The San Diego Regional Chapter of the WateReuse Association presented cash prizes to several San Diego area students at their May 13 meeting. The prizes were awarded to students who participated in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, held at Balboa Park in San Diego on April 1. More than 800 projects were entered in the 55th annual science competition. The Chapter's volunteer judges were part of the Fair's professional judging activities.
A panel of five judges from the San Diego Regional Chapter of the WateReuse Association selected student entries that focused on recycled water, desalination and closely related water quality subjects. The local chapter has been awarding prizes to student entries for several years as a way to promote an interest in water recycling among students participating in the county-wide science competition. The judges awarded a first place prize in the high school student category to Alicia Guerra, an 11th grader at Bonita Vista High School. Her project was titled "Supplementary Analysis of the Latency of Macronutrients, Electrical Conductivity."
This was the second award that Ms. Guerra has received from the Association. In 2008, she was the Association's third place winner in the high school category. Her 2008 project was titled "The Effect of Fertilizer Runoff on Brine Shrimp Hatching Rates."
The second place prize in the high school category was awarded to Renae Cruz, a 10th grader, also at Bonita Vista High School. Her project was titled "The Impact of Gray Water on Cherry Belle Radishes." Both first and second place winners addressed the topic of reusing household wastewater for individual home irrigation.
Both high school category winners received their cash prizes and certificates after the Association's May 13 meeting, due to prior school commitments which prevented them from attending the meeting.
The San Diego Regional Chapter gave five awards and a Letter of Recognition in the Middle School Category. Students Madeline Silverstein, Sajan Sanghvi, Joshua Sellona, Edward Lan, Mirabel Huff and Melissa Fagan brought their science fair entries for display at the meeting and received their prizes and certificates from the Chapter President, David Ahles, Carlsbad Municipal Water District. Ahles said, "It's great to see all the innovated water projects and we look forward to encouraging more students to learn about water recycling."
The Middle School Category winners and their projects were:
First Place, Middle School: Madeline Silverstein, 7th grade, The Rhoades School, "Wastewater Challenge: Effects of Inexpensive Filtration Methods on Caffeine Removal."
Second Place, Middle School: Sajan Sanghvi, 8th grade, The Rhoades School, "Alternative Water Disinfection Methods: Diamond Electrodes in Water Electrolysis."
Third Place, Middle School: Joshua Sellona, 8th grade, St. Michael Academy, "Recycled Water in the Making for Irrigation Use."
Honorable Mention, Middle School: Edward Lan, 8th grade, Wangenheim Middle School, "Does Charcoal, Kitty Litter, Hardwood or Softwood Filter Chlorine the Best?"
Honorable Mention, Middle School: Mirabell Huff, 8th grade, Pershing Middle School, "The Rate of Distillation from Types of Reflector Operation."
Letter of Recognition, Middle School: Melissa Fagan, 8th grade, San Diego Jewish Academy,"Is Evaporation Color Blind?"