CRMC rewards RI students for science fair projects

April 2, 2025, WAKEFIELD – The RI Coastal Resources Management Council has awarded gift cards to nine Rhode Island junior, middle and high school students for their winning projects in the 2025 Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair.

This year’s science and engineering fair showcased engineering, science and environmental projects from students from grades 6 through 12. There was a total of 136 projects – 91 entered in the junior division and 45 in the senior division – and the CRMC awarded VISA gift cards for projects on ocean monitoring, water quality, aquatic invasive species management, and water conservation.

The 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 gift card from the CRMC was awarded to Enyu (Alaina) Zhang, a senior at Portsmouth Abbey School, for her project, “Exploring biogeochemical climate solutions in the Narragansett Bay estuarine ecosystem,” where she studied the feasibility of using kelp in mitigating nutrient pollution and promoting a more stable environment.

Siddharth Gupta of Barrington High School was awarded the second-place prize of a $50 gift card for his project, “Time Series Analysis and Interactive Visualization of Narragansett Bay Fixed Monitoring Stations Network Data.” He performed an analysis of the monitoring stations in the Bay and created some predictive models as well.

The third-place prize of $25 was awarded to both Adriana Botelho and Mekayla Neves of Mount Hope High School for their project, “The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Catalase Function and Oxidative Stress in Brine Shrimp.”

The CRMC also awarded three gift cards in the Junior Division for students in grades 6-8. The winner of the first-place honor and a $100 gift card were Mukund Devanathan, Annavi Mishra, and Vedanshi Singh, students at North Cumberland Middle School, for their project, “Removing invasive water chestnuts from water bodies.”

The second-place gift card for $50 went to Elise Ahmed, an eighth grade student at Saint Luke’s School, for her project, “Irrigation and Water Conservation,” where she tested a variety of materials including gel placed over soil to improve water conservation.

Siera Nardozza of Saint Peter School received third place and $25 for her project, “Does water temperature affect fish respiration, rate, and color?”

The Council has been giving out special awards for the science fair for more than 25 years. 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.