West science fair participants advance to round 2 of state competition

In addition to the state fair, students also participated in the Iowa Junior Science and Humanities Seminar and the Eastern Iowa Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Alex Carlon, Online Editor-in-Chief

This spring, West High science fair participants entered three separate competitions: the Iowa Junior Science and Humanities Seminar (JSHS), the regional fair, and the state fair.

Shreya Khullar ’22 was West High’s sole participant in Iowa JSHS. Khullar won the third place prize at this competition, and will compete virtually at the national JSHS later this year.

Eight West students entered the regional fair, also called the Eastern Iowa Regional Science and Engineering Fair (EISEF). Participants in this competition conducted research, designed a poster and delivered a virtual presentation. The following students won awards at the regional fair:

EISEF: Class I, Senior – Shreya Khullar ’22

EISEF: Honorable Mention, Senior – Nathan Chen ’23

American Meteorological Society: Outstanding Achievement – Shreya Khullar ’22

Cedar Rapids Audubon Society: Outstanding Achievement – Nathan Chen ’23

Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club / Collins Amateur Radio Club: Outstanding Achievement – Jibreel Mustefa ’21 and Bahaaaldin Mohammed ’22

Mu Alpha Theta: Outstanding Achievement – Shreya Khullar ’22

NASA Earth System Science Award: Outstanding Achievement – Shreya Khullar ’22

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Outstanding Achievement – Shreya Khullar ’22

Stockholm Jr. Water Prize: Outstanding Achievement – Nathan Chen ’23

US Navy and Marine Corps: Naval Science – Nathan Chen ’23

There were also eight West students who entered the state fair, which similarly involved research, a poster and a virtual presentation. Of those students, six advanced to round two of the state fair, and will present a second time for a chance to compete at the international fair in May. The following students advanced to round two of the state fair:

Nadeen Mohammed ’21
Maria Fernanda Perez-Barrera ’21
Jibreel Mustefa ’21
Ruba Ahmed-abdelmutalab ’22
Shreya Khullar ’22
Bahaaldin Mohammed ’22

Update 4/1: The following students received honors at the final awards ceremony for the state fair held March 26.

1st in the state for the category of mathematics – Nadeen Mohammed ’21

Mu Alpha Theta Award – Nadeen Mohammed ’21

The Yale Science Award – Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab ’22

2nd place in the state for the category of microbiology – Ruba Ahmed-Abdelmutalab ’22

3rd in the state for the category of engineering – Jibreel Mustefa ’21 and Bahaa Mohammad ’22

3rd place in the state in the category of behavioral and social sciences – Fernanda Perez-Barrera ’21

The American Meteorological Society Award – Shreya Khullar ’22

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award – Shreya Khullar ’22

The Stockholm Water Prize – Shreya Khullar ’22

1st place in the State for  Earth and Environmental Science – Shreya Khullar ’22

The Iowa Biogenous Award – Shreya Khullar ’22

The Iowa Biotechnological Association Scholarship – Shreya Khullar ’22

Grand prize winner – Shreya Khullar ’22

Khullar will go on to compete at the International Science Fair.