2023 Southwest Regional Science Fair hosted by Western Wyoming Community College

Western Wyoming Community College (Western) hosted science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students, in grades 6-12, who participated in the Southwest Regional Science Fair (Fair) on Thursday, February 2, 2023.  

This year 57 participants came from four different schools across the region. The Fair is an opportunity for students to apply their STEM knowledge, engage in scientific thought, and gain innovative ideas and knowledge from peers and educators. Local STEM teachers dedicate much of their time to prepare their students for this educational opportunity.   

“The Southwest Regional Science Fair is an exciting opportunity for students around our region to investigate, engage with, and study science from a variety of fields.  These students continue to impress our judges with their creative projects and eagerness to learn and grow.  Many thanks to the sponsors who support and coach their students and to the judges from Western faculty and from our community who helped make this event a success,” said Sarah Pauley, School of Math and Science Chair.  

The Regional Science Fair is an affiliate of Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. The categories, divisions, rules, and judging criteria of the Fair are in line with the Intel ISEF requirements.   

This year participants presented 38 projects from the following schools: Big Piney Middle School, Kemmerer Junior Senior High School, Pinedale Middle School, and Rawlins High School.  

The results are as follows:   

Overall Winner:   

Ash Cooper, from Pinedale Middle School for his project, Espresso Express. Cooper was awarded a scholarship to Western along with a trophy and medal.  

Animal Science:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Juniper Dale (Pinedale Middle School) - Sculpin Health in Sublette County. 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Dylan Foster & Reba Penfield (Big Piney Middle School) - The Effect of Seasonal Change on Daily Patterns and Duration of Wolf Activity in The Bridger Teton National Park. 
• 3rd place: Aylen Mills (Pinedale Middle School) - WY Wolves.    

Behavioral & Social Sciences:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Ali Goodsell (Pinedale Middle School) - Coffee Vs. Caffeine Alternatives 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Teagan Fildey & Naomi Gaffney (Pinedale Middle School) - Crash! Boom! Coordination!   

SR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Olivia Scriven (Rawlins High School) - How does social media affect your mental health?  
• 2nd place: Tayshia Safford (Rawlins High School) - Do My Eyes Deceive Me? 
• 3rd place: Jamie Keldsen  (Rawlins High School) - Correlation Between Mental and Physical Health    

Biochemistry/Cellular & Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics & Computational Biology:   

SR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Veena Oad (Rawlins High School) - How does the alteration of genes affect Humans physically or mentally?  

Biomedical & Health Sciences/Biomedical Engineering/Translational Medical Sciences:   

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: TEAM: Oakley Francis & Macie Antonino (Pinedale Middle School) - The Tooth About Toothpaste 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Remedios Mata & Shealyn Bennett (Pinedale Middle School) - Eczema Treatment 

SR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: TEAM: Devon Martinez, Sydney Rose, & Sierra Lubbers (Rawlins High School) - Heat Protectants Are Hot 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Ryan Smith & Buena Clark (Rawlins High School) - Disinfectants Versus Flora 
• 3rd place: TEAM: Adriana Ochoa & Elizabeth Martinez (Rawlins High School) - Tackling Acne one Face at A Time  

Chemistry/Energy: Chemical:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: TEAM: Samantha Viviano & Kimberleigh Goodman (Kemmerer High School) - Milk: Drinkable or Usable. Choose Wisely 

SR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Hailey Metevier (Rawlins High School) - How color affects temperature 

Computer Science:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Samantha Prior (Pinedale Middle School) - Crash Help  

Engineering Mechanics/Sustainable Materials & Design/Materials Science:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: Ash Cooper (Pinedale Middle School) - Espresso Express 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Chelsea Davis, Gerardo Galvan, & Cache Hall (Big Piney Middle School) - Creating Efficient Ocular Protection Against Paintball Game Impacts 
• 3rd place: Temperance Henrie (Kemmerer High School) - What Not To Wear FR Edition 

Microbiology:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st place: TEAM: Taggart Harber & Paxton Loveday (Pinedale Middle School) - You're A Fool If You Believe In The Five-Second Rule 
• 2nd place: Jocelyn Wilson (Big Piney Middle School) - The Effect of " best by" Dates on Quantity and Type of Yogurt Bacterial Cultures in store bought plain yogurt  

Plant Sciences:    

JR. DIVISION    

• 1st  place: TEAM: Jadalyn Banks & Zavier Clifford (Big Piney Middle School) - The Effect of Historical Drought on Tree Growth in the Bridger-Teton National Forest 
• 2nd place: TEAM: Israel Bandin & Gavin Bohnet (Pinedale Middle School) - Root Tolerance of Corn 
• 3rd place: TEAM: Oz Koci & Casi Ruch (Pinedale Middle School) - Worms Go Wild

In speaking of the student experience Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Katrina Marcos said, "Participating in the Southwest Regional Science Fair provides the opportunity for students to engage with the process of science in ways they may not otherwise experience. It promotes not only scientific literacy and inquiry, but also creativity, responsibility, self-confidence, organization and communication, both written and verbal." 

Each year TATA Chemicals donates a monetary prize to the winning student's school. This year TATA Chemicals will donate $750 to Pinedale Middle School to be used for promoting the STEM program at their educational facility. This is the seventh year TATA has sponsored the Fair.  

"Tata Chemicals is pleased to sponsor the Southwest Wyoming Science Fair again.  Our mission statement is 'Serving Society Through Science'.  We want to encourage the youth in our area to participate and grow from experiences such as the Science Fair and take advantage of all opportunities to learn about science.  Many of the jobs in our industry are science-related and we use science every day," said David Young, Project Management Operations at Tata Chemicals.  

The regional science fair committee consists of the following dedicated Western educators and employees: Katrina Marcos, Dr. Randy Goff, Dr. Josh Holmes, Jennifer Allen, Wendy Black, and Peggy Cheney.  

For more information regarding the Science Fair at Western, please contact Wendy Black at wblack@westernwyoming.edu or call 307-382-1712. For information on career fields in STEM, visit the Western academic page or contact the School of Math and Science Chair, Sarah Pauley, at spauley@westernwyoming.ed.edu.