PERRYVILLE – Perryville High School students took the Top 3 Overall spots at the SEMO Regional Science Fair held March 5, securing their place in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held in May in Los Angeles, Calif.
This is the second year in a row that PHS students have qualified for this prestigious contest.
The students who will compete at ISEF are Simon Wibbenmeyer, Ezekiel Pyland, Mason Zoellner, and Emma Fetterhoff. Erin Holly, who attended ISEF in Dallas last year also placed at the SEMO Regional Science Fair.
Simon won first place overall at the regional event and is an ISEF Finalist. He also won first place in his category, Best in Category with his project. He earned awards from The Cape Girardeau Area Engineers Club, The Office of Naval Research, The United States Metric Association, The Yale Science & Engineering Association, and The United States Air Force.
Simon 3D-printed a hydroelectric generation system using an undershot water wheel that can generate usable electricity from water running from a faucet tap or home rain gutter.
Ezekiel and Mason came in second overall at the regional science fair to become an ISEF Finalist. They also won Best Overall in their category. They earned The Science Champion Award, the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award, the Dr. E. Lawrence Bahn Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $2000 to Southeast Missouri State University, and the United States Air Force Award.
Ezekiel and Mason’s project tested the theory that catechin in Spotted Knapweed can act as a natural weed killer. They obtained catechin from the weed, which grows locally and created a spray. They tested the catechin spray on ryegrass against Round-Up and a combination of catechin/Round-Up. They determined that the catechin actually acted like a fertilizer.
Emma came in third overall in the regional science fair to become an ISEF Finalist. She also won first place in her category. She earned the United States Air Force Award.
Emma’s project explored whether PFAs in water affect plants. PFAs are highly toxic fluorinated chemicals that are in hundreds of everyday products. Called “forever chemicals,” PFAs are now found water, air and soil. Emma obtained PFA-contaminated water and compared its effect against tap water on beans and squash. Her experiment showed that the PFA-contaminated water stunted plant growth.
Erin’s project tested whether moss gardens work as air purifiers in the home. She won first in the Environmental Science category.
PHS science teacher Leanne Thele said she’s incredibly proud of her students. “Preparing projects for the science fair was not an assignment,” Ms. Thele said. “These students worked on their own time at home and during advisory and lunch to plan their projects and test their theories. They all did so well, and I’m excited to see how far they will go at ISEF in May.”
Regeneron ISEF 2024 will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 11-17, 2024. The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Each year, ISEF brings over 1,800 high school students from 75 countries to exhibit and demonstrate ingenuity and innovation through science projects of their own design.
Winning at ISEF is arguably the most prestigious and competitive scientific accomplishment that students can aim for at the high school level.
You can hear from the students by visiting the District 32 website at www.pcsd32.com.