91导航

and 91导航 & the Public today announced that Georgia Hutchinson, 13, Woodside, California, won the coveted $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, the top award in the Broadcom MASTERS庐, the nation鈥檚 premier science and engineering competition for middle school students. 聽

The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars), a program of the 91导航 & the Public, inspires middle school students to follow their personal passions to exciting college and career pathways in 91导航. Thirty finalists, including Georgia, took home more than $100,000 in awards.聽 They were honored during an awards ceremony for their achievements in science, technology, engineering and math (91导航) together with their demonstration of 21^st Century skills including critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaborative skills and team work.

鈥淚 am thrilled to congratulate Georgia, whose project focused on creating a lower cost solar panel system,鈥� said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the 91导航 & the Public and Publisher of Science News. 鈥淢iddle school is a critical time of transition for young people, where they are figuring out their path forward. I鈥檓 proud that through the Broadcom MASTERS, the Society and the Broadcom Foundation are able to support and cultivate an interest in 91导航 for thousands of middle schoolers around the country.鈥�

鈥淭he Broadcom MASTERS taps ten percent聽of young people participating in state and regional science fairs throughout the 91导航 Ecosystem to participate in this national competition. These kids are exemplars of the quality work being done by middles schoolers with their teachers, mentors and families throughout the US. The Top 300 and 30 finalists are representative of special young people who are preparing themselves to solve the Grand Challenges we face through the world,鈥� said Paula Golden, President of the Broadcom Foundation. 鈥淭he Broadcom Foundation is honored to champion young scientists, engineers and innovators and spur them on to greatness.鈥�

Winners Include:

The Samueli Foundation Prize: $25,000

Georgia Hutchinson, Woodside Elementary School: Woodside, California
Designing a Data-Driven Dual Axis Solar Tracker

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement: $20,000

Jack Albright, The Nueva School: Hillsborough, California
Predicting the Future: Using Machine Learning to Forecast the Progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease

Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation: $10,000

Jacqueline Prawira, Altamont Elementary School: Mountain House, California
Bio.fiber.plastic: The Effect of Lignocellulosic Fiber in Enhancing the Formation and Tensile Strength of Rice Bioplastic

Lemelson Award for Invention: $7,500

John Madland, Leslie Middle School: Salem, Oregon
Terrella Aurora Model: A Demonstration of Charged Particle Shielding for Space Exploration

91导航 Award Winners:

First and second place winners of 91导航 Awards demonstrated acumen and promise in science, technology, engineering and math. First place winners were awarded $3,500 and second place winners receive $2,500 to support his or her choice of a 91导航 summer camp experience in the U.S. Each 91导航 Award winner also received an iPad. Top awards in math were sponsored by Robert John Floe, President, Floe Financial Partners.

Science Award:

• First place: Amara Orth, Council Bluffs, Iowa
  Chemical Analysis of Honey Bee Propolis: Habitat Diversity Affects the Quality of Propolis 鈥� An Essential Component of Honey Bee Colonies
• Second place: Janani Kumaran Gainesville, Florida
  Integrated Control of the Invasive Aquatic Plant Hydrilla Using Snails and a Plant Growth Regulator (Continuation Project: Year 2)

Technology Award:

• First place: Gabriella Lui, Palatine, Illinois
  Design a Fully Automated Real-Time Presence Detection Safety System in a School Environment Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology
• Second place: Gary Zhan, Logan, Utah
  The Colder, the Bluer鈥擲ignificant Enhancement of Indigoidine Production Using a Cold-Shock Inducible Promoter

Engineering Award:

• First place: Alice Feng, San Jose, California
  The Effect of Mushroom Species and Substrates on the Properties of a Novel Biodegradable Material: Mycelium
• Second Place: Mihir Nitin Joshi, Salem, Oregon
  Terrella Aurora Model: A Demonstration of Charged Particle Shielding for Space Exploration

Mathematics Award:

• First Place: Espen Slettnes, Castro Valley, California
  Minimal Embedding Dimensions of Rectangle k-Visibility Graphs
• Second place: Asmi Kumar, Milton, Georgia
  Developing a Device to Predict Autistic Meltdowns Using Arduino and MS Azure

Rising Stars Award:

In recognition of their promise as the youngest competitors, two Rising Stars win a trip to Phoenix, Arizona in May 2019 as the United States delegate to Broadcom MASTERS International and Official Observer at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world鈥檚 largest international high school science fair competition.

• Kate Quinn, Louisville, Kentucky
  Exploring Atrazine鈥檚 Neurotoxicity as a Possible Cause of Parkinson鈥檚 Disease
• Sriram Bhimaraju, Cupertino, California
  Low-Cost Archery Assistant with an Interface for the Visually Impaired