HDSB students win dozens of prizes at science and engineering fair

NEWS RELEASE
HALTON DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
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Halton District School Board students, including a Grade 8 Burlington duo, performed well during the 64th annual Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF), which was held late March-early April at Mohawk College in Hamilton. 

Of the 154 HDSB entries at BASEF, 70 projects earned awards with cash prizes totaling $17,500 and scholarships totaling $81,000, as a result of the generous participation of dozens of sponsors and charitable donors.

In addition, two projects are advancing to the International Science & Engineering Fair and five projects are advancing to the Canada Wide Science Fair.

Primary Fluid Systems Best in Fair Pinnacle Award

• Maya LeBlanc, Grade 11 student at Abbey Park High School, for the project, Analysis of CD16+, CD16- and CD4+ T Cells to Identify Novel Gene Signatures and Diagnostics for SLE. LeBlanc qualifies for the International Science & Engineering Fair (May 11-17, 2024, Los Angeles, California) and the Canada Wide Science Fair (May 25-June 2 in Ottawa)

Primary Fluid Systems Second Best in Fair Pinnacle Award

• Anthony Efthimiadis, Grade 9 student at Oakville Trafalgar High School, for the project, Instant Skin Cancer Diagnosis: AI Hybrid Neural Networks with Precise Evolution Tracking. Efthimiadis qualifies for the International Science & Engineering Fair Trip (May 11-17, 2024, Los Angeles, California)

Canada-Wide Science Fair Awards:

• Shangyi Zhang, Grade 11 student at White Oaks Secondary School, for the project, A Two-Modal Robot for Adaptability in Diverse Environments With Rolling Locomotion and Walking Gait

• Evan Budz, Grade 8 student at Charles R. Beaudoin Public School in Burlington, for the project, Virtual Lifeguard: A Novel AI Approach to Drowning Prevention

• Daniyal Qazi and Zayn Qazi, Grade 7 students at W.H. Morden Public School, for the project, From Pixels to Predictions: A Deep Learning Method to Detect Pneumonia in Chest X-Ray Images

• Imran Allarakhia and Mithru Naidu, Grade 8 students at W.H. Morden Public School, for the project, LiquiViz: Adaptive AI for 3D Object Detection and Semantic Segmentation in Vision Impairment Devices

BASEF provides students with opportunities to explore their interests in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Visit basef.ca for more information.

“The Halton District School Board is very proud of our students, not just for the amazing results they achieved but for the hard work, determination and innovative thinking they showed by participating in BASEF,” says Nick Frankovich, superintendent of education with responsibility for learning and achievement.

“These impressive achievements serve as an inspiration to us all and demonstrate the incredible potential of young minds in shaping the future of science and technology. This competition has helped bring to life the HDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan by promoting innovative strategies that connect learning to the world and prepare our students for a dynamic future.”

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