Whiz Kid: Sriteja Venigalla

Name:  Sriteja Venigalla

School:  Eighth-grader at Eyer Middle School

Accomplishment: He won first place in the Botany Division of the Region 3 science fair for the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, which includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties. 

Key to Awesomeness:   Sriteja’s science fair project was titled the “Effects of Detergent & Absorbents on Soybean Plant Growth in Soils Contaminated with Spent Engine Oils.”  In his experiment, he discovered “that detergent washing of the contaminated soil improved seed germination significantly.  However, it did not help plant growth because the soap was toxic to the plants,” he said.  Sriteja found that even though he could clean up the soil, the detergent still affected the plant growth in a negative way.

His favorite subjects in school are math and science.  In his spare time, Sriteja enjoys playing baseball and basketball with his friends.

Following graduation, he would like to pursue a career in the field of athletics, either as a player, coach or a trainer, but at this time hasn’t decided where he wants to attend college.