Hawken STEMM Students Receive Accolades, Including Two Grand Prizes

Grand Prize winners Zoltan Kotrebai ‘24 and Bea Hardacre ‘24 earned trips to Regeneron’s International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held in Dallas May 14 – 19. Bea was named a Grand Prize winner in the Physical Science category at the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF). She was also recognized by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Cleveland Section and took first place in the grades 11 and 12 age group. Zoltan was a Grand Prize winner at the Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair, where he was also named a Melvin Scholar and received the United States Air Force Award and the United States Agency for International Development Award. In addition, Zoltan’s participation in the Western Reserve District 5 Science Day led to a first place standing in Chemistry, which advanced him to the State Science Day; an award from the Society of Plastics Engineers – Akron Chapter; and recognition for Best Plastics Related Project. At NEOSEF, Zoltan placed second in the Chemistry category for grades 11 and 12; he was also recognized by The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Cleveland Section and Cleveland State University’s Department of Physics. In addition, Zoltan received the Battery Innovation Center Certificate of Recognition, the Dr. Charles Alexander NEOSEF Award, and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corp Office of Naval Research Naval Science Award.

 

Other Hawks who competed against 41 area schools were recognized at the 70th Annual Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair, which featured a total of 220 projects, include:

 

Connor Marrie '24: Second place in Biology, grades 11 and 12; Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society recognition

Pia Cooper '23: Third place in Health and Medicine

Augusta Halle '24: Second place in Health and Medicine; Society for In Vitro Biology Award; Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Award; Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Award; Yale Science and Engineering Award

Jasmine Shone '23: Second place in Engineering, grades 11 and 12; Rockwell Automation Award

Christopher Riley '24: Second place in Engineering, grades 11-12; recognition from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute for Outstanding Project; The Parker Hannifin Corporation Award for Excellence in Engineering Communication

Lillian Fu '23: Third place in Health and Medicine, grades 11 and 12

Bryan Dong '24: Third place in Engineering, grades 11 and 12; Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Award; Rockwell Automation Award; Dominion Energy Ohio Award; United States Navy and Marine Corp, Office of Naval Research Award

Carlo Polisena '24: Second place in Health & Medicine, grades 11 and 12

Elle Oberfield '23: Third place in Biology, grades 11 and 12; Cleveland Clinic Department of Cancer Biology Award

Anjali Jawa '24: Second place in Health and Medicine, grades 11 and 12

 

Congratulations are also in order for the following current or former Hawken STEMM students who presented and/or published their research:

 

Sophia Shakir ‘23 presented her research titled, “The Impact of knee Osteoarthritis distribution and presence of total knee replacement on knee joint pain score reduction following Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation” at the American Society of Regional Anesthesia in Orlando, FL in November.

Manan Raina ‘25 has been involved in research for several years and has published his research titled, “Vasoactive-ventilation-renal score and outcomes in infants and children after cardiac surgery.” He has also been highlighted in the Kidney Resource Guide Symposium for his article, “The Basics of Inherited Kidney Disease.”

Sita Ramaiya '23 published her paper from her 2021 STEMM project entitled "Anorectal pathology in the HIV population: A guide for radiologists," published in 2022 in Abdominal Radiology.  

Harsha Sanaka ‘23 presented at the 2022 American College of Gastroenterology and has published the following articles from his research:

     1. Sanaka Harsha, Garg R, Patel V, et al. (2022), “Temporal Trends and Disparities in Gastroenterology Care Utilization Before, During, and After COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Investigative Medicine.

     2. Gomez-Nguyen A, Gupta N, Sanaka Harsha, Dennis Gruszka, Alaina Pizzarro '24, et al. (2022), “Chronic Stress Induces Colonic Tertiary Lymphoid Organ Formation and Protection Against Secondary Injury Through IL-23/IL-22 Signaling.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Alaina Pizarro, a current Hawken junior, is a co-author on this second publication.

 

In other Hawken STEMM news, Hawken alumnus and founder of the Hawken STEMM Program, Dr. Jacob Scott, paired up with Hawken faculty Dr. Lacy Chick and two Hawken AP Biology students, Grace Shum ’23 and Lillian Fu ’23, to build and validate a low-cost bioreactor for classroom use. The purpose of their research was to examine a cost-efficient way for students to learn about experimental design, evolution, biotechnology, and bacterial growth and antibiotic resistance. Their paper, "Science Forum: A low-cost, open-source evolutionary bioreactor and its educational use," was published in November and can be accessed here.