Science Fair 2018
The tradition of excellence continues
Middle School students deliver another set of outstanding Science Fair projects for 2018.
Dock Mennonite Academy holds its annual Science Fair Competition in January. Students are selected to compete at the Montgomery County Science Research Competition (MCSRC) based on their performance at the Dock science fair.
Over the past 15 years, Dock students have been active participants at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science annual science fair competition, the Montgomery County Science Research Competition, and the Delaware Valley Science Fair. Here are the winning Science Fair projects for 2018:
Category
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Behavioral
Laurel Latt
Sophia Messina
Emma Celenza
Biochemistry
Katherine Wenzel
Allison Delp
Sophia Kim
Botany
Zachary Frederick
Maddy Lewis
Haley Harper
Chemistry
Anna Smith
Celeste Derstine
Computer
Hansen Smith
Simon Hershberger
earth and Space
Julia Zeng
Rachel Edenfield
engineering
Jonathan Alderfer
Tyler Derstein
Avi Stemler
Environmental
Pi'ikea Fujita
Carter Jagiela
Family and consumer
Tanner Frankenfield
Blake Yoder
Jenna Moyer
mathematics
Keturah Landis
Abigail Reichley
medicine and health
Lydia Hwang
Nicole Walters
Olivia Zaskoda
microbiology
Luke Yetter
Lydia Longacre
Benjamin Henry Longacre
physics
Micah Mast
Tim Brown
Sophia Lacher
zoology
Asa Stemler
Max Zhang
Trinity Landis
Special Awards
best overall board
8th Grade: Carter Jagiela
7th Grade: Allison Delp
6th Grade: Anna Smith
harry anselmo excellence in science award
Best in Show
8th Grade (tie):
Laurel Latt and Keturah Landis/ Abigail Reichley
7th Grade:
Zachary Frederick
6th Grade:
Anna Smith
davinci award
Best Combination of Art and Science
Simon Hershberger
Breslins win awards at Delaware Valley Science Fair
Sophia Breslin received a 2nd place award for Chemistry at the Delaware Valley Science Fair, which is sponsored by Drexel University and held in early April. Sophia's project was a continuation of her project from last year, entitled "Protein Zinc Interactions" (see below). In addition, junior Sydney Breslin received a 1st place Special Award from the Philadelphia Society for Coatings Technology for her project, "Characterizing and Modifying the Release of pH Sensitive Polymer Coatings." Her award included a cash prize of $300. The awards are impressive because the DVSF is a culmination of 13 regional science fair events held throughout the tri-state area. Congratulations to Sophia and Sydney!
Protein Zinc Interactions (Sophia Breslin, right, with DVSF judges)
Summary of Project: Protein-based medicines are used to treat many diseases like cancer, diabetes, and immune system disorders. Once challenge with these types of treatments is aggregation of proteins in the solutions to be administered for treatment. The goal of the original project was to use metal salt solutions to discover which metals cause protein aggregation. It was determined that zinc ions did not cause proteins to aggregate. In this continuation project, the goal was to determine better understand why zinc ions do not cause protein aggregation. The results hopefully will help scientists prevent protein aggregation and therefore improve the effectiveness of treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and immune system disorders.
Characterizing and Modifying the Release of pH Sensitive Polymer Coatings (Sydney Breslin, below)
Summary of Project: Polymer coatings are used on tablets to help deliver medication to patients. These coatings are used for a variety of reasons: masking the taste of the medication, protecting the medication from coming apart in the stomach. The type of coating used can cause a delay in the medication entering the bloodstream. If a different type of coating were used, perhaps the delay in medication entering the bloodstream could be prevented. Using a polymer coating which starts in an ionized state would be more dissolve more quickly in the intestinal tract, therefore causing the medication to be dissolved more quickly.