Two Stockdale High students headed to Atlanta for international science competition

Apr. 22—Harjaisal Brar and Alor Sahoo weren't trying to win prize money with their science projects, they were trying to make a difference.

However, now they might be able to do both.

The two Stockdale High students, a sophomore and a senior, respectively, accomplished a feat that demonstrates months of hard work and research.

Brar, who recently earned first place at the Kern County Science Fair in biomedical engineering for a ventilator he invented, and Sahoo, who earned first place in the chemistry category for his theoretical work involving the creation of synthetic chemicals, will head to Atlanta next month to compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF.

Out of millions of secondary school students from around the world, their projects will compete with about 1,800 other students in Atlanta during the second week of May.

Brar's ventilator

Brar said his initial inspiration for inventing a portable ventilator was news reports regarding supply problems hospitals were having with a piece of medical equipment that would become part of a national concern.

"I started in April of 2020, which is when the first news of the shortages happened," Brar said. "It's considered almost the most important device in a hospital, so it's weird to me that there would be shortages of something so essential."

This year's project is actually the version 2.0 of the ventilator, which, through a number of technological advances he came up with, including the use of 3D printing and more advanced software he created, helped him significantly reduce the size from last year's model. (Brar's initial version last year earned second place in the biomedical engineering division at ISEF for his 3D-printed COVID-19 ventilator.)

His original model was about 60 pounds and took more than 19 hours to assemble. The latest model weighs about one-quarter of that, and Brar is hoping to cut the assembly time in half.

But the most impressive aspect of the prototype might be its energy-efficiency.

Brar's version of the ventilator draws around seven to 10 watts of power, while those used in hospitals are around 500 watts, he said.

Sahoo's lab work

While Sahoo's project is equally impressive, it's a bit harder to understand how it works — unless one is familiar with "Green Mechanochemical One-Pot Synthesis of Isoxazoline Derivatives," the title of his project.

The theoretical research involved in his project, in layman's terms, involves using detergents and water to synthesize chemicals in a more environmentally friendly manner. Isoxazolines are considered part of a synthetic chemical class that are commonly used for their insecticidal effects to fight parasites and fleas in cats and dogs, among other applications.

"The good news is that by using these detergents, we're able to reduce the amount of waste that we produce," Sahoo said, explaining that the current procedures commonly used to produce isoxazolines have byproducts that not only have the potential to harm humans but the environment, as well. The process he's working on is also more sustainable because it allows the "soapy water" to be reused in the synthesis, he added.

Now Sahoo is working under the supervision of Danielle Solano, a Cal State Bakersfield associate professor of chemistry, in one of the university's labs in order to prove the concept.

After teaching Sahoo lab safety and protocols, because some of the chemicals are potentially dangerous if not handled correctly, he largely works independently in the lab, Solano said, devoting hours of his own time, not for academic credit, but to further his understanding of the research he's been doing since December 2019.

Qualifying for ISEF

The Regeneron ISEF competition May 7-13 is not only a competition with prizes that could range in the tens of thousands of dollars, it's also a prestigious stage for academics to compete on.

The top prize, the George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award, named after the president of ISEF sponsor Regeneron, is $75,000 for the top first-place award winner. But making the competition itself puts the boys in an elite class of students.

"Students who compete in Regeneron ISEF are poised to be the next generation of innovators," said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science, which hosts the competition. "Alumni, including Nobel Prize winners, have gone on to receive many honors, found companies, create solutions to the world's most intractable problems and contribute to a more scientifically literate society."

Notable alumni from ISEF include CalTech professor Katie Bouman, a computer scientist and engineer who helped create an algorithm for imaging black holes as a fellow with the Event Horizon Telescope. Raymond Kurweil impressed ISEF judges in 1965 with a computer program that used classical music patterns to create original compositions, and he went on to invent a music synthesizer.

Regardless of whether either of them place next month, though, the future is very bright for both students. Brar will have two more years to develop his project as a high schooler, and Sahoo is choosing between schools like Yale, Princeton and MIT for where he'll continue his studies in the fall.

"They're just exceptionally driven," said Michelle Roy, science coordinator for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, who's known both boys since they started competing in county science fairs since they were in grade school. "Driven to succeed, excel — but I also think they're exceptionally curious ... as learners. They both have that almost inventor-type spirit about them."