Young Lamorinda Student Earns Science Award

LAMORINDA, CA — Three Contra Costa County students won awards at the 71st annual California Science & Engineering Fair held last month.

In the Junior Division, Lucas Katz-Carreno’s project, “Mini Marine Rescue Vessel System,” placed second in the Applied Mechanics and Structures category. He also won the $100 Lemelson Early Inventor Award, given to the best young inventor creating a promising solution to real world problems. The Lemelson Foundation sponsored the award in partnership with the Society for Science.

The eighth-grader at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School is eligible for the Broadcom MASTERS competition taking place in October.

There were over 850 participants who presented 720 projects from throughout the state at the competition.

"Congratulations to these students for their placement at the California Science Fair," Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey said. "It is a great accomplishment to be able to stand out among so many from around the state. And congratulations to their schools, teachers and community that have supported them along the way and continue to foster their interest in science."

The other winners are Neel Redkar, an 11th grader at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon who won first place in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Senior Division category. His project was titled, “CarbNN: A Novel Active Transfer Learning Neural Network to Build De Novo Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Carbon Capture.”

Receiving honorable mention recognition was Tristan Dos Santos Getas, a seventh grader from Fred T. Korematsu Middle School in El Cerrito with a project titled, “Does the Number of Fins Affect the Altitude Reached By a Rocket?”

A full list of awards for The California Science & Engineering Fair is available online. Some $60,000 was awarded to students.