South Dakota
Mines hosted the 68th annual High Plains Regional Science and Engineering Fair in the King
Center on campus from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
The fair included 6-12th grade students
from schools across the
region. This year, there were 359 total projects: 331 in the junior division and
28 in the senior division. A total of 433 students were in attendance with 400
in the junior division and 33 in the senior division. Ten schools were in
attendance.
6th Grade Winners
Biological Sciences Category
1st Fluoride Yay or Nay?
By: Megan Markovetz from Spearfish Middle School
2nd Clean-ish Kitchen
By: Natalie Schutz from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Morning Glory
By: Rylee Greub from Spearfish Middle School
4th Better Batteries
By: Archer Bordewyk from St. Thomas More Middle School
5th Does Exercise Affect Blood Oxygen Levels in People?
By: Brooke Waseen from Spearfish Middle School
Engineering Category
1st Which design of bridge is the strongest?
By: Gracelyn Bordewyk from Spearfish Middle School
2nd The Quicker Picker Upper
By: Trinity Hourigan from Black Hills Christian Academy
3rd How does changing the weight of a rocket effect its time of flight
By: Jackson Sullivan from St. Thomas More Middle School
4th The Changing Wave
By: Drexel Pritchard from Spearfish Middle School
5th How does the shape and angle of an airplane wing affect lift?
By: Gabriel George from St. Thomas More Middle School
Physical Sciences Category
1st Air Pressure
By: Marley Mosset from Spearfish Middle School
2nd How does a rocks porosity and permeability affect the amount of oil a rock can hold
By: Mehcaid Carlson from Spearfish Middle School
3rd How does the use of soil impact the amount of moisture it keeps in
By: Regan Miller from Spearfish Middle School
4th The Rate of Crystallization from Liquid to Rock Candy
By: Drayton Lerew from Spearfish Middle School
5th How Far Can Beach Balls Go With Different Gases Inside?
By: Keagan Gerlick from St. Thomas More Middle School
Social Sciences Category
1st Does sight affect taste
By: Kinsley Hall from Spearfish Middle School
2nd Hot Sauce Obliterator
By: John Morris from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Stroop Effect: Will Words Warp your Mind?
By: Ryan Keller from Spearfish Middle School
4th I'm Feelin' Yellow
By: Mckenzie Rans from Newell Middle School
5th Does color affect memory
By: Hallie Millar from St. Thomas More Middle School
7th Grade Winners
Biological Sciences Category
1st Scent Tracking Behavior of Nuevo Leon Kingsnakes
By: Quan Harper from St. Thomas More Middle School
2nd Under Pressure
By: Tylee Tetrault from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Area Water Sampling
By: Henry Forstner and Dawson Obritsch from St. Thomas More Middle School
4th Lichen or Not
By: Brianne Katzenstein from St. Thomas More Middle School
5th Work Out Sugar Count
By: Ellen Palmer from St. Thomas More Middle School
Engineering Category
1st Solar Powered Water Desalination
By: Lava Coin and Rylee Bingham from Spearfish Middle School
2nd Tensegrity: The Principal Behind Our Success
By: Leila Riker-Acevedo and Viana Shahbazi from St. Thomas More Middle School
3rd How does welding work and what works best?
By: Parker Lee from Belle Fourche Middle School
4th Breaking Point
By: Gus Haivala from Spearfish Middle School
5th ...And The Tower Came Tumbling Down
By: Elijah Nies from Spearfish Middle School
Physical Sciences Category
1st Good Bye Eggs
By: Ailie Fischer from Spearfish Middle School
2nd I'm Melting!!!
By: Lauren Dagit from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Stop the Pain!!!
By: Abby Hach and Baely Bitterman from Spearfish Middle School
4th Pellet Penetration
By: Porter Evans from Spearfish Middle School
5th Wonder Fuel for Fire
By: Tanner Gottlob from Spearfish Middle School
Social Sciences Category
1st Reaction Time
By: Makayla Bensen from Spearfish Middle School
2nd Does The Color Of Food Affect Whether We Like It Or Not?
