Posted by IGDVS Staff

On Saturday, March 15, 2025, our school participated in the 39th Annual Mendocino County Science and Engineering & STEAM Expo at Mendocino College in Ukiah, California. The event showcased a wide range of scientific projects from students across the county, and our students stood out with their innovative and impressive work.

Many of our students earned top honors at the event, taking home first, second, and third places in their categories. Their projects demonstrated excellent research, creativity, and presentation skills, impressing judges and peers alike.

First Place:

• Celeste Zhou, Sherry Wu: “Rooting for Success: Exploring the Best Soil for Plant Growth”
• Aarya Desai, Sophia Hemiberg and Cameron Foo: “Food Waste to Eco-Friendly Plastic”
• Song-Wen Young: “The Neuroscience of Addiction”
• Leo Wang: “In-Silico Structure Analysis on Interactions Between Amyloid-Beta 42 Variants and Lecanemab”
• Selene Luong, Emily Tan: “Smart Structures, Greener Spaces: Designing Sustainable Homes and Communities”
• Matthew Wong, “Smart Traffic Light Simulation”
  

Second Place:

• Michelle Jin, Claire Yu, Ellee Wang, and Nancy Jiang: “Which Laundry Detergent Works the Best?”
• Toshiyoi Majima, “Emulsome Gel-Mediated Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Anticancer Drug”

Third Place:

• Iris Wei and Lan Pham: “Creek Change”

In an exciting development, five students advanced to the 74th Annual California Science & Engineering Fair, which will take place in April in Southern California. This achievement is a testament to their hard work and dedication. These state qualifiers will now represent our school at the upcoming event:

• “In-Silico Structure Analysis on Interactions Between Amyloid-Beta 42 Variants and Lecanemab” by Leo Wang
• “Emulsome Gel-Mediated Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Anticancer Drug” by Toshiyoi Majima
• “Food Waste to Eco-Friendly Plastic” by Sophia Heimberg, Aarya Desai and Cameron Foo

Special Award Winners:

The South Ukiah Rotary Achievement in Scientific Methodology Award
Project showing exemplary efforts by the participant in data collection & methodology:
Toshiyoi Majima, Project: Emulsome Gel-Mediated Enhanced Transdermal Delivery of Anticancer Drug

Out of This World Award
Awarded to student projects that show exceptional scientific inquiry in the Category of Earth and Space:
Ella Ng, Sage Nguyen, Alysha Seng, Project: Eutrophication

Award for Excellence in Engineering from Professional Engineers in California Government
Matthew Wong, Project: Smart Traffic Light Simulation

In addition, all students received ribbons for their science projects:

IGDVS 2025 Science Fair Award Recipients

The Mendocino County Science and Engineering & STEAM Expo highlighted the diversity and depth of scientific inquiry among our students, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. We wish our state qualifiers the best of luck as they compete at the California Science & Engineering Fair!

Special thanks to Mrs. Rose Young, our science coordinator, the teachers who supported students with the science fair and the event: Mrs. Kelly Lam-Chong, Dr. Jose Vega, Mrs. Carla Lee, Ms. Ashley Huynh, Ms. Rita Yee and Mr. Jason Wu. A heartfelt thank you as well to our DRBU community member who served as judges: Ms. Yidan Wang, Ms. Saipriya Vallabi, Ms. Tsering Dickyi, and Mr. Ben Sandel.

Congratulations to All Participants and Winners!