45th Science Fair winners recognized at ceremony 

The University of Guam recognized the winners of the 45th Guam Annual Island Wide Science Fair in an awarding ceremony held Sunday, April 30, at the Hilton Guam Resort and Spa. 

More than 300 students from Guam and the CNMI submitted entries to the competition. Out of the entries, the judging panel selected the following overall and division winners: 

  • Andrew Kang from John F. Kennedy High School (1st Place Overall, High School Division Winner), PROJECT: “Invisible Groundwater Discharge Patterns Across Tumon Bay, Guam: Discovery of Vital Habitats Sustained by Tumon Bay Karst Watershed Discharges from an Uplifted Carbonate Aquifer.” 
  • Angel Payumo from George Washington High School (2nd Place Overall, NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance Winner), PROJECT: “Understanding the Role of Coral Pigmentation in Response to Coral Bleaching.” 
  • Kailee Wong from St John’s School (1st Place, Middle School Division), PROJECT: “Artocarpus Atilis Hydrogel: The making of Super absorbent polymer with Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), Aluminum Sulfate and Dehydrated Breadfruit.” 
  • Inina Harrison from St. Anthony Catholic School (1st Place, Upper Elementary Division), PROJECT: “Bees on Guam.” 
  • Riley Zephyr Mortera from Wettengel Elementary School (1st Place, Primary Grades Division). PROJECT: “Mag Lev Train: Magnetic Poles.” 

As overall winners, Kang and Payumo will be representing Guam at the 2023 International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, Texas. 

For his project, Kang conducted surveys on groundwater patterns and coral growth in Tumon Bay, noting that millions of gallons of freshwater are discharged into the bay daily. During his research, he found critically endangered staghorn corals close to shore. So, he concluded that salinity values and PH levels of the freshwater discharges impact coral growth. 

“We all know that Tumon Bay is important to Guam’s economy. There is not enough research on it. What I found is that we have these many coral colonies that are getting sustained here. The practical applications of these would be, why don’t we protect these corals? Why don’t we plant more corals in this area where freshwater is coming out of?” Kang said. 

Kang received mentorship from UOG Marine Lab Associate Professor/Sea Grant researcher Peter Houk, PhD.  

Meanwhile, Payumo’s project looked at heat stress on coral reefs and its implication to reef restoration. “For my experiment, I focused on the color of the corals and how they react to warm water temperature, also known as coral bleaching and how it connects to climate change,” she said. 

UOG Associate Professor of Bioinformatics/EPSCoR Science Co-Lead for Genomes Research Objectives and Cyberinfrastructure Bastian Bentlage, PhD and EPSCoR Research Associate Colin Lock mentored Payumo. 

UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, Guam Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the NSF-INCLUDES programs helped organized the event.  

UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton, PhD, said “We had some excellent winners this year. Our top winners had to do with coral reefs. I think that is really special as we are taking them off-island to the international science fair. So, people would be able to see the unique environment and the unique challenges and creativity to address those things through these science fair projects.” 

This year’s fair also received corporate support from partners such as Marianas Energy Corporation, IP&E Shell, Megabyte, and United Airlines. 

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