Pasadena Unified Students Excel at the Los Angeles County Science Fair

Students from the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) had a very strong showing at the 2015 Los Angeles County Science Fair that was held at the Pasadena Convention Center. Over 1,000 students grades 6-12 from across Los Angeles County participated, entering science, engineering and math projects in 25 categories. Students who took first, second, or third place in their category will go on to the California State Science Fair on May 18-19 at the California Science Center.

Pasadena Unified students from three schools won awards at the 2015 Los Angeles County Science Fair and five of the projects will be presented at the California State Science Fair. The winners from Pasadena Unified are:

• First Place in Chemistry Division A: Jessie Ellico Franks, Sierra Madre Middle School, “Anthocyanins as Color Changing Acid Indicators.”

• Second Place in Chemistry Division B: Sophie Carter and Cameron Gomez, Sierra Madre Middle School, “Kinetics of the Inversion of Sucrose.”

• First Place in General Physics Division A: Chloe Brandon, Sierra Madre Middle School, “What is the Effect of Color on Solar Water Heating?”

• Second Place in Plant Biology: Johan Thuen, Sierra Madre Middle School, “Lights From The Sea: How Do Light/Dark Cycles Affect Bioluminescence.”

• Honorable Mention in Environmental Management, Rohan Jayasekara, Blair Middle School, “Can Mushrooms Clean Polluted Soil?”

• Third place in Earth/Space Science, Zoe Zawol, Pasadena High School, “The Effect of Strong Magnetic Fields Caused by Broadcast Antennas on the Local Cosmic Ray Flux.”

Additionally, Zoe Zawol received an award of $300.00 from the Nuclear Society and Johan Thuen, Jordan Zach, and Sullivan Braun-Slavin received The Office of Naval Research Naval Science Award.

For more information, visit www.pusd.us/pages/PasadenaUSD.