Students at Merryhill Elementary & Middle School in Milpitas Present Multiple Winning Projects at County Science Fair

Students at Merryhill Elementary & Middle School in Milpitas recently won four awards at the Santa Clara Synopsys Science and Technology Championship, which included 1,150 projects from schools throughout the county. The winning projects from sixth, seventh and eighth grade students explored physical science and biological science topics, including the use of washing machine water to contribute to effective irrigation systems, and how to develop a building resistant to earthquakes. The winning projects were:

• “Go Grey – Laundry to Landscape Irrigation System,” by eighth grade students Anika Rajendra Bhatia, Sahana Rajmohan and Sruthi Ramesh Kumar, which received first place in the physical science and engineering category;
• “Saline Hydroponics,” by sixth grade student Emma Lenchenkova, which received first place in the biological science and engineering category;
• “Creating an Earthquake-Resistant Building,” by seventh grade students Diya Kaur Dhindsa, Nina Phatak and Aru Rastogi, which received first place in the special awards category for civil engineering;
• “Let the Light Decide – testing the compositions of common household liquids using a homemade SpectroPhotoMeter,” by seventh grade student Ushoshi Basumallick which received an honorable mention in the physical science category.

Projects “Saline Hydroponics” and “Go Grey – Laundry to Landscape Irrigation System” both qualify to enter the National Broadcom MASTERS competition, which takes place in early fall. The Synopsys Science and Technology Championship showcases students in the Santa Clara County of California who will become future scientists, technology experts, engineers and mathematicians. The regional competition celebrates achievement by middle and high school students supported by their parents, teachers and schools.