West Geauga School News
Congratulations to West Geauga High School senior Ryan McGinnis and juniors Aidan Dondero and Bryn Morgan for competing in the 73rd Ohio State Science Day over the summer...
STEM Fair Success Continues
Congratulations to West Geauga High School senior Ryan McGinnis and juniors Aidan Dondero and Bryn Morgan for competing in the 73rd Ohio State Science Day over the summer. They all submitted their high-caliber STEM projects first to the district science fair and were selected to compete with 659 other students from Ohio in the state science day for almost $400,000 in awards and scholarships. All three students’ projects enjoyed great success.
Dondero’s project, Remote Computing Services for Students, received an “excellent” rating. His project set up computers for students who don’t have the computer hardware to run CAD, rendering or other intensive programs to connect to the internet. Aidan’s remote access computers give access to the processing power needed for such tasks and open up more opportunities for students who would otherwise be limited by the computer they have.
McGinnis’ project, Gelatinization and Hysteresis of Organic Compounds to Create Edible Shelf Stable Adhesives, received a “superior” rating. For his project, he developed a patent-pending, organic, shelf-stable and edible adhesive “that acts as a glue, but for food,” according to McGinnis. He also won first in the Nestle Food Science and Engineering Award, first in the American Chemical Society Columbus Section Chemical Science Award and the Believe in Ohio STEM Entrepreneurship Award and Scholarship.
Earlier in the year, Ryan competed in the North East Ohio Science and Engineering Fair where he won multiple awards. Ryan received the grand prize for physical sciences and moved on to become an International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) finalist. Ryan hopes “that more students from West Geauga participate in the science fair next year and get inspired to go into a STEM career.” Speaking of his experience participating in the science fair, Ryan says that “the experiences are invaluable and many opportunities can come as a result.”
Morgan’s project, Frog Call Recording and Classification System, also received a “superior” rating. His project focused on designing both a physical recording device as well as a software system for identifying frog calls to monitor the health of wetlands. Bryn received first in his age group for the Osmon Ramsey Environmental & Natural Science Award.
This is Bryn’s fourth consecutive Ohio State Science Fair, and he hopes to continue to go throughout the rest of high school. Bryn encourages anyone interested to talk to their science teacher about opportunities associated with science fairs as he has had “great experiences learning and meeting new people throughout all of my science fairs and has provided opportunities only available through science fair.” He would especially like to thank his advisors, Dr. Adrienne and Dr. Jeff LaFavre for their assistance and guidance.
Lastly, all three students would like to shout out Mrs. Gregory for being an amazing chemistry teacher and inspiring many West Geauga students to participate in the science fair. Mrs. Gregory caps off a successful 35-year teaching career as one of the most esteemed West Geauga science teachers of all time.
