Media & News

Science Students in the News

9/20  Washington State Academy of Sciences announces American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) delegates to 2021 AAAS Meeting:  Bridgette Bromell, Columbia River High School, An Doan, Tesla STEM High School, Audrey Gruian, Eastlake High School, Samarjit Kaushik, Tesla Stem High School, Ankita Menon, Tesla STEM High School, Thomas Yim, Lakeside School

8/20 Stockholm International Water Institute:  Zoe Gotthold takes second place in the world, Stockholm Junior Water Prize.  Awards presented by HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

7/20 Christine Ye wins Junior Best of Fair at the Insposcience North American Science Fair

6/20 Water Environment Federation:  Washington State high school student wins 2020 US Stockholm Junior Water Prize.  Zoe Gotthold will represent the U.S. in international contest with oil spill remediation project.

1/20 Christine Ye, from Eastlake High School in Sammamish, member of the Pulsar Search Collaboratory at the UW, presented a poster on the results of her research, Characterizing RFI in Pulsar Search Data at the 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Hawaii, attended by 3500 astronomers.

4/19 LWSD News  Lake Washington School District students perform well at science and engineering fair.

KING 5 News (video) 6/18:  Bellevue student’s invention identifies blood diseases with as much as 95% accuracy. Eshika Saxena received 10th place in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest science and math competition for high school seniors.

Spokane Spokesman Review 5/30/19: Students from Inland Northwest compete at annual International Science and Engineering Fair

NewsRadio KONA610: Two Richland area students are award winners, after they presented their work at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix.

Richland School District 5/24/19: Richland, Hanford High School Students Earn Awards At International Science Fair

Richland School District 4/25/19: Nikhita Bontha wins Gold at WSSEF

Sequim Gazette 4/19/19:  Sequim students compete, win at state science, engineering fair

LaunchX 3/5/19:  Sathvik Nallamalli on entrepeneurship:

Spokane STEM 3/20/19: Students qualify for national science competitions

Odessa Record 3/21/19:  Odessa students scientists win top awards.

Bellevue School District 2/11/19: Interlake student named Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar, awarded $40,000.

Society for Science & Public 9/5/18: Sammamish 8th grader, Audrey Gruian, one of 300 2018 Broadcom Masters semifinalists, chosen from 2,537 applicants.

Bothell Kenmore Reporter:  Bothell native wins $50,000 and Intel Young Scientist Award

CBS Los Angeles: Dhruvik Parikh developed an ion exchange membrane that exceeds by 10 times the conductivity of the industry’s standard yet is produced at a lower cost.

The Prudential: Veenadhari Kollipara, Eshika Saxena, named national 2018 Distinguished Finalists for Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.

MyrtleBeachOnline: One Girl’s Mission to Save the Penguins.  Richland’s Zoe Gotthold wanted to save her favorite bird from oil spills, and now her project is leading her to D.C. to the Broadcom Masters Finals

NBCRightNow: Zoe Gotthold wins Broadcom Best in Category and $3500

The Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) is pleased to announce its support of four outstanding high school scholars to attend the American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) conference in Washington, D.C. this February. The four winners were selected from a group of eleven exceptional students across the state who were invited to apply for the award based on their performance in the 2017-18 state science fairs.

PR Newswire: Washington student wins 14th annual Ricoh Sustainable Development Award for her invention aimed at tackling the global food security challenge

National JSHS: Eshika Saxena, Interlake High School, wins First Place Oral Presentation and $12,000 in the Engineering and Technology category. Veenadhari Kollipara, Interlake High School, wins Third Place Poster in the Engineering and Technology category.

Bellevue School District: Congratulations to the four Bellevue students who represented Washington state at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Issaquah School District: Skyline High School Senior, Daniel Christensen and Michaela Fennell of Holy Names Academy competed together at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, shown with former US Secretary of the Interior in the photo.

CBS Spokane KREM: A group of local high school students recently qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The opportunity allowed them to compete for scholarships, meet other bright students, and brush shoulders with scientific and political leaders.

Tri City Herald: Worried about dust and air pollution? A Kennewick teen created this to help

Genius Olympiad: Nikhil Devanathan wins Gold Medal in Science category.

Northwest Asian Weekly: Sriharshita Musunuri, a resident of Mill Creek, Wash., won a $25,000 scholarship as a national finalist in the Siemens Competition, in Washington, D.C.

Kitsap Sun:  60th annual Washington State Science & Engineering Fair celebrates ingenuity

Camas-Washougal Post Record:  Tsering Shola finished first in the biomedical and health category at the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair, then won a coveted spot at the 2017 Intel International Science Fair.

Sequim Gazette:  Each Sequim student that competed in the the annual Washington State Science and Engineering Fair was awarded a first-place honor in their category.

Sunnyside Daily Sun News:  Sunnyside students rack up state trophies

Kitsap Talk: Surabhi Mundada’s journey as a scientist officially began in fourth grade when she studied the physics of pendulums. Since then, every year of her life has been characterized by a scientific undertaking.

Society for Science:  Surabhi Mundada, Olympia High School, Naveena Bontha, Hanford High School, and Apoorv Khandelwal, Nikola Tesla STEM High School named 2017 Science Talent Search (STS) Top Scholars.

Sciencenewsforstudents:  By analyzing brainwaves, two teens may have found techniques to scout for early warnings

The Columbian:  Camas teen answers call on hearing research.

