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CRMC rewards RI students for science fair projects
May 29, 2012, WAKEFIELD – The RI Coastal Resources Management Council has awarded savings bonds to six Rhode Island junior, middle and high school students for their winning projects in the 2012 Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair.
This year’s science and engineering fair took place on March 22 at the Community College of Rhode Island’s Knight Campus in Warwick, and showcased engineering, science and environmental projects from 65 schools and more than 395 students from grades 6 through 12. This year students showed a total of 374 projects, and the CRMC awarded bonds for projects ranging from bioremediation and hydropower to aquaculture and aquaponics.
The six students were winners of the individual science fairs at their schools; teachers are allowed to send as many as 15 winners per school. The CRMC awarded prizes in the special awards category, which allows organizations and groups to set their own criteria and choose their own winners.
In the Senior Division, for students in grades 9-12, the first place prize of a $100 savings bond from the CRMC was awarded to Margaret Antonio of Immaculate Conception Academy for her project, “Implementing Hydropower in Water Pipes.” Anna Sroczynski of LaSalle Academy was awarded the second place prize of a $50 savings bond for her project, “Can Oyster Farms be used as Remediation for Pollution in RI Waters? Bioremediation the Solution?” Third place and a $50 savings bond went to Michael Papazian, also from LaSalle Academy, for his project, “How does dissolved oxygen act as a correlate to water temperature in the Woonasquatucket River?”
The CRMC also awarded three savings bonds in the Junior Division for students in grades 6-8. The winner of the first place $100 savings bond was Andrea St. Laurent from Saint Philomena School for her project, “Can an Oyster Farm be Established at Nanaquaket Pond in Tiverton?” The second place savings bond for $50 went to Grete Bressner, from Saint Joseph School, for her project, “Aquaponics: Which fish will provide better nutrients for the plants?” Peter Jasinski of LaSalle Academy received third place and a $50 savings bond for his project, “Reverse Osmosis in the Desalination of Seawater.”
The students received certificates from the CRMC, and will receive their savings bonds in the mail. The Council has been giving out special awards for the science fair for more than a decade.
This is the 64th year of the science fair. Special awards were established as a way for local businesses and organizations to promote what they do and get students interested in science and engineering-related research. The top two winners of the Rhode Island fair’s general awards category went on to compete in the international science fair in Pittsburgh in May.