Aradhya Kasala, an eighth-grader at Howard Bishop Middle School in Alachua County, Florida, received a first-place award at the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida in Lakeland. She won in the Junior Earth and Environmental Sciences category for her project titled “Development of a Low-Cost Coagulant Based Water Purification System; and Validation of Water Quality via a Novel Real-Time IoT Monitoring.” This project focuses on creating an affordable method to clean and monitor water quality. Kasala also won first place at the Alachua Regional Science and Engineering Fair earlier in February.
During the state fair, Kasala received three additional special prizes, including the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovator’s Challenge, the Florida Association for Water Quality Control, and the Cantwell Award from the Sierra Club Florida.
Aung Pyae, an 8th-grader from Ft. Clarke Middle School, earned third place in the Junior Physics category, having qualified for the state fair by winning first place at the regional fair. Shiven Sharma, a senior at Eastside High School, secured fourth place in the Senior Biomedical category, after also winning first place in the regional competition.
Pranav Manam, a sophomore at Eastside High School, received an honorable mention at the state fair for his study on improving a race car’s grip on the track without compromising speed. Manam, an International Baccalaureate student, will compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona in May.
Other notable award winners from the state competition include Trishaa Urs from Gainesville High School, Saharsh Pothu from Eastside High School, and Meha Srivastava and Jane Han from Lincoln Middle School.
