Joseph Andress placed 2nd and Olivia Milloway placed 3rd at the Tennessee Junior Science and Humanities Symposium held on March 9, 2018. Joseph Andress created a computer program that is able to identify desired regions of an image. The program integrated into a GUI that biologists could use to identify quickly and accurately mitochondria in microscopy image volumes for disease analysis. Joseph worked with Dr. Eicholtz at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a part of the Thesis course at Oak Ridge High School. Olivia Milloway worked with Dr. Gray at The University of Tennessee to evaluate three wetlands at The University of Tennessee Cherokee Woodlot. Olivia tested the water quality, characterized the plant composition and documented the amphibian and macroinvertebrate community. Olivia participates in the Oak Ridge High School Experimental Scientific Research course that provides students with research opportunities through The University of Tennessee.
Other ORHS students who presented their research at TJSHS were Radha Awasthi, Sarah Roth, and Jas Jakowski.
TJSHS is an annual scientific research competition that gives high school students the opportunity to present original research in a public forum. There were 14 students that presented oral talks and 10 students who presented posters at the 53rd annual TJSHS competition this year. The top two winners, Kevin Chen from Farragut High School and Joseph received scholarships and will receive an all-expense paid trip to attend the national JSHS in early May and compete for additional military sponsored scholarships. Olivia will also travel to nationals to present a poster. (The facts about TJSHS are from their web page https://jshs-tn.utk.edu/about/)
All students enjoyed the hospitality provided by The University of Tennessee and JSHS. Joseph Andress said, “I enjoyed the opportunity JSHS gave me to present my research and to hear what other students are doing in STEM.” Jessica Williams, ORHS teacher advisor for the Thesis course said, “Conducting research, writing a high-quality paper, and preparing a professional level presentation is a lot of work. Even if they weren’t recognized by TJSHS, having the opportunity to present to scientists in and around our community is a wonderful experience for all of our students.”
Article submitted by: Deanna Pickel
Photo submitted by: Sharon Thomas
