Local News

Upper Valley students to present science research at international science conference

Woodstock’s Ella Stainton and Hartford’s Olivia Merrill among those selected Twenty-eight New Hampshire Academy of Science (NHAS) students from 14 New Hampshire and Vermont schools have qualified to present original scientific research at the largest general science conference in the world.

The American Association for the Advancement for Science (AAAS) will hold its annual conference virtually in Feb. 17-20. To qualify to attend, these students have passed through a scientific peer review conducted by New Hampshire scientists.

The students are sponsored by the NHAS and will be inducted into the American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS), our nation’s premier honor society for secondary school students who perform STEM research. Students will attend career development AJAS programming as well as AAAS seminars and programs and lab tours from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Twenty-six of the projects were completed using research-grade equipment at the NHAS’s state-of-the-art lab in Lyme, New Hampshire. The two students who completed their research elsewhere are alumni of the academy.

These students will be joined by others from state academies across the nation and be recognized by leading scientists as they interact with the worldwide scientific community at this international meeting.

Below is a list of NHAS students who will be attending AJAS/AAAS, their grade level, and school.

The NHAS is a non-profit focused on enabling secondary school students to perform authentic scientific research and present that research to the broader scientific (and public) community. They operate a lab that is solely for middle and high school students and their teachers. NHAS scientists also work with teachers and students across New Hampshire and Vermont to expand access to real scientific experiences.

  • Matthew Adner, grade 12 Hanover High School
  • Eden Anne Bauer, grade 11 St. John’s School
  • Bo Blackburn, grade 12 Hanover High School
  • Sebastian Branch, grade 11 Trinity School
  • Eli Cowie, grade 12 Hanover High School
  • Jane Cowie, grade 10 Hopkins School
  • Molly DellaValla, grade 10 home-school
  • Kai Doron, grade 11 Hanover High School
  • Advika Govindaraju, grade 8
  • Ross A. Lurgio Middle School
  • Lauren Hall, grade 11 Hanover High School
  • Esme Kimber, grade 10 St. Johnsbury Academy
  • Alexander Low, grade 12 Hanover High School
  • Hannah MacDonald, grade 11 St. Johnsbury Academy
  • Liam Markey, grade 11 St. Johnsbury Academy
  • Olivia Merrill, grade 12 Hartford High School
  • Adithya Puninchittaya, grade 10 Bedford High School
  • Garima Rastogi, grade 10 Virtual Learning Academy Charter School
  • Anshul Rastogi, grade 11 Virtual Learning Academy Charter School
  • Anya Rendahl, grade 11 Lebanon High School
  • Laura Schaner, grade 9 Hanover High School
  • Sora Shirai, grade 11 Hanover High School
  • Lian Snow, grade 12 Swansboro High School
  • Oscar Solberg, grade 10 Hanover High School
  • Ella Stainton, grade 10 Woodstock Union High School
  • Tiffany Sun, grade 8 Home School
  • Cecilia Sweeney, grade 12 St. Johnsbury Academy
  • Anna Testorf, grade 12 Holderness School
  • David Viazmenski, grade 9 Hanover High School

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