Three projects by Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) students took prizes at the 67th annual 2016 Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair. The event, held on May 6 and 7 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, featured nearly 400 projects by students who won first place at their school science fair or were high scorers at various regional-level fairs statewide. Eight students from MVRHS attended.
Juniors Daniel Gaines and David Webster won third place and the Fish and Richardson Patent Award for their project utilizing recycled polystyrene as a replacement for concrete. Freshman Mackenzie Condon won third place for her project on determining the effect of elevated ocean acidification levels on oyster shells.
Sophomores Katharine Roberts and Rose Engler received an honorable mention for their project on building a usable solar-powered cell phone.
The other MVRHS students who attended the MIT fair and their project topics included Curtis Fisher, geostationary communications satellites; Savanna Aiello, redesigning the figure skate; and Nils Aldeborgh, a sustainable railway.
More than 400 judges participated in the MIT fair. The students’ projects were judged for 30 minutes each by five judges, according to MVRHS science teacher and fair coordinator Jackie Hermann.
