Students from the Grand Avenue Middle School Science Research Program recently earned top honors at the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge Science & Engineering Fair.  

On March 12, eight teams traveled to Crest Hollow Country Club to compete against teams representing 16 middle schools from across Long Island. 

Hailey Hecht and Elizabeth Ziegler earned first place for their project, “Which brand of hyaluronic acid, CVS brand or CeraVe, is most effective at increasing the regeneration rate of Dugesia tigrina?” With their victory, the pair is now eligible to compete in the national Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge. 

Two teams captured second place honors. Katie Lin and Sarah Wu presented their project, “How does Streptomyces griseus and Rhizobium leguminosarum affect the plant growth of Pisum sativum?” Another team—James Mao, Osague Ogbahan, and Scarlet Yin—earned second place for their research project, “What is the effect of neodymium magnets on the magnetoreception of Drosophila melanogaster?” 

Additional recognition went to Daniel Pilott, who received an Honorable Mention for his solo project, “What is the effect of aluminum sulfate octadecahydrate on the growth and regeneration of Dugesia tigrina?” Another Honorable Mention was awarded to Eftihios Bakaloudis, Luciano DeMarino, and Michael Wu for their project, “How do synthetic fertilizers such as Miracle-Gro versus organic fertilizers such as Dr. Earth affect the growth of Ocimum basilicum, also known as Genovese basil?” 

The Grand Avenue Middle School Science Research Team conducts its experiments under the guidance of science teacher Tami Cruz. The students will next showcase their research at the upcoming Long Island Science Congress on April 20.