Four Poly Students Recognized at L.A. County Science and Engineering Fair
Poly is thrilled to share that four students were recognized at the L.A. County Science and Engineering Fair (LACSEF). Cavon H. ’27 won first place in the Engineering Applications category for a wearable, low-cost, radar-based early warning system for pedestrians, eventually winning first place in the Electronics and Electromagnetics category at the CA State Science Fair. Kelly Z. ’26 won second place in the Environmental Management category for a sentinel-2 image classification of mangrove population density after Cyclone Amphan to determine community vulnerability in the Sundarbans, Evan C. ’26 won third place in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology category for targeting SAMHD1 enhances cytarabine effects in acute myeloid leukemia, and Hudson J. ’27 received recognition in the Microbiology category for making an inexpensive assay capable of detecting methane production by microbes in compost. Kelly also received an honorable mention at the state level. Please join us in congratulating these students and read on to learn more about their projects.
Cavon H. ’27
Please describe your project.
On average, a pedestrian is killed every 70 minutes and injured every 8 minutes in accidents with cars. Many of the elderly who are hard of hearing, and pedestrians listening to music or using noise cancelling technologies are at risk. To solve this problem I created a wearable sensor that detects cars approaching from behind, using a custom radar, to give early warnings to pedestrian users. My prototype provides early warning to walking, jogging, and running pedestrians, giving them enough time to react and avoid collision.
On average, a pedestrian is killed every 70 minutes and injured every 8 minutes in accidents with cars. Many of the elderly who are hard of hearing, and pedestrians listening to music or using noise cancelling technologies are at risk. To solve this problem I created a wearable sensor that detects cars approaching from behind, using a custom radar, to give early warnings to pedestrian users. My prototype provides early warning to walking, jogging, and running pedestrians, giving them enough time to react and avoid collision.
What inspired you to apply to the fair, and what did the recognition mean to you?
The fair gave me an opportunity to hear the thoughts and feedback of expert judges on my project, allowing me to find out other ways to improve it and expand its applications. Also, I got a chance to see many interesting projects and presentations across a broad array of topics. It was inspiring and exciting to see so many students from the high schools across LA passionately presenting their interesting projects in engineering and science. I really enjoyed this project and spent a lot of time working on it, so It was great to see that other people, especially experts, saw the value of my work and supported my device.
The fair gave me an opportunity to hear the thoughts and feedback of expert judges on my project, allowing me to find out other ways to improve it and expand its applications. Also, I got a chance to see many interesting projects and presentations across a broad array of topics. It was inspiring and exciting to see so many students from the high schools across LA passionately presenting their interesting projects in engineering and science. I really enjoyed this project and spent a lot of time working on it, so It was great to see that other people, especially experts, saw the value of my work and supported my device.
Kelly Z. ’26
Please describe your project.
This study analyzed the impacts of cyclone Amphan on communities and mangrove forests in the Sundarbans through remote sensing and machine learning classification. I collected spatial data for cyclone Amphan from Sentinel-2 Level 2A satellite imagery through Google Earth Pro. I processed the imagery using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and calculated indices such as NDVI, NDMI, and NDWI. I then trained a Random Forest classifier on land cover datasets, allocating 70% for training and 30% for validation. I evaluated model performance through the producer’s and user’s accuracy, Cohen’s kappa coefficient, and the F1-score. I then analyzed the FAO Forest Proximate People (FPP) 1.0 dataset, overlaying communities within 1 kilometer of the mangrove loss. The classification achieved high accuracy, with the producer’s and user’s accuracy and the F1 score at 0.99 for the mangrove class. The analysis showed a net loss of 201.99 square kilometers of mangroves from the cyclone. Further integrating the FPP layer and visualizing all results on a GEE map revealed the locations of communities most vulnerable to the impacts of future cyclones. The findings confirm that cyclone Amphan caused significant mangrove loss in the Sundarbans, exacerbating the vulnerability of nearby communities. Remote sensing and image classification effectively captured cyclone-induced changes, though limitations such as spectral resolution constraints and the lack of ground validation remain. Strengthening conservation efforts is critical to protecting mangroves as a natural defense measure against the increasing intensity of cyclones.
This study analyzed the impacts of cyclone Amphan on communities and mangrove forests in the Sundarbans through remote sensing and machine learning classification. I collected spatial data for cyclone Amphan from Sentinel-2 Level 2A satellite imagery through Google Earth Pro. I processed the imagery using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and calculated indices such as NDVI, NDMI, and NDWI. I then trained a Random Forest classifier on land cover datasets, allocating 70% for training and 30% for validation. I evaluated model performance through the producer’s and user’s accuracy, Cohen’s kappa coefficient, and the F1-score. I then analyzed the FAO Forest Proximate People (FPP) 1.0 dataset, overlaying communities within 1 kilometer of the mangrove loss. The classification achieved high accuracy, with the producer’s and user’s accuracy and the F1 score at 0.99 for the mangrove class. The analysis showed a net loss of 201.99 square kilometers of mangroves from the cyclone. Further integrating the FPP layer and visualizing all results on a GEE map revealed the locations of communities most vulnerable to the impacts of future cyclones. The findings confirm that cyclone Amphan caused significant mangrove loss in the Sundarbans, exacerbating the vulnerability of nearby communities. Remote sensing and image classification effectively captured cyclone-induced changes, though limitations such as spectral resolution constraints and the lack of ground validation remain. Strengthening conservation efforts is critical to protecting mangroves as a natural defense measure against the increasing intensity of cyclones.
What inspired you to apply to the fair, and what did the recognition mean to you?
