Inventerprise Science Contest winners announced
Lonza has announced the 27th Annual Inventerprise Science Contest winners. Central Oregon students identified ways to preserve Earth’s life forms in the 27 th annual Inventerprise contest. The contest is sponsored by Bend Research, now a part of Lonza Pharma & Biotech, Bend-La Pine Schools and Central Oregon Community College.
From the 1,443 students who entered the competition from 24 schools in Central Oregon, 163 students took home awards. Lonza announced the winners on Friday.
This year’s competition problem statement was as follows:
“European lions and Javan tigers and giant short-faced bears, oh my! These are just a few examples of species that have become extinct. Invent something to preserve Earth’s life forms. ”
In the high school division, Summit High School freshman Teaghan Knox took first place, earning $700 for her non-lethal predator determent necklace to help protect livestock in low-income locales.
Second place prizes of $500 each were awarded to two different entries, both from Summit High school. Freshman Zoe Doden developed a biologically equipped, eco-friendly micro-drone to aid in non-invasive sampling and medication administration to wild animal populations. Sophomores Tanner Taylor and Owen Wheary thought out an interesting use of CRISPR technology to develop a new bamboo species that would help combat deforestation.
The third place prize of $300 was shared by a Ridgeview High School team of Seniors (Ben Allard, Karlie Bunting and Isaac Rojo) which developed a novel “Rhino Ranch” to combat poaching of rhino herds via healthy horn harvesting practices.
The top middle school prize was won by Sanjay Green, a sixth grader from Pacific Crest Middle School. Sanjay invented a buoy that can be used to rid the oceans of oil. This buoy can be re-used multiple times and placed in a variety of environments to reduce pollution in our oceans and save marine life. Sanjay chose a GoPro Hero7 from a list of prizes.
Hundreds of students in lower grades submitted entries, either individually or as teams of up to three. Several students at each grade level will receive prizes for their submissions along with an invitation to a special Science Night program held in their honor at the Lonza laboratory site in Tumalo, OR (USA). Some of the inventions which made the biggest impressions include the following:
A kindergartner with a mind for local environmental issues devised a bullfrog trap to protect Oregon spotted frogs from predation. The device also includes a water filter to remove nitrates from the environment. A clever 1st grader noticed the lion population is in danger due to poaching. They invented a security collar to be worn by lions, notifying them when humans are close. A 2 nd grader worried about the threat of an asteroid from outer space theorized an intricate early warning system for asteroids, a danger that could doom us all. A 3 rd grade student developed an “All Seasons Bee Habitat,” creating an artificial hive that protects the bees with tunnels for protection. The Great Barrier Reef is dying due to increasing water temperatures so an ambitious 4 th grader developed a Great Barrier Cooler that used a fish-friendly wave energy buoy to cool the water around it. A 5 th Grader designed a system for diverting water from rivers in a way that preserved fish migration routes, removed garbage from the waterways, and generated hydroelectricity for the City of Redmond. Winners from each grade level and the schools they attend are listed below. Additional information can be found on the Inventerprise website.
