As a longstanding partner of the Northern Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NIRSEF), ND Energy provided judges and awards for energy-related projects during its annual competition. On Saturday, February 27, six undergraduate students interacted virtually with area high school and middle school presenters using the platform Gather.Town.
Four awards were presented by ND Energy to the top two projects in each of the high school and middle school categories. The winners were:
- Anna Kelley, high school student at Trinity School at Greenlawn, for her project titled, “High Energy-Low Cost Plasma Device for Chemical Degradation”.
- May Weston, high school student at Marian High School, for her project titled, “What type of bioplastic creates the most durable biodegradable water bottle?”.
- Joseph Hunckler, eighth grader at St. Matthew Cathedral, for his study of the pitch of windmill blades.
- John Gutierrez, eighth grader at Schmucker, who compared the performance of solar versus traditional batteries in solar cars.
The judges were impressed with the quality of each project, especially given the added challenge students had to face due to COVID-19 restrictions and having intermittent or no in-person guidance.
ND Energy would like to thank the following SEB members for their time interacting with students and serving as judges: Eva Homberger, Emma Kerr, Kelly Moran, Robert “RJ” Myers, Michelena O’Rourke, and Mackenzie Winton.