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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
When it comes to science, these kids rule
Big winners at Manitoba symposium
Sarah Wang's research on developing a vaccine for leishmaniasis was her entry at this year's Manitoba Schools Science Symposium, and was recognized Sunday as the grand prize in the senior category. (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
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Science Symposium winners Ashley Bell, Abhishek Chakraborty, Rylen de Vries, Sarah Wang and Shreyas Devalapurkur. (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
Laura Riyeon Kim
A precocious 17-year-old Winnipeg high school student may one day be linked to the eradication of a disease found in most developing countries that is now appearing in Europe and parts of the southern U.S.
Sarah Wang's research on developing a vaccine for leishmaniasis was her entry at this year's Manitoba Schools Science Symposium, and was recognized Sunday as the grand prize in the senior category.
"It's a disease with no known cure, but we have to find a cure for it," Wang, a Grade 11 student from Fort Richmond Collegiate, said following the award ceremonies at the University of Manitoba Sunday.
The Manitoba Schools Science Symposium is the largest annual science fair held in Manitoba. This year, it attracted 290 projects from 371 students from Grades 4 through 12.
Dozens of awards -- medals, certificates and plaques -- are handed out each year, many sponsored by private industry and industry groups. The students also receive cash prizes, totalling about $25,000.
The top six students each year are also chosen to represent Manitoba at the Canada Wide Science Fair, which this year is being held May 12 to 19 in Charlottetown, P.E.I. They will share in about $3,000 in cash prizes, plus their expenses to the national event.
Wang will be going to P.E.I., along with one of her Grade 11 classmates, Ashley Bell. Bell and Laura Kim, a 12th grader at FRC, took the grand prize in the Health Sciences category for their project, Using Nuclear Matrix to Detect Colorectal Cancer Cells.
The other grand prize winners, who are also going to the Canada Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, are:
-- Shreyas Devalapurkur, Dakota Collegiate, best overall individual in the intermediate category, for The Effect of Chemical Stress on Protein Profile of Cells.
-- Abhishek Chakraborty, Acadia Junior High, best overall individual in the Junior category, for Effects of Folic Acid on Cellular Senescence.
-- Rylen de Vries, grand prize in the Engineering category, for Gone With the Wind Tunnel (testing for better ballistic missile design).
Wang came to Canada two years ago, emigrating with her parents from China. Her parents are factory workers.
Wang said she was inspired to tackle leishmaniasis by her mentor, Dr. Jude Uzonna, and supervisor, Dr. Zhirong Mou, at the U of M. She hopes to study medicine after high school.
Alastair Komus, 29, is a science fair veteran who continues to be involved in the annual event. This year was his third as co-chairman.
"It's my way of giving back to the science fair," said Komus, a graduate of Westwood Collegiate. "It was an important part of my life."
While he was never a grand winner, Komus said he participated every year and credits the event for igniting his interest in engineering. He graduated with his masters in engineering from the U of M this year. While working full time at the Composite Innovation Centre, Kumos will also work on a second masters next year at the University of North Dakota's space studies program.
Komus said he is always amazed at the variety of projects entered each year at the science fair and how engaged the students become.
"We had a group of students that built an actual hovercraft that could carry a person," Kumos said. "We had to take it outside to see it work."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 30, 2012 B1
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