Among the finalists at the 2020 American Samoa Island Wide Science Fair were three students supported by the University of Hawai‘i WRRC in part or as needed through mentoring, funding, access to equipment, or data material. These three outstanding finalists focused their research on the sustainability of American Samoa’s water resources: overall co-winner Victor Chen, who used WRRC data for his project “Calculating Evapotranspiration on Tutuila Island with Python”; third-place winner Jade Cox for “Stormwater Infiltration Injection Well”; and finalist Mavis Liang for “How Much Water Can American Samoa Sustainably Harvest from Its Streams?”
The Science Fair is a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) related competition to inspire young scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future and presents a venue to showcase academic excellence. The top ninth to twelfth grade winners in their categories were eligible to represent American Samoa at the 2020 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Anaheim, California. Due to COVID restrictions, the 2020 Regeneron ISEF fair was held virtually. In a normal competitive year, Regeneron ISEF finalists vie for almost $5 million in awards, prizes, and scholarships. While no awards were given in 2020, Victor Chen was among the 1,300 finalists who were honored in the online publication of the 2020 Virtual Regeneron ISEF.
The virtual 2020 Regeneron ISEF finalist directory can be viewed here and includes the American Samoa winners Victor Chen, Vincent Maverick Jagon (Determining the Effects of Natural Mulching Components on Bok-Choy Plant Growth), and Yasminna Sanchez (The Impacts of Human Habitation on the Health Condition of Variations of Fish Caught in Industrialized vs. Non-Industrialized Watershed Areas).
The full article can be found here.