4 Marlboro Memorial MS Students Win $10K In Science Contest

MARLBORO, NJ - Four young Marlboro residents were named the winners of a national science competition for their project to reduce environmental harm and cost during rocket launches.

As part of a team, the four winners were awarded first place in the Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Challenge in the 7-9 grade division of the national competition.

Dubbed the “Mag-Launcher,” short for Magnetic Repulsion Rocket Launcher, the project engineered by Marlboro Memorial Middle School students Suchit Basineni, Minghan Li, Ayan Patel and Pranshu Suyal won the $10,000 first place prize. The team was coached by science educator Samantha Pagliaro. The launcher is described as a reusable system designed to reduce the cost of launching rockets while causing “minimal” damage to the environment. Instead of requiring fuel, the Mag-Launcher employs electromagnets to accelerate rockets.

The four students, who all plan to attend High Technology High School, were presented with a virtual ceremony featuring television personality Bill Nye The Science Guy. Seven other winning projects explored solutions from eco-friendly diapers to technology protecting bees from pesticides.

“It is anticipated that with the introduction of this technology, a new era of scientific discovery and advancement will occur, revolving around space,” the project’s website reads. “With the arrival [of] the Mag-Launcher, the amount of material able to be shipped will increase many times over, and so will the rate of progress. Bigger and better space stations, probes, and rovers will suddenly become plausible. Scientific experiments requiring very large equipment can be performed.”

“With this influx of knowledge, it is very possible that human life will change. On a small scale, new inventions and technologies will improve the quality of life. Research may yield new materials that could only be discovered in low gravity. However, in the grand scheme of things, the hope that space travel might actually become reality is what is truly significant.”

To view the full list of winners, click here.