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Lab-sponsored science fair winners take home awards at international and state competitions (2008)

Two senior sweepstakes winners of the 2008 Tri-Valley Science & Engineering Fair (TVSEF) sponsored by LLNL in March have gone on to win awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2008 (Intel ISEF). The Intel Fair was held in Atlanta, May 11-16.

In addition, one junior sweepstakes winner competed successfully at the 57th annual California State Science Fair held May 19-20, in Los Angeles.

Harikrishna Rallapalli , a 10th grade student from Amador Valley High School, picked up multiple awards for his project entitled, "Low-Cost Total Internal Reflection Microscopy."  His awards included: a $1,000 cash award and third place in the physics category; a special award of $1,500 from SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering; and the sole award of $10,000 bestowed by the IEEE Foundation. 

Dmitry Kislyuk , a 12th grade student from California High School, won a special award of $500 from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, for his project entitled, "Modeling Evolution:  Exploring Computational Biology and Biomodeling."  Kislyuk has competed in the Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair during all four years of high school.  He has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The annual Intel ISEF is the world's largest pre-college celebration of science. Now in its 59th year, students compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips, and the grand prize — a $50,000 college scholarship. 

This year’s event drew more than 1,500 students from 51 countries with more than 1,200 projects (students have the option of working in teams).   The competition is intense.  This year, nearly 30 percent of the participants garnered awards.

Uzair Mohammad , an eighth-grade student from the Livermore Valley Charter School in Livermore, received an honorable mention in the junior division electronics and electromagnetics category at the California State Science Fair for his project, "Generation Nation:  Generating Electricity with Everyday Motion."

This year the California State Science Fair, which is geared for sixth- through eighth-grade students, hosted 953 participants from 359 schools throughout the state, meeting in competition for awards totaling over $50,000.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will conduct its 13th annual Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair March 24-28, 2009, at the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Ave., Livermore.

The fair is geared for students in grades 7 through 12 from Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Sunol. Students will compete for cash and other prizes, as well as a chance to represent the TVSEF at the next level of competition — either the Intel ISEF or the California State Science Fair.