Science Fair Winners Focus on Encoding Data, Chesapeake Bay Pollution

Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School freshman David Kravets claimed the grand award Thursday night at the 47th annual Anne Arundel County Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

David’s project, “Secure Data Encryption Algorithm,” focuses on encoding data that is sent through the Internet to ensure it is protected.

As part of his prize, David earned an all-expenses-paid trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair sponsored by Intel in Los Angeles next month.

South River High School sophomores Sally Albright and Allison Raines took second place for their project, “Don’t Be Selfish, Save The Shellfish.” Their project investigated how the pollution of ethylene glycol in the Chesapeake Bay impacts Eastern oysters.

More than 300 projects in 17 categories presented by young science stars from across the county in grades 6 through 12 were entered in the fair. Students won awards and prizes worth thousands of dollars from organizations such as Anne Arundel Community College, Johns Hopkins University, Lockheed Martin, Marine Science and Technology, and Northrop Grumman.

The Anne Arundel County Regional Science and Engineering Fair is dedicated to promoting science education and recognizing and rewarding student achievement in science. In addition to the grand award winners, 100 county middle and high school students earned first-place awards at the fair ranging from special awards from community organizations to category awards based on guidelines from Intel ISEF.