I first learned about LASCEF after Ms. Barnes announced it last year. So, when she emailed people to come to an introductory meeting about the science fair, I went during lunchtime. I learned from her and other students what the fair was like, and I looked forward to presenting my research and receiving feedback, so I joined. I had an amazing time at LASCEF, not only receiving valuable questions and feedback from judges highly experienced in the field of environmental management but also meeting students from all over L.A. County who shared my passion for research. I came out of the fair with aspects of my project that I wanted to improve on and questions I wanted to research further into, all of which I greatly appreciated.
I first learned about LASCEF after Ms. Barnes announced it last year. So, when she emailed people to come to an introductory meeting about the science fair, I went during lunchtime. I learned from her and other students what the fair was like, and I looked forward to presenting my research and receiving feedback, so I joined. I had an amazing time at LASCEF, not only receiving valuable questions and feedback from judges highly experienced in the field of environmental management but also meeting students from all over L.A. County who shared my passion for research. I came out of the fair with aspects of my project that I wanted to improve on and questions I wanted to research further into, all of which I greatly appreciated.
Evan C. ’26
Please describe your project.
My project was a more traditional, science- and research-based project, specifically in the realm of cancer biology. In a conceptual sense, my project looked into possible treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow that has a five-year survival rate of only 30%, because it isn't usually treatable with standard chemotherapy due to its cell structure. My research, simplistically, along with the help and previous work conducted by my mentor in a lab, looked into possible proteins that could alter that cell structure to make chemotherapy more effective.
My project was a more traditional, science- and research-based project, specifically in the realm of cancer biology. In a conceptual sense, my project looked into possible treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow that has a five-year survival rate of only 30%, because it isn't usually treatable with standard chemotherapy due to its cell structure. My research, simplistically, along with the help and previous work conducted by my mentor in a lab, looked into possible proteins that could alter that cell structure to make chemotherapy more effective.
What inspired you to apply to the fair, and what did the recognition mean to you?
Throughout my life, I've always been fascinated by biology because it establishes foundations to how the world functions and came to be, something I have always tried to continue understanding. I saw the science fair as a fun, low-stakes opportunity to not only share about my own project, but to learn more about other high school projects in biology and dozens of other chemistry, engineering, and general scientific disciplines.
Throughout my life, I've always been fascinated by biology because it establishes foundations to how the world functions and came to be, something I have always tried to continue understanding. I saw the science fair as a fun, low-stakes opportunity to not only share about my own project, but to learn more about other high school projects in biology and dozens of other chemistry, engineering, and general scientific disciplines.
I would say that the recognition drove me to continue my research and pursuit of science! Oftentimes, in academia, the impact of your work is not seen until perhaps years, or even ever, after you have completed your work, even more so at the high school level. This can be discouraging for people looking to make a difference in their fields, so having your work recognized by industry professionals creates a sense of impact and contribution to the scientific community.
Hudson J. ’27
Please describe your project.
Global warming is a major modern-day challenge. Methane is a key greenhouse gas, and landfills are estimated to produce 14% of global methane emissions. Methane is thought to be primarily generated by species of Archaea, which metabolize acetate in the setting of waterlogged, anaerobic conditions. Strategies to reduce methane production in landfills are needed, but detecting methane generation is a challenge. My goal was to devise an inexpensive method of methane detection through the use of bacteria that utilize methane as a carbon source, known as methanotrophs. Commercially available composts contain a mixture of live organisms. I hypothesized that these include both methanogens that produce methane and methanotrophs. Furthermore, successfully cultivating methanotrophs on carbon-poor media plates signal the generation of ambient methane. I plated compost on resource-rich media designed to support methanogenic growth and resource-poor media designed to support methanotrophs in the setting of methane. I observed microbial growth on both types of plates when they were in the same container, but when compost was not plated on the rich media, I observed no growth on the methanotroph plate, despite plating compost. These results support the possibility that both methanotrophs and methanogens are present within the compost and that methanogens are indeed producing methane, which is then supporting the growth of the methanotrophs. Future experiments should include positive controls with pre-isolated methanogens purchased from bacterial repositories, as well as the inclusion of an antifungal agent in the medias. In addition, methanogen-supporting media without acetate would provide an interesting comparison.
Global warming is a major modern-day challenge. Methane is a key greenhouse gas, and landfills are estimated to produce 14% of global methane emissions. Methane is thought to be primarily generated by species of Archaea, which metabolize acetate in the setting of waterlogged, anaerobic conditions. Strategies to reduce methane production in landfills are needed, but detecting methane generation is a challenge. My goal was to devise an inexpensive method of methane detection through the use of bacteria that utilize methane as a carbon source, known as methanotrophs. Commercially available composts contain a mixture of live organisms. I hypothesized that these include both methanogens that produce methane and methanotrophs. Furthermore, successfully cultivating methanotrophs on carbon-poor media plates signal the generation of ambient methane. I plated compost on resource-rich media designed to support methanogenic growth and resource-poor media designed to support methanotrophs in the setting of methane. I observed microbial growth on both types of plates when they were in the same container, but when compost was not plated on the rich media, I observed no growth on the methanotroph plate, despite plating compost. These results support the possibility that both methanotrophs and methanogens are present within the compost and that methanogens are indeed producing methane, which is then supporting the growth of the methanotrophs. Future experiments should include positive controls with pre-isolated methanogens purchased from bacterial repositories, as well as the inclusion of an antifungal agent in the medias. In addition, methanogen-supporting media without acetate would provide an interesting comparison.
What inspired you to apply to the fair, and what did the recognition mean to you?
I've always loved science and wanted to do an experiment for a long time, so when I saw the Morning Meeting announcement, I took the chance. While I did get a recognition, I think I can do better and hope to place higher next year.
I've always loved science and wanted to do an experiment for a long time, so when I saw the Morning Meeting announcement, I took the chance. While I did get a recognition, I think I can do better and hope to place higher next year.
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