Sciencenewsforstudents:  When is an epileptic seizure about to strike? By analyzing brainwaves, two teens may have found techniques to scout for early warnings

Bellevue School District:  Interlake student wins awards at International Science Fair

Redmond Reporter: Horace Mann Elementary first-grader Aarya Kulkarni earned a first prize and two special awards in her first year of participation at the 60th Washington State Science and Engineering Fair

Suburban Times: Clover Park School District students earned awards at the 60th annual Washington State Science and Engineering Fair

Everett Herald:  Sriharshita “Harshu” Musunuri, WSSEF ISEF finalist, one of two students in the state to be invited to talk at the Washington STEM Summit at Microsoft Headquarters.

Harshu named one of 2016 Davidson Fellows at age 16, includes $50,000 scholarship.

Harshu’s TED talk:  “Harshu is a junior inventor, researcher, scientist and emerging polymath. Her TEDx talk advocates the pursuit of multiple disciplines to facilitate knowledge and to achieve contemporary renaissance. She has achieved national recognition for her studies and invention, interned at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is curriculum director of the non-profit Girls Rock in Science and Math.”

Lewis County Chronicle:  W.F. West Senior Heads to International Science Competition

NBC Right Now:  Enterprise Middle School named ”School of the Year” at Science & Engineering Fair

Broadcom Masters Top 300 national finalists 2017: Hariharan Malmurugan,  Grade: 6th, Sunrise Elementary, Kent, WA  and Zoe Gotthold, 8th grade, Carmichael Middle School, Richland, WA

Parentmap:  “The Rise of Science Fairs (and why they matter)”     In 1931, students from Long Island’s Newton High School won first place in the American Institute’s Children’s Science Fair. Their project: “The Work of a Tree.” The exhibit featured a diorama of a large dogwood tree divided into four seasons. Each seasonal section showed a part of the tree’s life cycle.  Eighty-five years later, teenager Naveena Bontha of Hanford High School in Richland, Washington, won top prizes in three of the world’s largest science fairs: the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the 2016 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

“Science fairs carry immense potential for supporting successful inquiry-based learning in alignment with the NGSS…….the science fair experience is something that should be required for all students…..We want all learners to understand the pageant of science, its process and rules….That is why the science fair is irreplaceable.”

Recognizing Your Student’s Achievement

Participation in the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF) is an accomplishment for which your student should be recognized and congratulated. A short news article in your local paper, radio or television, PTSA or school newsletter, church or scouting bulletin, or family letter celebrates the effort your student has made and inspires other families to pursue their interests.

WSSEF has found through experience that the most reliable way to get local news media to cover a student’s achievements is for a parent or teacher to contact the local media directly. To help you get information to newsletters, etc., we have created a sample press release. Download the appropriate electronic copy, edit to suit your student, and then submit.

Press Parent Letter
Press Release Media

Archived News and articles regarding the WSSEF

Golden Moment – Dr. Mike Huey

WSDA member Dr. Mike Huey recently awarded the Golden Apple Award, the ADA’s highest honor for the ongoing promotion of the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF) by Huey and the Kitsap County Dental Society (KCDS). Few Washington state entrants have taken the top prize in recent years. So hats off to Mike and all those who made this win possible.

The fair, which has been in existence since 1937 started as a local PTA fair and is now the state science fair for Washington State. It is open to all students in grades 1-12 and this year had more than 300 participating entrants. For more than ten years the Kitsap County Dental Society has been a financial supporter of the fair, as well as a source of judge and WSSEF committee and board members. They have served in many capacities from president, head judge, finalist selection panel, special and category judges and committee members. In addition many have served or continue to serve in pivotal positions within the WSDA.

Since 2007, The Washington Oral Health Foundation of the WSDA has sponsored an award for grades 1-5,6-8, and 9-12 that exemplifies the value of oral health and the science of dentistry through basic science research or by demonstrating the relationship between good oral health and overall health. The award consists of certificate, a monetary award, and an invitation to attend and present their project at the Pacific Northwest Dental Conference.

As an organization, the WSSEF is committed to providing students and teachers the tools and the students the opportunity to conduct scientific and engineering research. Additionally, the Fair provides a venue to the students to present projects to peers and get feedback from experts. Promotion of the fair as well as outreach to students and teachers has taken many forms which range from internet sources such as websites, face book, online handbooks, posters, seminars, blogs and attendance/promotion at education fairs.

George Bell BPA Award – Lois Jane Lugg

Lois Jane Lugg (WSSEF Fair Director) received the George Bell Award for Exceptional Public Service at the Bonneville Power Administration’s Transmission Services Employee Celebration on September 23, 2010. The George Bell Award is given to Bonneville Power Employees who have given outstanding contributions to the community where they live as George Bell exemplified when he was a BPA employee. In the photo from left to right is George Bell ( retired BPA who the award is named after), Lois Jane Lugg and Brian Silverstein (VP of BPA’s Transmission Services). Lois Jane has been involved in the WSSEF for over 20 years and has recruited more than 30 of her fellow employees to volunteer at the annual fair. In presenting the award, George Bell said, “Without volunteers like Lois, this type of event (WSSEF) would be impossible to put together. She works tirelessly for many hours each year and because of her efforts, kids have been inspired to seek out opportunities in science and engineering careers. Lois truly has made a difference in this world.”