Aardvark Science Expo 2021: Different Look, Same Impressive Research and Results

The Aardvark Science Expo looked a little different this year, but the same impressive research and results were on full display for the 2021 version of the annual event that’s integral to the OES Upper School experience.

"I love that we were pushed to innovate,” said Upper School Math and Science Teacher Bettina Gregg '92, who co-coordinated the event. "There are a lot of changes we made that will likely stick around for years to come. The webpage is one of those. We were able to share every project and every accomplishment with anyone and everyone who wants to know."

The annual science, engineering, computer science, and math research competition is a preliminary round for state, regional, and national competitions, including the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). In total, 11 student projects received a callback to interview for ISEF and Best of Fair awards.

"I was very proud of our students who presented their work so eloquently and how they dug deep into their topic to gain a better understanding of their research," Upper School Science Lab Director and ASE Co-coordinator Tanja Horvat '74 said.

There were numerous awards bestowed, including the Patty Jeanne Semura Best of Fair Award which went to Kara G. ‘22 for Development of Optimum Design Parameters for an Algae Based Martian Oxygen Production System, and Pun S. '23 for Polaris: A Radiation Source Location Visualization System using Gamma-Geometry Calculation.

"The feedback from teachers and judges this year was overwhelmingly positive," Gregg said. "They got a much better sense of how hard all the students worked and what amazing topics they chose to investigate. The energy around learning about each other's work was really one of my favorite parts!"

A new award was presented in 2021. The Nabila Maazouz Science Research Award, in honor of the OES ninth grader and much-beloved member of the community who tragically died in November 2019, was awarded to Clara M. ‘23.

"I love thinking about science the way Nabila would have, which is why this is so meaningful to me," Clara said after receiving the award for her project, The Effect of Monosaccharides verus Disaccharides on the Fermentation Rate of SCOBY. 

"It was really important for us to pull the science fair together because science research has always been a fabulous example of inquiry at OES," Gregg said. "We are proud of the work we do, we are proud of our students, and it has become a ritual for OES graduates. Nothing will stop the Aardvark Science Expo!"

Click here for a full list of award winners and here to check out the projects and awards presentation. To protect the privacy of our students, the video is password-protected. Please ask your student for the password to access the video.