State science fair honors young wizards

Computer science students who took the top two senior research awards at last year's State Science and Engineering Fair are repeat winners this year but traded places.

Lucia Mocz, Mililani High School junior on Oahu, took first place this year, and Nolan M.K. Kamitaki, Waiakea High School 10th-grader on the Big Island, placed second. Last year, Kamitaki won first place and Mocz second.

Both have won awards at previous science fairs.

Mocz's project was titled "A New Model of See-through Vision: Image Reconstruction in Scattering Media from Quantum Exit Probabilities for Aerial, Terrestrial and Underwater Robot Inspection."

Kamitaki's entry was about "Programming a Network Approach to Contain the Spread of Epidemics (A Second Year Study)."

Winning third place for senior research was Micah Maetani, Kamehameha School-Kapalama senior, with a biochemistry project, "Growth Inhibition of Prostate Cancer by Methanolic Walnut and Pecan Extracts."

Receiving honorable mention for senior research were Seanna Piper-Jordan and Gideon Logan, both of Kamehameha School-Kapalama, and Simon Pan, Roosevelt High School.

Top junior research winners were:

First: Thomas Goodin, Mid-Pacific Institute eighth-grader, "Which Windmill Rotor Is the Most Efficient?"

Second: Janelle You, Iao School eighth-grader on Maui, "Wave Power: What Type of Wave Creates More Electricity?"

Third: Jack Uesugi, seventh-grader at Island Pacific Academy, "Are Legumes Better at Regulating the Nitrogen Cycle in an Aquaponic System?"

Receiving honorable mention were Shalila de Bourmont, Hawaii Baptist Academy; Justin West, Highlands Intermediate School; and Mark Seu, Waiakea Intermediate School.

Junior Display winners were:

First, Malia Ann Santos, seventh-grader at Kealakehe Intermediate School, for a project on "Honey Bees"; second, Erin Stocking, Island Pacific Academy eighth-grader, "'S' is for Scoliosis"; third, Kalani Kayser, Island Pacific Academy eighth-grader, "Automobiles of the Future."

Receiving honorable mention were Gabriel Fukumoto, St. Patrick School; Jarrett Rutherford, Island Pacific Academy; and Joshua Choy, Beau Yamamura and Cody Ner of Our Redeemer Lutheran Elementary School.

The Hawaii Academy of Science sponsors the annual state science fair with state support and donations. Partners are the state Department of Education, University of Hawaii-Manoa and College of Education.

Thousands of dollars in cash prizes, plaques, trips, medals and scholarships were awarded to the youths by organizations and businesses in a ceremony ending the state fair yesterday.

State and district fair finalists will represent Hawaii at the International Science and Engineering Fair May 11-17 in Atlanta.

Mocz and Kamitaki will go to the ISEF, as will 10th-graders Daniel Hong and Tina Nguyen, McKinley High School team winners with a project, "Aquaponics: Fishing for the Right Feeds."

Teachers Anthony Griffith of Lahaina Intermediate and Marites Barangan of James Campbell High School will go to the international fair with the Hawaii delegation. They won Science Teachers of the Year Awards, receiving all-expense-paid trips to Atlanta sponsored by Chevron and NOAA Pacific Region.

District science fair finalists who will compete in the international fair and their teachers include:

Big Island: First place, Chad Higa, and second, Kelson Lau, both of Waiakea High, and teacher Steven Zeiher.

Hawaii Association of Independent Schools: First place, Micah Maetani; second, Gideon Logan, both of Kamehameha Schools; team, Diana Cabral and Noelle Owen of St. Andrew's Priory; and fair co-director Larry Mordan.

Kauai: First, Nerissa Hoglen, Kauai High School; second, Kara Dastrup, Kapaa High School; fair director, Barbara Baker; and teacher James Cox.

Leeward: First, Marifel Barbasa, Campbell High; second, Ron Arleigh Tamayo, Waipahu High; and fair co-director Michael Sana.

Maui: First, Ayla Bicoy, Molokai High; team, Veronika Biskis and Meghan Luther, Baldwin High.

Windward: First, Christie Momohara, and second, Kelli Iwane, both of Kailua High School; and fair director Amy Watanabe.