Shunan Zhao, Benjamin Waldman, David Choi, and Mac Devlin, members of the Inventeam, show off their prize-winning electronic cane. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewcz)

Sama Hague and Kristen Noyes measure the length of grass grown in an experiment that compared growing rates and sources of light (sun, fluorescent, etc.).

Seventh-grader Sam Zajac poses next to his experiment on extracting DNA from food.

Coke foams and flows rapidly out of its bottle after a Mentos candy is dropped in.

Sam Fishbein poses next to his science project on the Van de Graaff generator.

Jeff Blanton demonstrates the effect of temperature on building materials as he pulls a tile out of a container filled with liquid nitrogen.

Xavier Neang, center, puts a Mentos candy into a bottle of Coke to show the effect of carbon dioxide buildup in a small space. Left to right are Jane Sullebarger, Pat Pesa, Phoebe Carona, sixth-grader Xavier Neang, Charlotte O’Shea, Jim O’Shea, Elly vandeVaart, Jillian Carr, and Eliza Agosta.

Blue Rosette – Best Experimental Project – High School
Nikki Snyder (grade 11)—Steam Distillation for Isolation of Essential Oils and Testing for Their Allelopathic Potential

Blue Rosette – Best Experimental Project – Middle School
Harriet Holmes and Allie Cronin (grade 6)—Effects of Volume on Cooking Time for Solar Ovens

HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS

Grade 12 Physics
First place: Will Gunner and Kevin O’Leary—Using the Expansion of Ice to Generate Electricity
First place (tie): Inventeam—The Virtual Cane
Second place: Elizabeth Krutz—Comparing Alternative Fuels for Cars

Grade 12 Chemistry (nonexperimental)
First place: Emma Caitlin O’Rourke-Friel—Water Filtration
Second place: Lexie Daniells and Ryan Parker—Chromatographic Separations
Honorable Mention: Lewis Alfano and Keiron Stoddart—Ionic Liquids

Grade 12 Biology (nonexperimental)
First place: Laura Nocka—Natural Product Chemistry
Second place: Emily Reedich—Treatment Options for Major Depressive Disorder
Third place: Caitlyn Nygren, Elise Bilodeau, and Jennie Ives—MRSA Infection

Grade 12 Biology (experimental)
First place: Pasquale Eckert, Anders McCready—Effects of Urbanization on Plankton
Second place: Kristina Kronauer—Testing Environmental Pollutants with Allium

High School Winners: Grade 11
First place: Nikki Snyder—Steam Distillation for Isolation of Essential Oils and Testing for their Allelopathic Potential
Second place: Ben Landry—A Diet-Based Solution to Prevent Mental Decline

High School Winners: Grades 9 –10
First place: Bernadette Stadler—Can Yeast Get Energy from Sugar Substitutes?
Second place: Jake Klein—How Does Rain Affect the Acidity of Harvard’s Water Supplies?

MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS

Grade 8 Research
First place: Nick George and Matt Griffin—How Does a Cell Phone Work?
Second place: Caroline Turnbull and Elizabeth Wilkey—Deconstruction of a Jet Ski Engine
Third place: Sam Fishbein—Van De Graaff Generators: History and How They Work
Honorable Mention: Trevor Granville and Michael Finnegan—How Wind Turbines Work
Honorable Mention: Kara Kennedy—Construction of a Working Steamboat

Grade 8 Engineering
First place: Haley Newsham and Breanna McHugh—Steamboat Racing
Second place: Arpitha Hayes and Clara Wang—Does Changing the Shape of a Guitar Affect the Performance of the Guitar?
Third place: Janet Sorrells—Crystal Radio

Grade 7 Biochemistry
First place: Carly Williams and Mattie Rice—Testing Soil Types and Effects on Winter Wheat Growing Time
Second place: Ryan Kennedy—Osmosis in Plant Cells
Third place: Sam Zajac—The Proof Is in the DNA
Honorable Mention: Suma Hague and Kristen Noyes—How Light Affects Plant Growth
Honorable Mention: Lena Karotkin and Amy Hu—Testing for Starch in Leaves

Grade 7 Biology
First place: Sofia Rivera—What’s Up(side down)?
Second place: Alexia Lipman and Nikki Margaretos—PTC Paper Taste Test
Third place: Sabine Neschke, Lizzy Rooney—What Smells Attract Crickets?

Grade 6 Biology
First place: Jilly Carr and Elly vandeVaart—Eggs Rocking Out: Does Music Affect Hatching Speed?
Second place: Tyler Brandon—Effects of Different Amounts of Fertilizer on Plant Growth
Third place: Heather Flokos—Effects of Soil Type on Plant Growth

Grade 6 Chemistry
First place: Olivia Alfano and Maegan Cullinan—Which Candy Lasts the Longest?
Second place: Pat Pesa—Effect of Water Temperature on Nails

Grade 6 Physics (nonexperimental)
First place: Kathryn Hodgkins—Relationship Between Voltage and Electromagnetic Attraction
Second place: Eliza Agosta—The Right Height for a Windmill

Grade 6 Physics (experimental)
First place: Harriet Holmes and Allie Cronin—Effects of Volume on Cooking Time for Solar Ovens
Second place: Adam Lorenz-Kruk—Effects of Meltwater on Ice-Sheet Melting
Honorable Mention: Jeff Blanton—Effect of Extreme Cold on Everyday Objects

SPECIALTY AWARDS

Harvard Conservation Trust
First place: Nikki Snyder (grade 11)—Steam Distillation for Isolation of Essential Oils and Testing for their Allelopathic Potential
Second place: Evelyn MacMahon and Kirsten Sundeen (grade 6)—The “Eco Home”
Second place (tie): Madeline Darden and Jacqui Holmes (grade 12)—Advancing the Battery, Advancing Technology

Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Commission
Middle School Winner: Emily Erdos—Effects of Fish Population and Density on Water Temperature
High School Winner: Pasquale Eckert and Anders McCready—The Effects of Urbanization on Plankton

Garden Club
Middle School Winners: Ryan Kennedy—Osmosis in Plant Cells
Maddie Rice and Carly Williams—Testing Soil Types and Effects on Winter Wheat Growing Time
High School Winner: Lily Ritter and Anne Chacko—How Porosity Affects Infiltration Rate

League of Women Voters
Emma Caitlin O’Rourke-Friel—Water Filtration

Nashua River Watershed Association
First place: Jake Klein—How Does Rain Affect the Acidity of Harvard’s Water Supplies?
Second place: Kristina Kronauer—Testing Environmental Pollutants with Allium

Harvard PTO
Grade 6: Emily Erdos—Effects of Fish Population and Density on Water Temperature
Grade 7: Ryan Kennedy—Osmosis in Plant Cells
Grade 8: Ian Harrington—FM Radio Transmitter
Grade 9: Bernadette Stadtler—Can Yeast Get Energy from Sugar Substitutes?
Grade 10: Andrew Hong, Andy Tabrizi, Tyler von Loesecke—Rubber Roads
Grade 11: Ben Landry A Diet-Based Solution to Prevent Mental Decline
Grade 12: Anna Wahl and Jordan McDonnell

School Committee
Middle School Winner: Harriet Holmes and Allie Cronin—Effects of Volume on Cooking Time for Solar Ovens
High School Winner: Ben Landry—A Diet-Based Solution to Prevent Mental Decline

Harvard Historical Commission in conjunction with the Historical Society and Fruitlands Museum
Dylan Winter—Acid Rain’s Effects on the Environment

Parks and Recreation Commission
Kara Kennedy—Construction of a Working Steamboat