Posted by Greta on Friday, April 11, 2014 in News.

The Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub (MTSIH) aims to promote interest and increase student achievement in STEM fields. On April 10, 2014, MTSIH recognized the hard work of STEM students throughout the region during the Middle TN STEM Project Expo held at Volunteer State Community College. Students were invited to present projects involving an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge.  Ten student projects from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt and the Interdisciplinary Science and Research programs at Hillsboro and Stratford high schools were presented. Students were evaluated on a 100 point scale with a score of 95% or greater earning Gold, 85-94% earning Silver, and 75-84% earning Bronze. Sponsor awards were also presented. The students brought home 9 gold medals and 1 silver medal, as well as 5 sponsor awards. Congratulations to all of the participants for their hard work and outstanding achievement!

Gold:

• Sea Spray’s Effect on Plant Growth- Reseun McClendon (ISR-Hillsboro)
• The Role of Comparison in Infant Problem Solving When Using a Spoon- Emma Reynolds (ISR-Hillsboro)
• Sequencing an Initial Gene for Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Gall Midges- Andrew Corlew (ISR-Stratford)
• Determining the Presence of Wolbachia in Insects Found in Nashville- Sharo Hawrami and Gracie Vester (ISR-Stratford)
• Differential Expression of MUC5AC and MUC5B in Chronic Lung Diseases- Taylor Hunter (ISR-Stratford)
• Wolbachia: The Bacterial Feminizer- Isis West (ISR-Stratford)
• Sequencing the GAPDH Gene in the Invasive Species Hedera helix and Ligustrum sinense to Map Phylogenetic Relationships- Jennifer Cottle, Saba Rehman, and Xiyua Yao (SSMV)
• Developing A Remote-Controlled Bot To Assist With First Responders In Combating House Fires- Lillian Ekem, David Feng, Fea Morgan-Curtis, and Jon Marc Zacarro (SSMV)
• Comparison of Invasive Plants L. sinense and A. altissima by Geneology- Vincent Harris, Elom Dumenyo, and Eduardo Corea Dilbert (SSMV)

 

Silver:

• Determining the Effects of Chlorohexidine and Alexidine on Apoptosis- Keionda Newsom, Oskar Groitzsch (ISR-Stratford)

 

Sponsor Awards of Excellence:

• Adventure Science Center: Andrew Corlew
• Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools: Andrew Corlew
• Belmont University: Sharo Hawrami and Gracie Vester
• Volunteer State Community College: Taylor Hunter
• Texas Instruments: Vincent Harris, Elom Dumenyo, and Eduardo Corea Dilbert