, the presentation would be scored out of 70 points.

The topics that students chose weren't just random topics. Some students chose a certain topic because of their love for a certain class or the topic itself.

"I have AP Chemistry, and I want to put what I learn into use. I want to show them that AP Chemistry matters," said Alyssa Kattan '20, who did her project on the ability of chiral glucose molecules to polarize light.

Ihtsham Chaudhry said '20, "I had great interest in my science fair topic on the regeneration process of planarian worms, and it helped me develop new knowledge on a planarian worm that I didn't know before."

While some students decided to work in pairs, others decided to work alone.

"I decided to work alone. I am kind of a perfectionist. By working alone, it is easy to maintain my standards," said Kattan.

Jennifer Wu '20 said, "I find that when I work alone, I exert more choice on what I want to put on the board."

Not all students had the equipment needed to do the project. As a result, they turned to the school for the necessary equipment.

"It was a bit difficult because I didn't have the right equipment," said Jennifer Wu. "I didn't have an electronic balance net and beakers. So I did the experiment at school. All I had to do was ask the science department so that I could do the work in school."

Getting the presentation ready for the science fair wasn't an easy job. It required a lot of time and effort. Luckily, AP Capstone, including its teachers and students, were there to help each other out.

"AP Capstone is a phenomenal program that allow students to pursue scientific interests that many other schools cannot provide," said Armin Pasukanovic '20.

Kattan said, "I have never done a presentation for a science fair before. Teachers and students from research helped me navigate the process step by step. They were always there for when I had questions to ask."

The judges were very impressed by the work sophomores put into their presentations.

"I think the presentations they made are very advanced. Their presentations have a very meaningful purpose and can help change the world. Sophomores, even though they are only 14 or 15, have a lot of potential. They are also very organized," said Neslani Johnson '19.

Bareera Abid '19 said, "It was interesting to see what sophomores did. It was new and unique."

The science fair didn't consist of only Midwood students and staff. Midwood alumni were also there. Some of them were even judges for the science fair.

"This is my first time in two years coming back to Midwood," said Laila Akallal, an alumni who graduated from Midwood in 2016. "It is great to see how much the research program has grown."

Written by Cindy Wang and Rubhiyah Chaudhry (Class of 2019).
This article originally appeared in the June 2018 edition of Argus.