Southwest Florida middle school students compete successfully at national Science and Engineering event
For Immediate Release
Contact – Re: Thomas A. Edison Regional Science & Inventor Fairs– Media inquiries to
Lee Hughes, lee.hughes@edisonfairs.org or call 239-337-8315
Three Southwest Florida students who competed in this year’s Thomas Alva Edison Science and Inventors Fairs were selected as the “Top 300” in the 2020 Broadcom MASTERS competition – the nation’s premier Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition for middle school students. The Broadcom MASTERS, a program of the Society for Science & the Public, seeks to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators to solve the grand challenges of the 21st century. The Top 300 MASTERS were selected from the largest pool of applicants the competition has seen, with 3,476 students from 42 states and Puerto Rico applying to be a Broadcom MASTER.
Each of the Top 300 MASTERS will receive a $125 award from DoD STEM. With this new prize, the Department of Defense continues its support of youth in STEM, working towards a more diverse pipeline of highly qualified STEM professionals in the future.
The three students competing successfully and who achieved this honor were:
Nishini Fernando, 6th Grade, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Fort Myers – Project Title: Plastic Puddles: How Do Microplastics Affect the Rate of Sea Ice Melting?. Nishini was a 1st Place Category Award Winner and Special Award Winner during the 2020 Kiwanis Regional Science Fair.
Michaela Fischer, 8th Grade, Canterbury School, Fort Myers – Project Title: Nature’s Filter: The Effect of Stropharia rugosoannulata Mycelium on the Nitrate and Phosphate Levels in Contaminated Runoff. Michaela was a 1st Place Category Award Winner, Special Award Winner, and Best of Fair – 2nd Runner-Up during the 2020 Kiwanis Regional Science Fair, and 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida finalist.
Mason Huffman, 6th Grade, Crestwell School, Fort Myers – Project Title: Optimizing the Electrode and Electrolyte of Saltwater Battery. Mason was a 1st Place Category Award Winner and Special Award Winner during the 2020 Kiwanis Regional Science Fair, and 2020 State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida finalist.
Please join us in congratulating these three outstanding STEM students in their national STEM recognition.
The Thomas A. Edison Regional Science and Inventor Fair (TAERSIF) Steering Committee works year-round to organize and conduct the Thomas Alva Edison Kiwanis Science and Engineering Fair, the Suncoast Credit Union Elementary Science Expo and the Thomas A. Edison Festival of Light Regional Inventors Fair that host 1,500 local students. Key partners of TAERSIF include the Fort Myers Kiwanis, Lee County and Charlotte County Public Schools, numerous private and parochial schools, Florida Gulf Coast University, the Edison Festival of Light, Florida Southwestern State College, Hodges University, the James and Eleanor Newton Scholarships, Sony Electronics, Inc., Imagine Solutions Conference, Daitch Family Foundation, Caloosa Bromeliad Society, The IMAG History and Science Center, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Pure Florida, Caloosa Veterinary Medical Society, Florida Power and Light, Doug MacGregor, The Edison Pageant of Light, the Entrepreneurs Society of Naples, the Scientist Society of Southwest Florida, Lee Memorial Health Systems, the Lee County Medical Society and numerous private donors and volunteers.