Science Club Preps for County Fair
March 6, 2020
Members of the Science Fair Club will present their individual research projects at the Contra Costa Science Fair on March 11.
Sophomore club president Cathy Kenderski has encouraged all club members to pursue their own interests in developing projects for the fair; she has also provided advice to 1st-time participants.
According to Kenderski, her project is focused on “measuring the presence of reactive oxygen species in yeast, when they produce a beta 42, and whether that accumulation of reactive oxygen species can be mitigated by fluorides.”
Kenderski 1st became interested in the topic when she took chemistry over the summer, which had a subunit on redox reactions discussing how free radicals affect Alzheimer’s.
Sophomore Daylin Attwood was inspired by her work as a mentor in her dance class. “My project was about biomedical engineering, and I made compression-sleeves for dancers’ feet, so they can reduce the effects of plantar fasciitis. I’m a dancer, so I wanted to solve a problem that could actually help people in my class, and there’s some girls that have really bad foot cramps,” said Attwood.
Sophomore Sarah Wu was inspired by the prevalence of disease – especially the Coronavirus – and is looking at former measles outbreaks in California using Genbank and Mega X software. “I’m trying to see patterns and overlapping and alignment of molecular characterizations,” said Wu.
Freshman Kian Kashayar’s research project is concerned with “improving efficiency in power plants and the like by using photovoltaic cells.” Using the principles in photovoltaic cells (better known as solar panels), he used infrared light instead of visible light to generate energy.
The club receives donations from parents, which is a “huge benefit,” according to Kenderski, so club members can acquire materials for their extensive research.
Club members are eager to participate in the fair, especially because, according to Attwood, it is “very eye-opening” and rewarding to see their own projects showcased along with those of others interested in STEM.
“Compared to middle school science fairs, I think the project levels in high school are much more advanced and enjoyable,” said Wu.
