Wichita Falls students present at regional science fair

Lynn Seman
·2 min read
Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez, center, views Rider High School student Sai Chada's project, which was the top winner at the regional science fair. On left is teacher Bryce Henderson.
Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez, center, views Rider High School student Sai Chada's project, which was the top winner at the regional science fair. On left is teacher Bryce Henderson.

On February 17, students from Christ Academy, Wichita Christian School, Rider High School, Hirschi High School, Wichita Falls High School, and Chillicothe High School presented their science and engineering research projects to judges from MSU, Sheppard AFB and other volunteer area organizations at Region 9 Education Service Center for the Red River Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

There were 54 total projects with 30 high school and 24 middle school projects presented. A big “thank you” goes to the teachers, Sam Ross, Ashley Mays, Bryce Henderson, Joshua Nielsen, Jason Young and Crystal Vidaurri for making this opportunity possible for their students!

Region 9’s Elizabeth Reynolds and team helped with setting up and inspecting the displays for safety and compliance with ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) rules. Candice Fulton, Chemistry Professor from Midwestern State University, organized the judging portion of the fair and arranged for Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez, a chemist from Johns Hopkins University, to make a special visit to the fair. He visited with students about his experiences and encouraged the students to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Judge Carl Brown reviews a student's project at the regional science fair Feb. 17.
Judge Carl Brown reviews a student's project at the regional science fair Feb. 17.

Several students in 6th -12th grades qualified to advance to the Texas State Science and Engineering Fair to be held on March 24 and 25 at Texas A&M in College Station, TX. In addition, one outstanding high school project qualified for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair which will take place in Dallas this May. Saianiruddh Chada from Rider High School with his project entitled “Hypertuning Machine Learning Models for Predicting the Likelihood of Stroke with State-of-the-Art Accuracy” will represent this region at ISEF.  Congratulations!

Rider High School student Sai Chada's is seen with his project which won the regional science fair Feb. 17. He will go on to complete in the International Science and Engineering Fair in May.
Rider High School student Sai Chada's is seen with his project which won the regional science fair Feb. 17. He will go on to complete in the International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

A list of all the winning projects and special awards can be found on this website:  https://rrrsef.org.  Thank you to the Rolling Plains Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist who assisted with various parts of the fair and the special sponsors, including Pratt and Whitney, The Kocurek family, Steve Haviland and others who helped to make this happen again in Wichita Falls.

Sponsors are always welcome to help support this year’s fair and upcoming events for the students.

Contact Jessie Mitchell at 940-733-2481 to donate.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls students present at regional science fair