…2012 Broadcom MASTERS® national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) competition for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Broadcom Foundation and SSP also announced top winners in the categories of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Rising Stars. In total, Broadcom Foundation and classroom partner Elmer’s Products, Inc. offer more than $500,000 in prizes, awards and rebates to nominees, entrants, semifinalists, finalists, and their teachers and schools. The grand prize is the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, a gift of Susan and Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom Corporation. In addition to the grand prize, Henry Samueli also presented the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation, a new honor made possible by Samueli’s donation of his recent Marconi Society Prize winnings. Winners were selected from the 30 top finalists (16 girls and 14 boys) from 17 states representing 29 schools. Winners were selected by a panel of distinguished scientists and engineers. The winners Include:
- The Samueli Foundation Prize: $25,000—Winner: Raymond Gilmartin, 14, South Pasadena, California—Project: Spare the Environment, Spoiler the Car: The Effect of Rear Spoilers on Drag and Lift. Grand prize winner Raymond Gilmartin, a self-described car enthusiast, decided to find out how a rear spoiler affects drag and lift in SUVs. After building two spoilers for a model SUV and testing in a six-foot wind tunnel, he concluded that a level spoiler would increase drag compared to a car without a spoiler, but would not affect lift. Raymond found that reducing drag can improve gas mileage, ultimately decreasing carbon emissions and helping to slow climate change. He was selected for the Samueli Foundation Prize based on his mastery of STEM principles during the weeklong competition. Raymond has exemplified how research and innovation are dependent on the integration of these disciplines as well as the impact they collectively have on our every-day lives.
- Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation: $10,000 —Winner: Jessika Baral, 13, Fremont, California—Project: A Novel Way to Strengthen Eye Muscles and Enhance Peripheral Vision. Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation winner Jessika Baral was inspired to study vision after noticing that her friends often use handheld electronic devices for long periods of time—a habit that can result in eye muscle fatigue. She decided to put her engineering skills to use creating a device to strengthen tired eye muscles and improve peripheral vision using LED lights. Through her research, she found that regular exercise with the device significantly improved both peripheral vision and peripheral reading range in children and adults. Jessika was selected because she demonstrates both vision and promise as an innovator, and in the spirit of radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi, has shown aptitude and skill in applied electrical engineering concepts in her science project and in the STEM challenges throughout the week.
- STEM Award Winners: Each of these finalists (first and second place award winners) were selected for demonstrated skills and promise in each of the disciplines represented by STEM. First place winners receive $3,500 and second place winners are awarded $2,500 to support the finalist’s choice of STEM summer camp experiences offered around the country. Each STEM winner also wins an iPad.
- Science Awards: First place goes to Shixuan Justin Li of Lynn Haven, Florida, for his project on mosquito repellents. Second place goes to Nicole Odzer of North Miami Beach, Florida, for her project on reef-building corals and global warming.
- Technology Awards: First place goes to Daniel Lu of Carlisle, Massachusetts, for his project on the perception of volume. Second place goes to Anirudh Jain of Portland, Oregon, for his project on silver nanoparticles and pollution.
- Engineering Awards: First place goes to Chase Lewis of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for his project on gun powders and nitrocellulose. Second place goes to Carolyn Jons of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, for her project on mold growth on blueberries.
- Mathematics Awards: First place goes to Maria Elena Grimmett of Jupiter, Florida, for her project on removing pharmaceutical contaminants from groundwater. Second place goes to Maya Patel of The Woodlands, Texas, for her project on predicting the spread of wildfires.
- Rising Stars Award: Cassie Drury of Louisville, Kentucky, and Mabel Wheeler of Orem, Utah, win a trip to the world’s largest international high school science fair competition in May 2013 as the United States Delegates to Broadcom MASTERS International, in recognition of their work throughout the Broadcom MASTERS finals, as well as their projects on cell signaling in wound healing in worms, and the impact of sunscreen on the degradation of polymers, respectively.
The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars) program helps middle school students translate a personal interest into a passion for science, engineering and innovation, and encourages them to continue with science and math through high school. Sponsored by Broadcom Foundation, a non-profit public benefit organization funded by Broadcom Corporation, the Broadcom MASTERS is a program of Society for Science & the Public. SSP has been the leader of the world’s most prestigious science competitions for over seven decades.
