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STEM stands out at White House Science Fair
May 8, 2016
100-pound subway-cleaning robots. Prosthetics good enough to skateboard on. Homemade spacecrafts that can reach the stratosphere.
That last one was made by sisters Kimberly and Rebecca Yeung, ages 9 and 13. They fashioned a small craft out of a weather balloon and Rebecca’s archery arrow shafts. Before releasing it into the sky, they attached a camera, GPS, and a variety of sensors. A small R2D2 to acted as pilot, finally the captain of his own ship.
The President explained his motives for the event, saying, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”
Of the 75 students profiled on the White House website , over 40 hail from states involved with STEMx.
The President also announced Oracle’s $200 million investment to support Computer Science education for students across the United States. He called on all students to step up to the greatest challenges facing the nation, from combatting climate change to setting foot on Mars.
The Red Planet is a bit farther than the 78,000 feet covered by the Yeung sisters’ spacecraft, but these innovators will soon be up to the task.
Scroll below for a list of students’ accomplishments.
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| STEMx member | |
| Kimberly Yeung, 9, Seattle, WA | |
| Rebecca Yeung, 13, Seattle WA | |
| Launched a helium spacecraft into the stratosphere to record coordinates, temperature, velocity, and pressure. | Washington STEM |
| – | |
| Jacob Leggette, 9, Baltimore, MD | Maryland Department of Education |
| Experimented with additive and subtractive manufacturing in 3D printing. | |
| – | |
| Hannah Herbst, 15, Boca Raton, FL | Florida STEM 2 Hub |
| Created an ocean-energy probe prototype to provide stable power to developing countries. | |
| – | |
| Nathan Charles Marshall, 17, Boise, ID | Idaho iSTEM |
| Examined prehistoric climate change via a marine sediment core. Finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search. | |
| – | |
| Amro Halwah, 18 New York City, NY | New York State
STEM Education Collaborative |
| Stephen Mwingria, 17, New York City, NY | |
| Si Ya “Wendy” Ni, 18, New York City, NY | |
| Created a 100lb debris-cleaning robot for NYC’s subway system. | |
| – | |
| Hari Bhimaraju, 12, Cupertino, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Designed hardware and software to teach visually impaired students the periodic table. | |
| – | |
| Olivia Thomas, 18, Boise, ID | Idaho iSTEM |
| Founded a virtual coding school and received a grant from NCWIT to start a local video game-design program for girls. | |
| – | |
| Neil Davey, 20, Gaithersburg, MD | Maryland Department of Education |
| Developed a new technique for cancer treatment and early detection for his International BioGENEius Challenge project. | |
| – | |
| Nia Clements, 15, San Antionio, TX | Educate Texas |
| Investigated an unlikely treatment for gastric cancer in Santalum album tree oil. | |
| – | |
| Kylah Cain-Ward, 13, Edgewood, MD | Maryland Department of Education |
| Destani Cularri, 11, Edgewood, MD | |
| Adriana Pusey, 13, Edgewood, MD | |
| Jordan West, 12, Edgewood, MD | |
| Took first place as a team at the Maryland Army Education Outreach Program Junior Solar Sprint competition. | |
| – | |
| Shemar Coombs, 19, Philadelphia, PA | Pennsylvania’s ASSET STEM Education |
| Used a 3D printer to invent a cellphone case that allows headphones to be wrap and secured tangle-free. | |
| – | |
| Talie Cloud, 15, Sanger, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Named a National Winner at the FFA Agriscience Fair for her work using bitter melon seed as an organic insecticide. | |
| – | |
| Annie Ostojic, 13, Munster, IN | Indiana’s I-STEM Resource Network |
| Won the 2015 Broadcom MASTERS competition for her energy efficient microwave design. | |
| – | |
| Agusta Uwamanzu-Nna, 17, Elmont, NY | New York State
STEM Education Collaborative |
| Investigated a nanoclay ingredient to improve undersea cement seals that keep offshore wells from leaking, which established her as a finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search. | |
| – | |
| Devon Langley, 14, Terre Haute, IN | Indiana’s I-STEM Resource Network |
| Trevor Langley, 14, Terre Haute, IN | |
| Developed a color-coded system to teach math to students with dyslexia, earning them the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award. | |
| – | |
| Ty Brant, 12, Tahlequah, OK | Oklahoma’s Center for Research on STEM Teaching and Learning |
| Anthony Maldonado, 13, Tahlequah, OK | |
| Benjamin Woolen, 13, Tahlequah, OK | |
| Taylor Wingo, 12, Tahlequah, OK | |
| Designed and built robots for several competitions as the Cybercats Robotics Team, taking home prizes each time. | |
| – | |
| Simon-Peter Frimpong, 13, Aurora, CO | Colorado Experiential STEM Learning Network |
| Maya Max-Villard, 13, Aurora, CO | |
| Grayson Fast, 14, Aurora, CO | |
| Designed and built a more functional prosthetic leg, winning them a finalist spot at the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. | |
| – | |
| Sanjana Rane, 18, Prospect, KY | Kentucky STEMx |
| Helped discover a protein’s use in detecting and treating renal fibrosis, winning her a scholarship at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. | |
| – | |
| Kimberly Te, 17, Manhasset, NY | New York State
STEM Education Collaborative |
| Christing Yoo, 17, Manhasset, NY | |
