Nearly 30 La Jolla students excelled at the 72nd Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, with five of them also securing Grand Awards. The event took place on March 18 at the Balboa Park Activity Center, followed by an awards ceremony at The Magnolia in El Cajon the next day. More than $40,000 in prizes were distributed, and outstanding projects have advanced to the California Science and Engineering Fair in Thousand Oaks. Additionally, eight Grand Award winners will progress to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix from May 9-15.
Olivia Liu from La Jolla Country Day School focused on the effectiveness of soap and alcohol in promoting healthy skin in the microbiology category at the fair. Olivia, a seventh-grader, scrutinized bacteria levels on pig skin after washing it with water, soap, or a solution containing 70% alcohol. Her research led to the conclusion that soap is better at preserving “good bacteria” in the short term, potentially enhancing skin health by safeguarding against “bad bacteria.” Her final project, titled “Soap – A Friend or Foe of Skin Bacteria,” outlined these findings.
Following her recognition as a Grand Award runner-up, Olivia expressed her surprise and gratitude, thanking her teachers and family for their support. Another standout participant, eighth-grader Paul Schnabl from The Bishop’s School, earned a Grand Award for his creation of an Autonomous Robotic Garden for Optimized Sustainability (ARGOS) in the junior engineering category. Powered by Raspberry Pi and a Raspberry Pi camera, ARGOS utilized machine learning to operate. Over seven days, it reduced total water usage by 58% and demonstrated accurate soil measuring predictions.
Ethan Hu from Bishop’s was also honored with a Grand Award for his project focused on developing cost-effective, flexible, and efficient hardware and software solutions for blind or visually impaired individuals. Additionally, Kayley Xu, another student from Bishop’s, was recognized for designing a “passive, all-dielectric metasurface” for retinal disease intervention using controlled beam steering.
Moreover, Joie Green from Muirlands Middle School received a Grand Award runner-up for her research on redirecting energy with topological metamaterials. The Bishop’s School garnered the most first-place honors among La Jolla schools, with 14 students attaining this recognition. The article concludes with a detailed list of first-place winners from various La Jolla schools.