By: Charleigh Silvernagel from Belle Fourche Middle School
3rd Don't Be Like Dory
By: Kenadi Hayford and Taylor English from Spearfish Middle School
4th Does the color of food matter
By: Emme Johnson and Liv Johnson from Spearfish Middle School
5th Does Personality Influence Short-Term Memory?
By: Lauren Poeppel from St. Thomas More Middle School
8th Grade Winners
Biological Sciences Category
1st How Dose Age Affect Antler Growth?
By: Misty Drieling from Belle Fourche Middle School
2nd You Are What You Eat
By: River Doyle and Julianna Fast Dog from Todd County Middle School
3rd Composting Commotion
By: Keelie Whalen from St. Thomas More Middle School
4th What is the Best Remedy for Spice?
By: Paxton Luong from Belle Fourche Middle School
5th Dissolving Pills
By: Gladson Fernandes from Todd County Middle School
Engineering Category
1st The Spotlights on Ethylene
By: Riley Storm from Spearfish Middle School
2nd The Effects of Parachute Materials
By: Henry Burnitt from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Better Bridges
By: Hannah Sandgren from Spearfish Middle School
4th Can you make electricity at home?
By: Boe Rhoden from Spearfish Middle School
5th Bake the Potato
By: Vincent Van Liere and Brennen Weaver from St. Thomas More Middle School
Physical Sciences Category
1st Effects on size/shape of a parachutes
By: Esten Biegert from Spearfish Middle School
2nd Magnetic Metals
By: Caiden Nankivel from Spearfish Middle School
3rd Cell Phones & Electromagnetic Fields
By: Meadow Reinders, Wounsina Homer and Casandra Sharpfish from Todd County Middle School
4th Go Bananas
By: Olivia Purcell from Spearfish Middle School
5th Which Water Is Cleanest
By: Alayah Britton from Spearfish Middle School
Social Sciences Category
1st What Will Clean Blood Out of Cotton?
By: Weston Carlson from Spearfish Middle School
2nd The Trolley Problem Re-Revisited
By: Vinh Harper from St. Thomas More Middle School
3rd The Off-Brand
By: Audrina Gustafson from Spearfish Middle School
4th I Don't Believe My Eyes
By: Gabi Johnson and Ella Vallette from St. Thomas More Middle School
5th Sleep Debunked
By: Lydia Schutz from Spearfish Middle School
9th, 10th, 11th and 12 Grade Winners
Biological Sciences Category
1st Degeneration of Vitamin C in Fruits
By: Shay Kraft from Timber Lake High School
2nd Finding a Correlation Between Physical and Mental Health Phase 2
By: Natalie Gross from Timber Lake High School
3rd Heartrates of Horses
By: Kenlea Heck from Timber Lake High School
Engineering Category
1st Ultrasonic Haptic Awareness
By: Shawn Quinn from Timber Lake High School
2nd Stealthy Shapes
By: Louis Rancour from Rancour
Physical Sciences Category
1st "Clean Snow" for drinking water vs. water quality test
By: Kendyl Locken from Timber Lake High School
2nd the change of earth's motion
By: Francesco Barbini from Timber Lake High School
3rd Home Radiation Analysis
By: Molly Miller from Timber Lake High School
Social Sciences Category
1st How Color is Linked to Taste
By: Meredith Maciejewski and Natalie Lawrence from Timber Lake High School
2nd Enhancing Memory While Doodling
By: Gabe Keller and Jordan Jones from Timber Lake High School
Special Awards
The American Psychological Association Award recognizes outstanding research in psychology science under the category of behavior and social sciences or any category related to psychology sciences, biochemistry computer science, environmental science, mathematical science, medicine, and health.
Winner: Natalie Gross, Finding a Correlation Between Physical and Mental Health Phase 2, Timber Lake High School
The Association of Women Geoscientists Award is given to.a female student whose project exemplifies high standards of innovativeness and scientific excellence in the geosciences.
