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8/17/2019 2016 VSSEF - Fauquier Co Students Win Awards
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Discover the World through Science.Then, Engineer It.
Pursue Progress.
Fauquier County Public Schools
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2016Karen Parkinson, Coordinator of InformationPhone (540) 422-7031
kparkinson@fcps1.org
FCPS STUDENTS WIN AWARDS
AT 2016 VA STATE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR
By Vineeta Ribeiro, Mathematics Teacher at Warrenton Middle School
and Director of the Fauquier County Regional Science & Engineering Fair
Fauquier County’s students made a show of force at the 31
st
annual Virginia State Science andEngineering Fair (VSSEF) last month. Competing in one of 17 categories with over 260 high school
students representing one of 12 affiliated regional fairs in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Fauquier
County students walked away with four prizes on Saturday, April 9. To see a complete list of the awards,
visit http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/ .
Micensie (pronounced “Mackenzie”) Barrett won first place in the state in physics and
astronomy, while Meredith Palmore won third place in the state in environmental sciences. Two
students received a special award: Kristen Kelly won the Mu Alpha Theta (math) award, and Ivy
Sandberg received an honorable mention from Leidos.
“Fighting Fire with Base Frequency and Harmonic Overtones,” Micensie’s project, topped 17
other entries from the state, including those from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology, Loudoun County Academy of Science, and New Horizon’s Governor’s School for Science and
Technology. Micensie showed that fire can be extinguished with sound frequencies and tested to findthe most effective frequency between 30Hz and 50Hz, testing at intervals of 5 Hz. Recording the time it
took to extinguish a fire, Micensie found 45Hz to be the most effective frequency in that range. At this
optimal frequency, she extended her research to test the effect of harmonic ratios. On average,
frequencies of 45Hz coupled with its first harmonic ratio extinguished fire in 6 to 20 seconds, whereas
without the harmonic it took 20 to 40 seconds. Micensie’s research found that frequencies of 45 Hz,
coupled with harmonic overtones, was the optimal way to fight fires with sound.
In the fall Micensie plans to double-major in applied mathematics and chemistry as she
completes a premedical program at Case-Western Reserve University in Ohio on a $62,000 Academic
Scholarship. She will also be playing varsity tennis for the University Spartans. Micensie is graduating
from Mountain Vista Governor's School and Fauquier High School.
Meredith Palmore’s project, “Reuse of Rattus norvegicus 18S Oligonucleotide Primer for theDNA Amplification of Notophthalmus viridescens,” took third place in a category with 20 projects.
Meredith’s project was a “study to improve the cost efficiency of genetic analysis, suggesting the reuse
of primers to amplify RNA in various species members of the domain Eukarya.” She drew inspiration
from her summer laboratory research experience through George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists
Summer Internship Program (ASSIP). (Rattus norvegicus is the scientific name for the common brown
rat.) Meredith is a graduating senior at Mountain Vista Governor's School and at Kettle Run High School.
She will be attending the University of Virginia this fall.
mailto:kparkinson@fcps1.orgmailto:kparkinson@fcps1.orghttp://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/http://www.vmi.edu/Conferences/VSSEF/Award_Winners/mailto:kparkinson@fcps1.org
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Mu Alpha Theta, the national math honor society, recognized Kristen Kelly ’s project for
excellence in math. In her project “The Relationship Between North Atlantic Oscillation and Gadus
morhua,” Kristen analyzed research to identify a relationship between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
and Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) around Iceland and to understand why the Atlantic cod is more
abundant in Iceland when compared with fisheries around the world. Kristen cited a study by Keith
Brander in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Journal of Marine Science that
concluded that there is a relationship between NAO and cod recruitment. Kristen created a scatterplot
by using the NAO index as the independent (x) variable and the cod-spawning stock biomass (SSB) as the
dependent (y) variable. The NAO index fluctuated from approximately -3 to 3, while the SSB of cod
ranged from approximately 100,000 tons to 2 million tons. Kristen employed a regression slope test to
analyze the data, but found the results to be inconclusive because the conditions of the test had not
been met. Kristen is graduating from Mountain Vista Governor's School and Kettle Run High School. She
plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall.
In other special awards, Leidos, a major sponsor of the Virginia State Science and Engineering
Fair, recognized Ivy Sandberg’s project, “Data Analysis on Diagnosing Breast Cancer,” with an honorable
mention. Ivy’s project was inspired by Dr. William Wolberg's study on data analysis and fine needle
aspiration. Ivy used Dr. Wolberg's 699 Fine Needle Aspiration cell sample data. She analyzed and
condensed the data to 683 incidents, evaluating each for nine characteristics. She studied differencesbetween benign and malignant incidences in an effort to create more accurate cancer diagnoses. After
evaluating the data for common trends, Ivy constructed a decision tree classifier to train a computer
program to determine the diagnosis of cell samples based off of the nine characteristics. Training the
program on given data provided a predictive model to use in accurately diagnosing new incidences. The
model was 99% accurate in classifying new incidences as malignant or benign. The accuracy surpassed
that of Dr. Wolberg's model. In either case, the consensus was that the more data used in the training
sample, the more accurate the model for diagnosing. Graduating from Mountain Vista Governor's
School and Kettle Run High School, Ivy plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall, where she is
considering majoring in neuroscience. She may also continue her equestrian pursuits by joining the
University’s Virginia Riding Team.
Also participating were Molly Cesanek, a freshman at Wakefield School; Maxon Mendel, a seniorat Liberty High School; and Niles Ribeiro, a senior at Mountain Vista Governor’s School and Fauquier
High School. Molly evaluated the effect of sending a text message on a person's reaction time. Max’s
project was to find extreme values in the popular gaming app, 2048. Niles developed a prototype to
alert parents and emergency services when a child or pet is left unattended in a vehicle in danger of
overheating.
In its third year of operation, the Fauquier County Regional Science & Engineering Fair, because
of its generous sponsors, was able to fully fund this overnight trip including registration, transportation,
meals and lodging. The fair is a partnership of Fauquier County Public Schools, Learning Tree
International, Inc., and the Sharp Science Students Foundation. Its major sponsors include Linda and
John Suter and The Patricia and David Vos Foundation. Businesses and individuals who donated
specifically toward students attending the State Science Fair (micro-sponsors) were The Van Metre
Companies Foundation, Meridian Financial Partners, Oak View National Bank, the Cold War Museum,
and George R. Thompson, Jr.
(See photos on following pages.)
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Micensie Barrett wins first place in physics and astronomy
Micensie, a senior, takes Molly, a freshman,
under her wing.VMI Cadets greet Fair visitors
31st Annual VA State Science and
Engineering Fair
Micensie Barrett beams after the results
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Virginia Military Institute processes participants
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Meredith Palmore stands with VSSEF President (left) Adrian
Felts and VSSEF Fair Director Dr. Geoff Cox
Micensie Barrett
Molly Cesanek, a freshman, is the
youngest Fauquier student presenting.
Ivy Sandberg - Leidos Honorable
Mention
Kristen Kelly - Mu Alpha Theta award Meredith Palmore - Third plac
Environmental Sciences
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Kristen KellyIvy Sandberg
Niles RibeiroMaxon Mendel
Meredith PalmoreMolly Cesanek
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