American Heritage Schools achieved yet another remarkable victory at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Safe Schools Institute in Boca Raton. For two years, 15 of the 30 high school students selected to represent Palm Beach County at the upcoming 69th State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida are from American Heritage Schools.
Bhav Jain, a freshman and first-year research student from Boca Raton, earned the High School Science Fair’s Best in Show award. Additionally, all American Heritage students who participated in the fair achieved remarkable success, with many ranking in the top four in multiple categories. This includes seven first-year research students who also achieved high rankings. The achievement is a testament to the excellent work of American Heritage Schools’ students and faculty dedicated to pursuing excellence in their research program.
“We are so proud of our American Heritage researchers,” said Iris Thompson, vice principal of American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach Campus Upper School. “They are not only completing undergraduate and graduate-level science research in high school, but they have operated and utilized the university-level equipment in our BSL-2 labs under our mentorship. I cannot wait to see how these young people will change the world!”
Students who won awards at the competition include:
- Best in Show: Bhav Jain (Freshman, first-year research student)
- Animal Sciences, First place: Lahari Challa (Sophomore, first-year research student)
- Animal Sciences, Second place: Kasey Moore (Freshman, Continuing from AHS JH research)
- Animal Sciences, Second place: Aayushi Ranjan (Senior, second-year research student)
- Biomedical & Health Sciences, First place: Maya Mohanty (Senior, fourth-year research student)
- Biomedical & Health Sciences, Second place: Rohan Gandhi (Sophomore, first-year research student)
- Biomedical & Health Sciences, Second place: Maya Behura (Junior, second-year research student)
- Biomedical & Health Sciences, Third place: Amrita Nayak (Senior, first-year research student)
- Cellular/Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, First Place: Samer Elhoushy (Senior, fourth-year research student)
- Cellular/Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Third Place: Mili Mohanty (Freshman, first-year research student)
- Cellular/Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Third Place: Sarrinah Saif (Senior, first-year research student)
- Chemistry, First Place: Aishwarya Deshpande (Sophomore, first-year research student)
- Engineering, First Place: Dishika Parikh (Junior, first-year research student)
- Environmental Engineering, First Place: Bhav Jain (Freshman, first-year research student)
- Environmental Engineering, Second Place: Samhita Konuru (Junior, second-year research student)
- Intelligent Machines, Robotics, and Systems Software, Fourth Place: Siyuan Du (Sophomore, first-year research student)
- Microbiology, First Place: Chloe Barreto-Massad (Senior, fourth-year research student)
- Microbiology, Second Place: Kayli Harris (Junior, second-year research student)
- Microbiology, Third Place: Daniela Staton (Sophomore, first-year research student)
- Physics & Astronomy, Second Place: Catherine Zhao (Junior, second-year research student)
- Plant Sciences, Second Place: Devesh Kumaresh (Freshman, first-year research student)
The American Heritage Schools Science Research Institute is a prestigious establishment that allows students to work in labs and contribute to solving global issues. They work alongside Ph.D. holders and develop high-level research projects. The Palm Beach Campus of American Heritage Schools has a remarkable 30,000-square-foot facility for science research, pre-engineering, and robotics. To qualify for this advanced research program, students must be nominated by an American Heritage Schools faculty member. After the nomination, students must complete an application process that includes proposing and defending an original and competitive project based on research conducted within the last five years.
The American Heritage Science Research Institute lab boasts a range of unparalleled equipment in any other high school. The lab is equipped with various instruments, including fluorescent and inverted microscopes, a UV/Vis plate reader (spectrophotometer), a carbon dioxide incubator, a -86-degree freezer, a liquid nitrogen cryogenic tank, and a scanning electron microscope. The lab’s students have the opportunity to use the scanning electron microscope, a rare scientific instrument not commonly found in many colleges and universities, let alone in high schools. The lab’s student research projects span various fields, including protein chemistry, molecular and microbiology, biochemistry, zoology, plant sciences, environmental sciences, computer science, mathematics, behavior, medicine, and health.
To learn more about American Heritage Schools’ accomplishments at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair, please visit Ahschool.com/palm-beach-campus/blog-highlights/~board/life-at-heritage/post/best-in-show-and-most-winners-at-palm-beach-science-and-engineering-fair
Photo courtesy of American Heritage Schools.
