Richmond students shine at science fair

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This article was published 27/04/2015 (2893 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The next scientific inquiry at Fort Richmond Collegiate may be to discover how so many award-winning scientific minds are being honed there.

Of the nine top winners at the Manitoba Schools Science Symposium (MSSS) on Sunday at the University of Manitoba, four were from the high school for grades 10-12 in Fort Garry.

The nine students will represent Manitoba at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, May 11-16 in Fredericton, N.B.

“Fort Richmond Collegiate is very, very enthusiastic about science and we have a bunch of science activities that really engage our students in science,” said an elated Prasansa Subedi, a Grade 10 student who was selected for her project called “The in-vitro glycemic response of various oat-lines.”

“Someone who contributes so much to our science is Ms. Kathleen Crang. She inspires and motivates us to do these science fairs and she was our main co-ordinator for this event.”

The MSSS attracted 458 students in grades 4-12 from 65 Manitoba schools who presented 356 projects. A total of $30,000 in prize money as well as plaques and medals were awarded to winning students.

“This is the actually the most we’ve ever sent (to the Canada-wide event). We received additional sponsorship from Doctors Manitoba and that’s what has allowed us to send additional students,” said Alastair Komus, the chairman of Manitoba’s national science fair committee. “Our students are going to be able to meet students from all across Canada, so it will be a great cultural experience as well as getting the opportunity to visit the University of New Brunswick, its facilities, professors and there will be speakers such as former astronaut Bob Thirsk and current astronaut Jeremy Hansen.”

Prasansa said participating in the fair has changed her future plans.

“Before this project for the science fair, I was planning on going into medicine but after finishing this project, just the environment and how much I’ve been inspired by my mentors was overwhelming, so now I’m inspired to go on a different path to nutritional research,” said Prasansa.

“I can’t believe I’m going to nationals. I’m so excited to be sharing my work with other people and other scientists who can appreciate my work and so I can get feedback and learn from other comments from experts.”

Talha Suboor, in Grade 11 at Fort Richmond, said the fifth time was the charm for him as he earned his first trip to nationals.

‘I’m so excited to be sharing my work with other people and other scientists who can appreciate my work and so I can get feedback and learn from other comments from experts’

“It’s just an amazing opportunity,” Talha, 16, said.

He said the inspiration for his project, “Ultrasound Flaw Detection in Underground Power Cables,” was the power outages that occurred in the city during late winter and early spring.

“I found out that the way Manitoba Hydro currently finds errors in power cables is time-consuming, so I tried to find a better way to do it,” said Talha. “I found out that I could find these errors quicker and more effectively with the use of sound waves.”

Fort Richmond Grade 10 students Himanshu Sharma and Derek Yin partnered for their top prize-winning project, called “Raspberry Pi Smartphone Controlled Garage Door System and Home Automation Concept.”

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPAshleyPrest