Research by Hilo High School student Sonja Giardina on the effect of fragmentation, isolation and bleaching on coral reef fish assemblages was among the top winners Feb. 17 during the Hawaii District Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
Giardina and Anne Nakamoto of Waiakea High School will make their way to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Pascale Creek Pinner received the teacher award in the high school division.
Overall, 97 students competed, with the judges saying it was one of the most competitive fairs to date. Rounding out the top projects in the high school division were: Elizabeth Atkinson from Hilo High (third place) and Jared Goodwin from Hilo High and Gabriel Low from Waiakea High (honorable mentions).
In the junior division, Maya Oishi from Hilo Intermediate took first place, Sarah Fukumura-Sawada from Waiakea Intermediate was second, Paul Varricatt from Hilo Intermediate was third and Rachel Tao from Waiakea Intermediate was fourth.
Full listings of all agency awards and project titles are available on the Hawaii District Science and Engineering Fair Facebook page.
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Represent
Thirty students represented the Hawaii District at the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair in March:
Sonja Giardina, Anne Nakamoto, Elizabeth Atkinson, Jared Goodwin, Gabriel Low, Lela DeVine, Xavier Tablit, Ina Klasner, Jamie Ebersole, Ara Uhr, Maya Oishi, Sarah Fukumura-Sawada, Paul Varricatt, Rachel Tao, Eli Monelo, Claire Hughes, Taarini Godbole, Gabrielle Viernes, Kali Kring, Matthew Okuda, Matthew Labasan, Alanna Sun, Kaia Broomell, Benjamin Kubo, Tobias Johnson, Kouske Soler, Shelby Hamura, Tevin Atwal, Keyna Wilcox and Caroline Betlach.