| Engineered a device that produces clean energy while cleaning up oil spills, winning the Grand Prize at the National Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. | |
| – | |
| Anurudh Ganesan, 16, Clarksburg, MD | Maryland Department of Education |
| Developed VAXXWAGON to effectively transport vaccines without the use of ice or electricity, saving potentially thousands of lives and earning him the 2015 Google Science Fair LEGO Education Builder Award. |
|
| – | |
| Samantha Armistead, 17, Durham, NC | North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center |
| Judy Cheng, 17, Durham, NC | |
| Ryan Hill, 18, Durham, NC | |
| Emma Jaynes, 17, Durham, NC | |
| Evan Perry, 17, Durham, NC | |
| Won multiple awards as Team Rock-It at NASA’s follow-on Student Launch Initiative, making the national finals in 2013 and 2014 at the Team America Rocketry Challenge. | |
| – | |
| Siobhan Garry, 17, San Diego, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Mona Fariborzi, 17, San Diego, CA | |
| Lauren Mori, 17, San Diego, CA | |
| Bansi Parekh, 17, San Diego, CA | |
| McKenna Stamp, 18, San Diego, CA | |
| Developed an Android app that acts as a safe support system for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, establishing themselves at Google Made with Code Mentors. | |
| – | |
| Savannah Cofer, 18, Columbus, OH | Ohio STEM Learning Network |
| Varun Vallabheni, 17, Columbus, OH | |
| Valerie Chen, 18, Alexandria, VA | |
| Matthew Sun, 17, Alexandria, VA | |
| Won the 2015 Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge as Team FireArmor for their innovative protective apparel for firefighters. | |
| – | |
| Alex Miller, 17, Seattle, WA | Washington STEM |
| Clara Orndorff, 19, Seattle WA | |
| Nicholas Orndorff, 16, Seattle, WA | |
| Won first place in the 2015 MATE international robotics competition and received an additional award for Design Elegance. | |
| – | |
| Ana Hernendez, 18, South Los Angeles, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Jason Mares, 17, South Los Angeles, CA | |
| Won the Chairman’s Award at the 2015 FIRST Championship for robotics, and also partnered with School in a Bottle to build schools in Guatemala. | |
| – | |
| Maya Varma, 17, San Jose, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Developed a 3D printed diagnostic spirometer, earning her a slot as a 2016 Intel STS finalist. | |
| – | |
| Shaneel Narayan, 18, Union City, CA | California’s CSLNet |
| Jahses Tongco, 18, Union City CA | |
| Designed and built a solar charging station for an electric vehicle, earning them a spot as finalists at the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national competition. |
by Heather Sherman, Director of STEMx The 2023 STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce was a success! Through our collaboration with STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors, we convened 160 leaders from industry, government, non-profit organizations, and education institutions from all over the United States to discuss strategies and best practices to support the STEM workforce. We were honored to host a variety of dynamic speakers including: Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado Brynt Parmeter, Chief Talent Management Officer, U.S. Department of Defense Dr. Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, PepsiCo and Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (RoX). We extend our gratitude to our panelists, Learning Session speakers, and participants who joined us in Denver. Broadening participation We set out share information on trends in STEM education and workforce development, with an emphasis on broadening participation in STEM careers. Resources from sessions highlighting strategies for broadening participation are linked below: DoD STEM: Developing a STEM Workforce to Support the National Security Mission Priming the Pump for High Demand STEM Careers STEM Workforce Readiness for Teen Girls: “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” Driving change Another goal of the forum was to feature high impact strategies, programs and solutions that are driving change, and STEMx members from LASTEM , the PAST Foundation and MBRT showed how they are engaging youth and building career awareness through their workforce programs. Emerging technologies We looked towards the future to better understand how emerging technologies will change the world and the ways we must prepare STEM talent for jobs in logistics, artificial intelligence, research safety , bioenergy , and renewable technologies. Chevron‘s sponsored panel, “Cultivating the Talent to Drive the Innovation and Technologies for Ever-Cleaner Energy” was a rich discussion featuring experts from Chevron, Project Lead the Way and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Dr. Jamie Vernon, Executive Director, and CEO, Sigma Xi Society was a fantastic moderator for this discussion. Next steps We have linked event resources including videos, slide decks and collateral on the event landing page . The event photo gallery is located there as well. If you attended, please complete our 30 second event survey . Five lucky winners will be selected at random to receive a Forum water bottle! More importantly, your feedback matters to us. If you did not attend, mark your calendar for next fall - we’re looking to make next year even bigger! If you are interested in hosting in your state, or have thoughts about compelling content that we should include, please reach out to Heather Sherman .
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