UKIAH, CA., 3/20/25 – Fourteen Mendocino County students will head to Southern California in April to compete against peers from across the state in the 74th California Science & Engineering Fair, the Mendocino County Office of Education announced Wednesday.
The competition to enter the state science meet took place at the 39th annual Science & Engineering Fair and STEAM Expo at Mendocino College in Ukiah on Saturday. The event brought science and engineering enthusiasts of all ages together for an afternoon of hands-on activities and learning experiences.
Over 200 elementary, middle and high school students from 20 Mendocino County schools presented 156 projects to a panel of local science, engineering and educational professionals who volunteered their time to help cultivate the next generation of environmentalists, chemists and developers.
Ten projects were chosen by the judges as the most innovative, insightful and relevant:
- “In-Silico Structure Analysis on Interactions Between Amyloid-Beta 42 Variants and Lecanemab” by Leo Wang of Instilling Goodness & Developing Virtue School
- “Emulsome Gel-Mediated Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Anticancer Drug” by Toshiyoi Majima of Instilling Goodness & Developing Virtue School
- “Can People Really Recognize AI-Generated Text?” by Logan D. of Willits Charter School
- “Harnessing the power of wind: Testing the efficiency of different windmill designs” by Greyson D. of Deep Valley Christian School
- “Food Waste to Eco-Friendly Plastic” by Sophia Heimberg, Aarya Desai and Cameron Foo of Instilling Goodness & Developing Virtue School
- “Some Bacteria Think Plastic Is Fantastic!” by Jameson M. of Baechtel Grove Middle School
- “The AutoChute” by Frederick Mckee of Eagle Peak Middle School
- “Riding on Sunshine” by Pele Esserman Melville of Tree of Life Charter School
- “Hydrogen Power” by Owen N. and Jaxon G. of Eagle Peak Middle School
- “Can Sunlight Purify Water?” by Meredith H. of Eagle Peak Middle School
Seona S. of Eagle Peak Middle School was selected as an alternate for her project titled ““Hydrogen: Fuel of the Future.”
The Mendocino County students will compete against hundreds of other projects submitted by students from across the state for cash prizes (and college application glory!) at the California Science and Engineering Fair at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks April 12-13.