Riverwood Charter Students Shine At State Science Fair

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The competition is fierce to make it to the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) and Riverwood International Charter School proudly sent four projects and seven students to the 2019 state event.

Congratulations goes to sophomore Viha Umashankar for receiving both the Tellus Future Science Stars Award and the GSEF Best in Category Award for her “Wind Works” project. Fellow sophomores Alexandra Abbott and Madeline Chen took home Tellus Future Stars Awards as alternates for their project “Going Green 1 Step at a Time.” Also presenting at the 71st annual state-wide fair in Athens were Sacha Sims, Ashley Wang, Macy Medlin Hall and Summer Sun.

In January, science fair projects filled the Riverwood Tournament Gym and students anxiously waited to learn if they would advance to the regional competition. Six Riverwood projects qualified for the Fulton Regional Science & Engineering Fair in February, and of those, four projects advanced to the state competition. Held in the Classic Center in Athens over three days in March, the GSEF is Georgia’s premier forum for students to showcase their original research, compete for awards, and interact with top-level professional scientists.

In addition to qualifying for GSEF, the “Going Green 1 Step at a Time” project earned an invitation to the Georgia Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

Madeline Chen presented the “Going Green...” results at the Symposium in February at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education. She was one of only 60 students statewide to receive a request to present results of original scientific, engineering, or mathematics research before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers.

The students were supported throughout the process by Riverwood science teacher and Science Fair coordinator, Lakshmi Anumukonda.