JSHS Symposium Winners Are On to Nationals

The Patuxent Partnership and its partners, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, congratulated the 20 student finalists in the virtual Maryland Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium competition held last month.

The 2021 competition was held on March 15 and 16.

The Maryland Regional JSHS finalist awards include the following scholarship recognition:

• 1st Place: Abar Sheikh – oral presentation- $2,000 undergraduate tuition scholarship
• 2nd Place: Boaz Yoo – oral presentation- $1,500 undergraduate tuition scholarship
• 3rd Place: Lauren Choi – oral presentation- $1,000 undergraduate tuition scholarship
• 4th Place: Hannah Skwarek – oral presentation- certificate recognition
• 5th Place: Juni Polansky – poster board presentation- certificate recognition

These students will compete in the National JSHS Symposium in late April.

Organizers said the depth of the students’ research; knowledgeable demonstrations; excellent modeling; collaboration with teachers, mentors, research labs; and the diversity of the topics were outstanding.

COL Tyler R. Schaff, commander of the 316th Wing and installation commander for Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington, was the keynote speaker and emphasized the importance of STEAM-M (Medical) studies, encouraging students along that path.

Bonnie M. Green, executive director of The Patuxent Partnership, reiterated the same in her introduction.

“We continue to encourage all students on their path of STEM learning and we wish them all the best for their future endeavors,” she said. “We hope these MD JSHS students will consider STEM careers with the DoD community, where they will be essential to the growth and development and security of our nation.”

The students, from high schools across Maryland, also heard from several distinguished NAWCAD speakers, Andrew Koch and Elizabeth Michelbrink, and Glory D. Sebulime, a second-year student at the College of Southern Maryland who is pursuing an associate degree in electrical engineering. She plans to transfer to the University of Maryland College Park Southern Maryland engineering program to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

TPP thanks the 2021 MD JSHS partner organizations: Naval Air Station Patuxent River; Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division; Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division; Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Detachment Joint Base Andrews; US Army Public Health Command; US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center; US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory Joint Base Andrews; 316th Medical Group (Joint Base Andrews – USAF); 316th Mission Support Group (Joint Base Andrews – USAF); University of Maryland for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory; Towne Dentistry; College of Southern Maryland; St. Mary’s College of Maryland; and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River.

About The Patuxent Partnership

The Patuxent Partnership is a nonprofit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives.

To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.