Ottawa, May 24, 2023 – Five Canadian high school students received seven awards at the world’s leading youth STEM project competition – the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Dallas, May 14 to 19. An eight-person team selected by Youth Science Canada (YSC) represented the country during the prestigious weeklong event.

Dallas, Texas –Team Canada competed at the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair from May 14 to 19. Members of Team Canada won seven awards including five Fourth Awards in various categories including biomedical engineering and robotics and intelligent machines. Representing Team Canada (from left to right) were Thomas Yang, Cindy Cheng, Tara Zhan, Aditya Dewan, Annabelle Rayson, Krish Modi, Max Du, and Keerthan Kamala Krishnamoorthy. Photo credit: Adelina Neilsen.

 

Annabelle Rayson, a Grade 12 student from Sarnia, Ontario, won two awards for her project on the analysis of Daphnia genotype biomanipulation for algae bloom prevention including a Fourth Award in earth and environmental sciences and a special award from the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). Aditya Dewan, a Grade 11 student from Mississauga, Ontario earned a Fourth Award in robotics and intelligent machines and the second-place award in cybersecurity for his project on effective knowledge distillation for deep neural networks via saddle region approximation.

 

“It was incredible to see the remarkable performance of Team Canada’s outstanding students at this global event,” says Prof. Patrick Whippey, chair of the selection panel at Youth Science Canada, the national charitable organization behind Team Canada-ISEF since 1995. “The students’ ingenious ideas, scientific talent, and unending inquisitiveness were on display throughout the competition. Their exceptional commitment to STEM was evident in their projects. It was truly inspiring to witness.”

 

A total of five Grand Awards were presented to Team Canada-ISEF during the Regeneron ISEF 2023 event:

 

Fourth Award – Biomedical engineering, $500

Cindy Cheng, Laurel Heights Secondary School, Waterloo, Ontario

Detecting Hypoxia Through the Non-Invasive Monitoring of Sweat Lactate and Tissue Oxygenation

 

Fourth Award – Biomedical engineering, $500

Tara Zhan, David Thompson Secondary, Vancouver, British Columbia

HemiStride: Design of a Low-Cost and Backdrivable Lower-Limb Exoskeleton for Hemiplegic Patients

 

Fourth Award – Earth and environmental sciences, $500

Annabelle Marie Rayson, Saint Patrick’s Catholic High School, Sarnia, Ontario

Plankton Wars: An Innovative Analysis of Daphnia Genotype Biomanipulation for Algae Bloom Prevention

 

Fourth Award – Embedded systems, $500

Thomas Yang, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario

Seeing Cells Without a Lens: Compact 3D Digital Lensless Holographic Microscopy for Wide-field Imaging

 

Fourth Award – Robotics and intelligent machines, $500

Aditya Dewan, The Woodlands School – Secondary, Mississauga, Ontario

SPRKD: Effective Knowledge Distillation for Deep Neural Networks via Saddle Region Approximation

 

Two special awards were presented to Team Canada-ISEF during the Regeneron ISEF 2023 event:

 

China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) – Award of $1,200

Annabelle Marie Rayson, Saint Patrick’s Catholic High School, Sarnia, Ontario

Plankton Wars: An Innovative Analysis of Daphnia Genotype Biomanipulation for Algae Bloom Prevention

 

National Security Agency Research Directorate – “Cybersecurity” Second Place Award of $1,500

Aditya Dewan, The Woodlands School – Secondary, Mississauga, Ontario

SPRKD: Effective Knowledge Distillation for Deep Neural Networks via Saddle Region Approximation

 

“The success of Team Canada at Regeneron ISEF highlights the importance of nurturing the natural curiosity of Canadian youth in STEM,” says Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada. “The young Canadian scientists, engineers, and innovators on the team displayed a level of scientific merit that is truly commendable. Congratulations to all our Team Canada members on a successful fair.”

 

The YSC Team Canada-ISEF program is made possible thanks to the Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier Foundation, through its Youth Can Innovate program. To learn more about the program or donate in support of youth in STEM, please visit the Youth Science Canada donation page.

 

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About Youth Science Canada

Youth Science Canada fuels the curiosity of Canadian youth through STEM projects. A registered charity incorporated in 1966, YSC delivers on its mission through national programs including mySTEMspace, the National STEM Fair Network, Canada-Wide Science Fair, STEM Expo, Team Canada representation at international fairs, and Smarter Science professional development for teachers. Through these programs, YSC provides direct support to the more than 500,000 students who do STEM projects in any given year. For more information, visit youthscience.ca

 

About the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), a program of Society for Science for over 70 years, is the world’s largest global science competition for high school. Through a global network of local, regional, and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for approximately U.S. $9 million in awards and scholarships. Learn more at https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/

 

For more information:  

Dalia Esposito

Torchia Communications

Cell: (514) 654-2635

dalia@torchiacom.com