News of the achievements of local students and members of the Armed Force.
•• Dongxu Pan of Vienna earned a doctoral degree in chemistry and Alison Sadler of McLean earned a bachelor of science in nutrition and dietetics during recent commencement exercises at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
•• Ana Salazar Ramirez of McLean earned a bachelor of arts degree in international relations, summa cum laude; Daniel Ernst of McLean earned a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering, summa cum laude; and Will McLeish of McLean earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science during recent commencement exercises at Tufts University.
•• Nabil Milani of Vienna earned a bachelor of science degree in public health, cum laude, during recent commencement exercises at the University of Albany.
•• Andres Borjas of Vienna, Daniel Ernst of Vienna, Khari Kingslow of McLean, Garrett Kurtz of Vienna, Yvonne Lopez Davila of Vienna and Daniel Meakem of McLean have been named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Tufts University.
•• Raul Banuelos of Oakton, Anirudh Dubey of McLean, Farhan Khan of Vienna Eric Kruger of Vienna, Min Lee of Vienna, Melissa Lopez of McLean, Richard Lubbe of Vienna, Taher Razjouyan of Great Falls, Marcelis Reed of McLean, Marcus Scheiterle of Great Falls, Monique Scott of Vienna, Brendan Sherlock of McLean, Emily Smith of Oakton, Noah Sorah of Vienna, Roberto Soria of Oakton and Ganga Peiris of Vienna have been named the dean’s list for the spring semester at the University of Maryland Global Campus.
•• Lyndsay Criscitello of Vienna was part of a James Madison University student duo that won first place in its category at the AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication) “Best of the Web/Best of Digital” competition.
The students (Criscitello and, from Sterling, Madeline Miller) designed the app “BookBuddy” after identifying difficulties with current textbook-selling platforms as part of a School of Media Arts & Design (SMAD) class. The team plans to further develop and refine the app and hopes to connect with developers to make it fully functional in the future.
BookBuddy offers a centralized location for buying and selling textbooks. The app includes features such as pick-up hubs, contactless payment, school verification and background checks and direct messaging to increase safety, as well as price matching.
The duo found that the average student spends $400 a year on textbooks. Many students are eager to pass on textbooks no longer in use.
“Our SMAD students have been winning numerous digital-design contests, but winning first place in the app category at AEJMC is particularly meaningful,” said Dr. Chen Guo, whose class inspired the app.
“I am very proud of our talented students,” Guo said. “ The award is an acknowledgment of their hard work, dedication and passion for user-experience design. They spent an intensive amount of time researching the topic, conceptualizing, designing and developing their ideas.”
The winning duo will receive a cash prize with the award, and will present their work at the AEJMC annual conference this month in Detroit.
•• Ivy Chen of McLean, a graduate of Langley High School who will attend Stanford University, and Yanni Aknine of McLean, a graduate of McLean High School who will attend the University of Virginia, have been awarded stipends through the 2022 Dunkin’ Regional Scholarship Program.
Students were selected from more than 1,000 applicants across the region based on their academic record, leadership abilities and commitment to their school and local community. Dunkin’ and its franchisees awarded $2,500 scholarship to each of the recipients.
•• Kriesh Tivare, a student at Cooper Middle School, has been named one of 31 State Merit Winners in the 2022 3M Young Scientist Challenge competition.
Tivare’s project submission was “Nifty Nanogenerators,” a prototype that demonstrated a novel way for power generation through TriboElectricNanoGenerators, which because of their simple design and everyday materials are cheap to produce and easy to manufacture and maintain.
His project offers the possibility of a “new, green energy source,” Tivare said.
During the development process Tivare was able to refine the model and test it on a beach in order to determine its power generation, buoyancy and sustainability in water.
“Virginia alone has over 7,000 miles of shoreline,” Tivare said, and by placing the equipment in water sources, it would be possible to produce “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” meeting goals of the United Nations and World Health Organization, he said.
For information on the project, see the Website at https://youtube.com/watch?v=J4axXJr1sg8.
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