East Hartford, CT — The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) held its Annual Dinner on May 28 at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The evening honored several guests, including student awardees from leading Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) competitions in Connecticut.
CASE provided and supported fourteen awards this year, with thirteen individual middle and high school students recognized for their scientific accomplishments over the past year. Alongside displaying their invention and/or research to members and guests during the Annual Dinner’s reception, students were celebrated for their incredible achievements across Connecticut’s STEMM competitions this school year.
Connecticut Invention Convention CASE Awardees
Sriyan Desiraju, FocusGuard, Grade7
Lucksiya Kannan, CozRead, Grade 8
Nicolas Peach, Accu Hole Driller, Grade 8
June Steffenson, Safe Swap Smoke Detector, Grade 8
Julia Verses, PoppBottle, Grade 8
Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair — Gerber Medal
Life Science: Srinidhi Karthik, South Windsor High School
Targeting Telomerase Activity in Malignant Cancer Cells: RNA Interference and Enzymatic Inhibition to Induce Growth Arrest, Senescence, and Block Metastatic Dissemination
Physical Science: Cooper Taylor, Greenwich Country Day School
Optimizing Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Aircraft Efficiency Through Propeller Design: Making Air Flight More Accessible, Affordable, and Sustainable
Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair — Urban School Challenge
Middle School: Mackenzie Cooper, Westside Middle School
The Benefit of a Coded Device to Water Plants Automatically
High School: Ethan Joseph, Engineering and Science University Magnet School
Implementation and Validation of a Novel Machine-Learning-Based Mobile Gyrocardiography System for Arrhythmia Detection
Junior Science and Humanities Fair
First Place: Lula Wang, Greenwich High School
Lipid-Based Codelivery of Doxorubicin and siRNA PD-L1, as a Multifunction Chemoimmunotherapy, Selective to PDAC via its MUC1 Overexpression
Second Place: Cooper Taylor, Greenwich Country Day School
Next-Generation VTOL Drones: A Breakthrough in Tilt Mechanism and Modular Design for Optimization and Accessibility
Third Place: Rithvik Suren, CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering
Developing Autonomous and Adaptive Systems for Space-Exploration Robotics with Neuromorphic Frameworks and Artificial Intelligence
Fourth Place: Jingyan Liu, Choate Rosemary Hall
A Novel Mantis-Shrimp-Based Smart Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation
Fifth Place: William Boberski, Staples High School
The Effect of Diet Composition on Lifespan and Colorectal Cancer Progression in the Drosophila Midgut
CASE is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of these talented students, whose hard work and innovation represent the bright future of STEMM in our state. By recognizing their achievements today, we hope to inspire them—and others—to continue pursuing their passion for science and engineering and contribute to a stronger, more innovative Connecticut.
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