Multiple Alachua County Public School (ACPS) students scored big wins at the State Science and Engineering Fair that took place April 2-4 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Two Buchholz students were among four statewide to qualify for the International Science and Engineering Fair that will take place in May in Los Angeles.

Buchholz High School’s Nathan Wei and Sophia Rong were both selected as Grand Award Winners and took first in their divisions. Wei topped the high school Senior Chemistry Division based on his research into the development of a strong and recyclable plastic that is made from renewable resources. He was also awarded two special prizes in his division.

Rong won the Senior Mathematics and Computational Science Division on her project related to HIV transmission. Rong also won a special award in her division.

Wei and Rong will join Gainesville High School sophomore Abhith Kasala at the International Science and Engineering Fair. Kasala earned a spot in the competition in February when his research into the impact of microplastics and other contaminants in water project earned a first-place state ward and two special prizes in the Senior Earth and Environmental Science Division.

In the junior (middle school) Mathematics and Computational Science Division, Lincoln Middle School student David Rong took first place along with an additional prize for his project on edible and non-edible mushrooms.

There were 20 ACPS middle and high school students who competed at the state fair and earned 14 awards that ranged from Grand Prizes to an honorable mention. They also earned 10 special prizes, which are awarded by various STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related organizations.  

The list of winners includes:

Place Awards
Grand Prize, Senior Chemistry, Nathan Wei, Buchholz High School

Grand Prize, Senior Mathematics and Computational Science, Sophia Rong, Buchholz High School

1^st Place, Junior Mathematics & Computational Science, David Rong, Lincoln Middle School

1^st Place, Senior Earth & Environmental Science, Abhith Kasala, Gainesville High School

2^nd Place, Senior Biomedical & Health Science, Shiven Sharma, Eastside High School)

3^rd Place, Junior Environmental Engineering, Maggie Gao, Lincoln Middle School

3^rd Place, Junior Plant Sciences, Aradhya Kasala, Bishop Middle School

4^th Place, Junior Physics and Astronomy, Charlize Moghaddam, Lincoln Middle School

4^th Place, Junior Physics and Astronomy, Ivan Shorter, Ft. Clarke Middle School

4^th Place, Senior Engineering, James Jiang, Buchholz High School

4^th Place, Senior Mathematics & Computational Science, Luke Xue, Buchholz High School

Honorable Mention, Junior Engineering (group project), Pranav Mannam, Jaganesh Ramkrishnan and Gavin Xie, Lincoln Middle School

Special Prizes

Nathan Wei, Buchholz High School, Dr. Nelson Ying Scholars Grand Award and American Chemical Society Avogadro Award

Kaayana Sharma, Lincoln Middle School, Manatee Regional STEM Competition

Abhith Kasala, Gainesville High School, Sierra Club of Florida Cantwell Award and Stockhold Junior Water Prize

Gwen Wendling, Westwood Middle School, Polk Regional Science and Engineering Fair

Maggie Gao, Lincoln Middle School, Tomorrowland Science Award

David Rong, Lincoln Middle School, Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovative Challenge

Sophia Rong, Buchholz High School, Dr. Nelson Ying Scholars Grand Award

Hamza Khan, Gainesville High School, Florida Museum of Natural History Award