Familiar names and some new ones are sprinkled through the winners of this year's Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair.

Newcomer Kang Ying (Connie) Liu of Taipei, who enrolled at St. Andrew's Priory in 2008, took first place in the Senior Research Division with a project titled “;New Triangular Inequalities in the form of s-a, s-b and s-c.”; Her teacher is Joseph Pacific.

“;It was the best (math project) I've seen in 30 years,”; said James Nation, a University of Hawaii professor of mathematics.

He said the 11th-grader “;took two rather different kinds of mathematical formulas ... and combined them in ingenious ways.”; When he questioned her with fellow judge Monique Chyba, UH associate professor in ocean and resources engineering, he said, “;She could answer every question. It was really top-notch work. We're hoping we can get her over here for some summer courses.”;

Waiakea High School senior Nolan Kamitaki captured second place in the senior research category for the third year with his project, “;Gene Dosage and Expression in Human Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines.”; James Nekoba is his teacher.

Punahou School 10th-grader Travis Le repeated his third-place win of last year with his project, “;A comparison of Similar Planetary Systems to WASP.”; His teacher is Tiffany Coke.

Following in the footsteps of her sister and brother, Viola Mocz, Mililani Middle School eighth-grader, won first prize in the junior research division. Her project: “;A Fossil Fish Model for Robotic Fish: Learning from Evolutionary Hydrodynamics to Design Better Underwater Vehicles.”; Her teacher is Kim Maunakea.

Viola's sister, Lucia, and brother Philip took top awards in the state and Intel International Science and Engineering fairs until they graduated from high school. Both now attend Harvard.

Second place in junior research went to Kawena Warren of Waimea Canyon School for her project, “;Just Say No to Fertilizer Runoff.”; Her teacher is Justin Yamagata.

Megan Goodman of Our Lady of Perpetual Help won third place for her project, “;What's that Smell? Can Mothers Identify Their Daughters by the Sense of Smell?”; Her teacher is Jill Sprott.

More than 600 students, a record number, competed for scholarships, cash awards and science-related trips Tuesday and Wednesday at the Science Fair, held for the first time in the Hawai'i Convention Center.

The Honolulu Rail for Growth team—Sumitomo Corp. of America and partners Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc., KINKISHARYO International LLC, Thales Transport & Security Inc. and Wasa Electrical Services Inc.—donated $25,000 to the Hawaii Academy of Science to continue the Science Fair next year.

Gareth Wynn-Williams, UH professor of astronomy and Hawaii Academy of Science president, said the student work was “;very, very good. ... The whole fair was an enormous success. We are very pleased. We had terrific support from the convention center staff.”;

Receiving honorable mention in senior research were:

Mali'o W. Kodis, Waimea High School, “;Diversity of Foliar Fungal Endophytes in Wild and Cultured Metrosideros polymorpha Inferred from Environmental PCR and ITS Sequence Data”;; Megan M. Kurohara and Hannah Rojeski of Hilo High School, “;A New Spin on Green Energy: Increasing Hydrogen Evolution in a Spirulina DerivedPhotobiological System”;; and Diana Cabral and Noelle R. Owen of St. Andrew's Priory, “;Solving the Current Dilemma: An Innovative Approach to Create Alternative Energy Using Oceanic Phenomena.”;

Winning honorable mention for junior research were Rachel Tamashiro, St. Andrew's Priory, “;How Fit Are You? A Quantitative Analysis to Determine Which Group of St. Andrew's Priory Athletes Is Most Fit”;; Sabrina Pike and Claire Evans, Kealakehe Intermediate School, “;How Does Volcanic Acid Rain Effect Mamaki (Pipturus albidus) Growth?”;; and Kameron Ho Ching of Kahuku High and Intermediate School, “;Which Soundboard 'Wood' you choose?”;

Hallie H. Pound of St. Anthony Parish School, Kailua, won first place for junior display on “;Jellyfish.”; Her teacher is Marcia McCrea Braden.

Second place went to Julia A. Taylor and Sophie G. Bender, Niu Valley Intermediate, “;50 Million Ahead”;; teacher: Scott Brown.

Nathan Revor of St. Anthony Parish School placed third for his display, “;Vertical Agriculture.”; His teacher is Braden.

Receiving honorable mention for junior display were Naomi T. Tse and Dayne S. Okamura of Highlands Intermediate School for “;Ethanol's Effect on Marine Engines”;; Cameron K. Ray of Trinity Christian School, “;Testing Wing Design”;; and Trevor H.L. Tseu, Island Pacific Academy, “;The Wonderful World of Sharks.”;