Science and engineering is very much alive and well at Middlebrook, as evidenced by the recent Middlebrook Science and Engineering Fair. This year’s fair was the largest one in Middlebrook history, with 117 participants. Overseen by PTA volunteers led by chair Ritu Malik, the event is sponsored by the Wilton Education Foundation.

Of the 117 participants, the following students received recognition:

Best of Fair

Varun Vadhera
Project:  Supersonic Blind Helper

7/8 Physical Sciences

1st Place:  Jessica Wu
Project:  A Mirror-cle Solar Panel

2nd Place:  Dhruv Rokkam
Project: Effect of Electromagnetic Radiation on Organic Matter–Exploring Electromagnetic Shielding

3rd Place:  Rhea Raghavaan
Project:  Time Travel–An Experiment on Laminar Flow

Honorable Mentions:
Connie Gao and Madison Ratcliffe, Project:  Swimmer’s Tooth
Brendan Kaduboski, Project:  Proto Putty Problem Solving
Joyce Massad, Project:  White vs. Colored Candles

7/8 Life Sciences

1st Place:  Krithika Natarajan
Project: The Metabolic Touch

2nd Place:  Keerthi Vijay
Project: Video Games Effect on Human Body

3rd Place:  Saanvi Bathla
Project:  Plastic Problem

7/8 Engineering

1st Place:  Sebastian Shaw
Project:  The Power of Walking

2nd Place:  Shriya Chelluboina
Project:  Crescendo

3rd Place:  Gayathri Kaimal
Project:  System for Effective Management of Ground Water Usage

Honorable Mentions:
Vihan Jayawardhane, Project:  Programmable Dimmable Lights
Adavait Maheshwari, Project:  Keeping it Private: Blocking RFID Readers from Reading your ID Card

6th Grade Physical Sciences

1st Place:  Rohil Jain
Project:  Potatoes to Power a House

2nd Place:  Aarushi Agrawal and Nila Thirumal
Project:  Natural or Chemical Dye?

3rd Place:  Adam Daversa and Cooper Matik
Project:  Water Bridge

Honorable Mentions:
Charlotte Stapkowski and Melanie Rutkowski, Project: The Fire Extinguisher
Gracie Biondo, Project: Toxic Plants

6th Grade Life Sciences

1st Place:  Layla Shah
Project: Not All Sunscreens are Created Equal

2nd Place:  Illeas Paschalidis and Michael Druzhinin
Project:  How Does Air Pollution Affect Plants

3rd Place:  Shawn Gregory
Project:  The Skinny on Moisturizers

Honorable Mentions:
Jolene Massad, Project:  Gum vs. Concentration
Anya Kongettira and Karolina Bukowski, Project:  Trash to Treasure

6th Grade Engineering

1st Place:  Akhil Vallabhajosula
Project:  Harnessing Wind Power to Generate Electricity

2nd Place:  Allison Schwartz and David Unruh
Project:  Homemade Slideshow

3rd Place:  Anup Pilla and Max Li
Project:  Energy Through Human Motion

Honorable Mentions:
Jason Sherrick and Marcos Flaim, Project:  Harnessing Energy from Compost
Sid Suneja, Project:  Making Paper Out of Recycled Newspapers
Emmy Baer, Project:  Creating Hydropower