The
Virginia
Junior
Academy
of
Science
(VJAS)
held
its
80th
annual
meeting
and
research
symposium
in
a
virtual
format.
The
VJAS
inducted
its
slate
of
student
officers
for
2021-22
to
include
the
selection
of
Hamza
Arman
Lateef,
10th-grade
student
at
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School,
as
co-president.
This
is
the
first
time
a
PWCS
student
has
held
a
VJAS
officer
position.
The
following
PWCS
students
were
among
those
whose
scientific
research
was
awarded
at
the
VJAS
symposium:
First place:
Rania
Lateef,
eighth-grade
student
at
Benton
Middle
School,
was
recognized
for
research
titled
"Opening
Up
a
Can
of
Worms"
in
the
animal
and
human
sciences
category.
Aatish
Sethi
(Battlefield
High
School)
and
Jasmine
Agyepong
(Patriot
High
School),
11th-grade
students
who
also
attend
the
Governor's
School
@
Innovation
Park,
were
recognized
for
research
titled
"A
New
Treatment?
An
Analysis
of
the
Effect
of
Known
Phytochemicals
on
SARS-CoV-2
Pathogenesis"
in
the
chemistry
category.
Sethi
and
Agyepong
were
also
selected
to
receive
the
Dr.
Smith
Shadomy
Infectious
Diseases
Award.
This
award
is
given
to
the
paper
that
evidences
outstanding
research
in
the
field
of
infectious
diseases.
Iqra
Ahmad,
Keren
Czyra
Gonzaga,
and
Thu
Thien
Luong,
11th-grade
students
at
Osbourn
Park
High
School
who
also
attend
the
Governor's
School
@
Innovation
Park,
were
recognized
for
research
titled
"Using
a
Computational
Model
to
Determine
the
Binding
Ability
of
Selected
Estrogen
Derivatives
to
α-
AND
β-
Type
Estrogen
Receptors
to
Prevent
Amyloid-β
Aggregations"
in
the
medicine
and
health
category.
Shan
Lateef,
a
Prince
William
County
resident
and
former
Benton
Middle
School
student,
who
is
a
senior
currently
attending
the
Thomas
Jefferson
High
School
for
Science
and
Technology
in
Fairfax,
was
recognized
for
his
research
titled
"What's
All
the
Buzz?
Drosophila
melanogaster
as
a
Unique
Model
for
Addiction
Disorders
and
Physiology
after
Traumatic
Brain
Injury
(TBI)"
in
the
zoology
category.
For
his
research,
Lateef
was
also
awarded
the
Virginia
Association
of
Biology
Educators
Zoology
Award
for
outstanding
research
in
the
field
of
zoology;
and
the
Catesby
Jones
Award,
given
to
the
12th-grade
student
whose
paper
evidences
the
most
significant
contribution
to
science;
and
the
VJAS
Grand
High
School
Award,
for
the
top
research
project
by
an
individual
or
team
of
students
in
grades
9-12.
Lateef
additionally
received
honorary
membership
in
the
Virginia
Association
of
Science,
awarded
to
him
for
outstanding
service
to
the
Junior
Academy
and
the
VJAS
Committee.
Lateef
is
the
outgoing
VJAS
president.
Second place:
Naman
Agarwal,
10th-grade
student
at
Patriot
High
School,
was
recognized
for
research
titled
"An
Indoor
Farm
Scouter
Through
Time-Based
Imaging"
in
the
engineering
category.
Tony
Bright,
Hamza
Arman
Lateef,
and
Gabriel
Ralston,
10th-grade
students
at
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School,
were
recognized
for
research
titled
"SeizureSeeker:
A
Novel
Approach
to
Epileptic
Seizure
Detection
Using
Machine
Learning"
in
the
mathematics:
theoretical
and
modeling
category.
Third place:
Lucy
Lu,
seventh-grade
student
at
Ronald
Wilson
Reagan
Middle
School,
was
recognized
for
research
titled
"How
to
Optimize
Parameters
That
Would
Affect
the
Speed
of
an
Electromagnetic
Train"
in
the
engineering
and
technology
category.
Zareef
Said,
seventh-grade
student
at
Ronald
Wilson
Reagan
Middle
School,
was
recognized
for
research
titled
"The
Effect
of
Mail-in
Voting
Fraud
on
a
Battleground
State's
Election
Result"
in
the
mathematics:
patterns
and
relationships
category.
Honorable mentions received in the physical science and astronomy category:
Livia
Kouts,
seventh-grade
student
at
Ronald
Wilson
Reagan
Middle
School,
was
recognized
for
research
titled
"The
Effect
of
Different
Materials
on
the
Volume
of
Sound
School."
Kaylyn
Quinh
Nguyen
and
Simran
Patibanda,
11th-grade
students
at
Osbourn
Park
High
School
who
also
attend
the
Governor's
School
@
Innovation
Park,
were
recognized
for
research
titled
"The
Connection
Between
Spiral
Galaxies
and
Asymmetry:
Analyzing
Quadrupole
Multipole
Asymmetry
in
Spiral
Galaxies
and
its
Relation
to
other
Galactic
Characteristics."