Winner: Rylee Bingham & Lava Coin, Solar Powered Water Desalination, Spearfish Middle School
The Environmental Protection Agency Award is presented to the project which best applies Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to research and solutions that aim to protect the environment and human health.
Winner: Chloe Crowser, Which Water Is The Safest To Drink?, Belle Fourche Middle School
The NASA Earth System Science Award is presented to the student who exhibited outstanding efforts with a project relating to earth systems.
Winner: Sophia Hatleli, Where Did All The Water Go?, Spearfish Middle School
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award goes to an individual whose research emphasizes NOAA's mission of science, service, and stewardship: to understand and predict change in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts; to share that knowledge and information with others; and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.
Winner: Elle Anderson, What are Weather Fronts, Belle Fourche Middle School
The Office of Naval Research is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering, and math initiatives and programs for our nation's young people and recognizes one senior and one junior division winner.
Junior Division Winner: Leila Riker-Acevedo & Viana Shahbazi, Tensegrity: The Principal Behind Our Success, St. Thomas More Middle School
Senior Division Winner: Shawn Quinn, Ultrasonic Haptic Awareness, Timber Lake High School
The Regeneron Biomedical Science Award is presented to an exceptional student scientist who not only demonstrates an impressive command of biomedical sciences but also embodies Regeneron's core values.
Winner: Natalie Gross, Finding a Correlation Between Physical and Mental Health Phase 2, Timber Lake High School
Ricoh Americas Corporation recognizes outstanding efforts in addressing issues of environmental responsibility and sustainable development in their science and engineering project with the Sustainable Development Award.
Winner: Rylee Bingham & Lava Coin, Solar Powered Water Desalination, Spearfish Middle School
The NASA South Dakota Space Grant Award is given to the top space-related project.
Winner: Rylee Bingham & Lava Coin, Solar Powered Water Desalination, Spearfish Middle School
The Society for In Vitro Biology Award is given to the most outstanding 11th grade student exhibiting in the areas of plant or animal in vitro biology or tissue culture.
Winner: Gracen Hansen, How Does Using Different Boiling Methods to Make Box Elder Maple Syrup Affect the Characteristics of the Syrup?, Timber Lake High School
The South Dakota Science Teachers Association Award is presented for excellence in the field of scientific research.
Winner: Esten Biegert, Effects on size/shape of a parachutes, Spearfish Middle School ·
The United States Agency for International Development is presented to the student or team project that has the potential to make an impact on addressing international development challenges.
Winner: Rylee Bingham & Lava Coin, Solar Powered Water Desalination, Spearfish Middle School
The U.S. Metric Association sponsors the SI Metric Award for a project that involves scientific measurements, and expresses those measurements consistently and correctly in SI metric.
Winner: Sophia Hatleli, Where Did All The Water Go?, Spearfish Middle School
The United States Air Force Research Laboratory is proud to support science, technology, engineering, and math initiatives for our nation's youth and recognizes one senior division winner.
Winner: Kendyl Locken, "Clean Snow" for drinking water vs. water quality test, Timber Lake High School
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition recognizes outstanding water-related research at the high school level.
Winner: Kendyl Locken, "Clean Snow" for drinking water vs. water quality test, Timber Lake High School
The Yale Science & Engineering Association, Inc., Award recognizes the most outstanding 11th grade project exhibiting in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Winner: Shawn Quinn, Ultrasonic Haptic Awareness, Timber Lake High School
The runner-up qualifier for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair was selected from the top-scoring projects in the senior division and will replace the first-place qualifier if for any reason the qualifier cannot attend the International Fair.
Runner-up qualifier: Shawn Quinn, Ultrasonic Haptic Awareness, Timber Lake High School
The first-place qualifier for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair is the student was chosen from the top-scoring projects in the senior division and will represent the High Plains Region on an all-expense paid trip to the international fair in Dallas, Texas in May.
First place qualifier: Louis Rancour, Stealthy Shapes, Wasta, SD