NASA Competition Won By Anne Arundel County Student For Asteroid Research

Press release from Anne Arundel County Public School:

August 4, 2022

North County High School 2022 graduate Dominic Alfinito’s star shined brightly at a recent forum sponsored by NASA, so much so that he took first place for his effort in a student poster competition that explained research into hydration patterns on the Oppia crater.

Alfinito, who competed against other high school, college undergraduate, and college graduate students, also explained the research behind his project, “Possible Causes of Hydration of Vesta’s Oppia Crater,” at the NASA Exploration Science Forum (ESF) at the University of Colorado late last month. The project was the highest scoring research project of the 2021–2022 Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students (ExMASS) program.

Dr. Parvathy Prem of the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University, and North County High School teacher Michelle Hymowitz advised Alfinito on the project.

“Dominic gained invaluable experience from explaining his research to other interested scientists as well as from learning about other current research going on in the space exploration field right now,” Hymowitz said. “Networking is so important in almost any scientific field.”

ExMASS is a high school research program managed by the Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE). It is designed to enhance interest in the process of science, foster positive attitudes toward science, and enhance lunar and asteroid science knowledge.

“For a decade, the ExMASS program has provided an authentic, student-driven research experience for high school students,” said Andy Shaner, ExMASS program lead and Senior Education Specialist at the LPI. “The student research presented at this year’s NASA ESF demonstrates the high-quality scientific work high school students are capable of producing when given the opportunity.”

Dominic plans to study Physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

This press release was produced by Anne Arundel County Public School. The views expressed here are the author’s own.