Inventerprise 2018 Winners
Kindergarten
Bear Baxter – High Lakes Elementary
Harrison Hume, Kyden Smith, Frankie Zolfo – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Dillon Ostendorff – Pine Ridge Elementary
Ryleigh Forsell
Grade 1
Ava Hershman – Cascades Academy
Carver Jensvold, Kyla Rahner, Cade Houghton, Cruz Nerio, Isaac LaMascus, Jonathon Puga, Ben Veres – Elk Meadow Elementary
Aksel Stevens, Hawk Grosso – High Lakes Elementary
Preston Donaldson, Charlie Johnson, Cody Thurman, Lainey Crowley, Samantha Freed, Penny West – Morning Star Christian School
Alex Pineda – St. Thomas Academy
Cannon Helzer – Westside Village Magnet School
Grade 2
Aria Covell, Sabrina Farkas – Cascades Academy
John Flannery, Georgia Dodge – High Lakes Elementary
Megan Hornsby – Juniper Elementary
Peyton Egeland, Landon Schock, Jackson Lilly, Roman Wright – Seven Peaks School
Brennan Holcomb, Lyan Mitma, Madeleine Reynolds – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Torrin Contreras, Gianna Cermak, Kaylee Valazquez – St. Thomas Academy
Marcos Brosius, Jacob McLemore, Fox O’Brien – Westside Village Magnet School
Grade 3
Iain Bennette, Graham Finley – Baker Charter School
Reid Williams, Griffin Doering, Liam Erickson, Kayleigh Mahony – High Lakes Elementary
Monte Buccola, Matthew Curtis, William Cohen, Brady Smith, Lucy Lappe – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Cecilia Fosbury, Gabriel Beaune-Hirata, Vianna Kyllo, Ryan Click, Peyton Adams, Colby Leffler, Addison Threet, Benjamin Raitz – Tom McCall Elementary
Cade Killebrew, Carter Larson – Trinity Lutheran School
Nikhil Konagurthu, Alexis McCoy – Westside Village Magnet School
Grade 4
Skye Knox – Bear Creek Elementary
Rynn Van Meter, Bentley Deal, Parker Blodgett, Rhianwen Hornsby, Novalee Conners, Adele Caram, Sophia Bartlemay – Juniper Elementary
Dalila Powderly, Owen D’Avignon, Alex Jenson, Scarlett Schock, Nina Taft – Seven Peaks School
June Williams – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Ryder Faulhaber – St. Thomas Academy
Grade 5
Lydia Chance – High Lakes Elementary
Lee Miller, Lauren Lilly, Lucy Patterson, Landon Battles, Elizabeth Connolly, Addison McHugh, Cami Laakmann, Sheamus Maguire, Gavin Ortiz, Bram Gerken, Cecilia Dean, Conrad Dodge, Campbell Thomas – Juniper Elementary
Hailey Clark – Ponderosa Elementary
Katelyn Adair, Camella Johnson, Maddelynn Rocheforte, Jordon Zitek, Joanna Daniels, Amiya Kamanya, Madeline Trayser, Elisa Throneberry, Khaleenah Turner, Sydni Wilson, Cooper Hutt, Isabella Thuren – Silver Rail Elementary
Aiden Towell – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Ira Merrill, Jaiden Blumenschein – Three Rivers School
Colton Andrews, Nathan Liddell, Wyatt Horner, Mia Lynch- Tom McCall Elementary School
Mya Luna, Calvin Hamman – Vern Patrick Elementary
Luka Anderson, Noah Phillips, Leunam Carreno-Beltran, Asa King, Kayleigh Fraser, Emma Sweet – Westside Village Magnet School
Middle School
Avery Hammons, Emerson Williams, Thielsen Wardlow, Ella Chieda, Kush Goyal, Adi Fenty, Curran Jacobus – Cascade Middle School
Eban Moline, Bella Mullan, Ivy Phillips – Cascades Academy
Kailee Macy, Jade Carroll, Karishma Sehgal – Culver Middle School
Sanjay Green, Arden Conde, Siena Keith, Quinn Raynak, Abigail Billeter, Quincy Doden, Allison Holdredge – Pacific Crest Middle School
Megan McGuire, Grace Gaines, Wyatt Lawson – St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Will Mowry, Serafina Quercini, Quincy Bernahl, Dennis Drury, Cooper Andersen, Kai Brennan, Paul King, Rilee Credicott, Poppy Fridae- Westside Village Magnet School
High School
Ben Allard, Karlie Bunting, Isaac Rojo – Ridgeview High School
Zoe Doden, Teaghan Knox, Tanner Taylor, Owen Wheary – Summit High School
About Inventerprise
The Inventerprise Contest began in 1992 as an outgrowth of a business-education partnership between Bend Research (now a part of Lonza) and the Bend-La Pine School District to promote science education and enrich students’ educational experience. In 2003 Central Oregon Community College joined the effort by helping to plan and run the contest. For more information regarding the Inventerprise contest or to request contest rules, please visit the website or call Amanda Pluntze, Nate Glutting or contest director Dory Koehler-King at Bend Research.
