JHS junior competing at international science fair
May 15—Joplin High School junior Anna Barnhart is representing the school district at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which is being held this week in Dallas.
Barnhart is the first Joplin High School junior to compete at this level of the competition, said Karisa Boyer, who teaches the science research class at JHS.
"Anna has worked very hard this year, spending hours of time working with mice," Boyer said. "She did two rounds of fecal collection, both of which took about 18-20 hours each time. Countless other hours were spent on various tasks to get her project to the level that it is. I am excited to see her enjoy the ISEF experience and am very excited she will be returning next year as a second-year research student."
Barnhart in March was named the top winner in the senior division at the Missouri Southern State University science fair, resulting in her ISEF invitation. Her research project, titled "The Effect of Various Diet Consumption on Simulated Alzheimer's Disease Responses," also earned first place in the human and animal sciences category, the Office of Naval Research's Naval Science Award, the Society of Science award and the Yale Science and Engineering Award for Most Outstanding Exhibit in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
In April, Barnhart won second place in the biomedical/health category at the MSSU research colloquium. All other award-winning projects at this competition were from college students. She also earned first place at the Pittsburg (Kansas) State University research colloquium.
The International Science and Engineering Fair is the world's largest pre-college STEM competition. More than 1,700 high school students from around the world are competing there this week for nearly $9 million in awards.
