Broadcom MASTERS 2014 Finalists

Students raise signs during the research quiz competition portion of the workshop. Photo courtesy of Abien Fred Agarap.

Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public (SSP) are proud to announce the selection of 30 students as finalists in the fourth annual Broadcom MASTERS®– the nation’s most prestigious Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition for middle school students.

The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars) winners will be named on October 28 in Washington, D.C., after completion of a rigorous competition that tests their abilities in STEM subjects, teamwork and collaboration. Congratulations to these 30 finalists, and to the 2,054 outstanding applicants for sharing their work this year.

2014 Finalist Book

Finalist Overview:

The finalists include 12 girls and 18 boys covering 13 states and representing 29 schools. California has the most finalists with seven, followed by Florida with five, Oregon with four and Pennsylvania with three.
Finalists were selected by a panel of distinguished scientists and engineers from among 300 semifinalists and 2,054 applicants representing 46 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

Abdulla, Muhammad Grade: 8
Melbourne, FL
West Shore Jr./Sr. High School
Project Title: Deterministic and Stochastic Analysis in Biomedical Engineering: Fractal Geometry vs. Brownian Motion

Behari, Nikhil Grade: 8
Sewickley, PA
Ingomar Middle School
Project Title: Latencies, Haptics, & Passwords

Bruce, Daniel Grade: 8
San Diego, CA
The Rhoades School
Project Title: Flight Initiation Distance: Human Presence Impacts on Lagoon Bird Response

Chrepta, Benjamin Grade: 8
Rochester, MN
Friedell Middle School
Project Title: Improving and Testing Robotic Arm Kinesthetics with the Use of Processing, Kinect, and Arduino

Courtney, Joshua Grade: 8
Baton Rouge, LA
Carmel Hill School
Project Title: Condition Factors in Fish as Bioindicators of Oyster Over-harvesting in the Calcasieu Estuary

Das, Arnob Grade: 8
Portland, OR
Stoller Middle School
Project Title: A Novel Biocompatible Medical Implant Material

Deng, Leo Grade: 8
Portland, OR
ACCESS Academy
Project Title: Development of Forest Fire Prediction Tool for the State of Oregon

Edmonds, Caroline Grade: 7
Fountain Valley, CA
Talbert Middle School
Project Title: Blink and Run: Flashlight Fish

Freyer, Linus Grade: 8
Pinecrest, FL
George Washington Carver Middle School
Project Title: Who Wants to Eat Horse?: Accuracy of Meat Declaration in Lasagna

Ganesh, Raghav Grade: 6
San Jose, CA
Joaquin Miller Middle School
Project Title: A Low Cost, Adoptable, User Tested Add-on Device for the White Cane Facilitating Safer Mobility of the Visually Impaired

Gates, Makayla Grade: 6
Peralta, NM
Peralta Elementary School
Project Title: Acoustic Levitation: The Wave of the Future

Giedraitis, Alden Grade: 8
Byfield, MA
Triton Middle School
Project Title: Project A.I.P: An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Navigation

Greenwood, Floyd Grade: 7
Andover, MA
Andover West Middle School
Project Title: Selectively Breeding Nannochloropsis Microalgae to Become a Healthier Feed Stock for Freshwater Rotifers

Jackson, Holly Grade: 8
San Jose, CA
Old Orchard School
Project Title: Sewing Science

Jain, Aditya Grade: 8
Portland, OR
Stoller Middle School
Project Title: It’s a Matter of Life & Breath: An Improved Automated Diagnostic Tool for Lung Cancer Solitary Pulmonary Nodules (SPN) Detection towards Population Based Screening

Jaymes, Gelsey Grade: 7
Mount Pleasant, SC
Porter-Gaud School
Project Title: No More Oyster Roasts?: Effect of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Oysters

Khashayar, Sahar Grade: 8
Laguna Niguel, CA
Fairmont Private School
Project Title: Wildfire Early Warning System using Computer Science

Movva, Rajiv Grade: 8
San Jose, CA
The Harker School (Middle Campus)
Project Title: Preventing Excessive Blood Sugar Levels in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: An in vitro Inhibition Mechanism of Alpha-Amylase with Flavonoids

Murali, Chythanya Grade: 8
Little Rock, AR
LISA Academy
Project Title: Saving the Aquatic Ecosystem from Oil Spill Cleaning Agents: A Non-Conventional Approach

Nolan, Caroline Grade: 8
Stuart, FL
Stuart Middle School
Project Title: Filtering Agricultural Effluent with Fungal Mycelium

Okasinski, Jonathan Grade: 7
Harleysville, PA
Pennfield Middle School
Project Title: To See or Not to See: A Foray into DIY Quantum Entanglement

Ostojic, Annie Grade: 6
Munster, IN
Wilbur Wright Middle School
Project Title: Wave Goodbye to Energy Loss

Roney, James Grade: 8
Santa Barbara, CA
Goleta Valley Junior High School
Project Title: Can Ant Pheromones Communicate Food Quality?

Saeed, Hafsa Grade: 8
Fort Pierce, FL
Lincoln Park Academy
Project Title: Nitrogen Levels from the Agricultural Fields to the Indian River Lagoon

Shelby, Alexander Grade: 8
Fishers, IN
Hamilton Southeastern Junior High School
Project Title: Gre-Cycling

Sivakumar, Aditya Grade: 8
Beaverton, OR
International Connections Academy
Project Title: An Acoustical Investigation of Western Classical Music Theory

Terzian, Talar Grade: 7
Gainesville, FL
Howard W. Bishop Middle School
Project Title: Churn It Up: Off-the-Grid Laundry Agitators

Urban, Annika Grade: 7
Pittsburgh, PA
Dorseyville Middle School, Fox Chapel Area School District
Project Title: The Stethophone

Wu, Katherine Grade: 8
North Potomac, MD
Takoma Park Middle School
Project Title: A Driver’s Companion: Using EEG Waves and Eye Blinks to Prevent Drowsy Driving

Young, Liam Grade: 7
Colorado Springs, CO
The Classical Academy
Project Title: The Bubble Effect: How Nozzle Induced Cavitation Reduces Surface Drag on Water Vessels