A handful of students at Westwood Community High School have earned top grades for their work in the Wood Buffalo Regional Science Fair (WBRSF).
Four students from Westwood swept the WBRSF and will now represent Team Wood Buffalo at the virtual Canada Wide Science Fair being held in Fredericton, NB, May 16-20, 2022.
Dhyan Patel, 18, grade 12, put together his project called “Where What Goes. The Combination of CV and AI to Enhance the Recycling Experience.”
“My project is focused around tackling the problem of wrongful garbage disposal and increasing recycling in the community. I created a deep learning garbage classification model which I integrated into a classification system and an app,” said Dhyan Patel.
“This allows individuals to recycle in public on the fly and conveniently from the comfort of their home by simply taking a picture.”
Manorama Joshi, 17, grade 12, put together the project “Automotive SMART Cane for the Visually Auditorily Impaired (Deafblindness).”
“My project is based on developing an affordable cane that uses distance and motion-activated technologies to give mobility and independence to people with deafblindness through vibrations and sound,” explained Joshi.
Sparsh Patel, 17, grade 12, won with his project “FOCUS! An EEG and ANN Powered Brain Sensing Headband for Accident Prevention” which focuses on combating the problem of distracted driving.
“I created a brainwave sensing headband that can detect and accurately predict an individual’s state of mind – if they are focused, distracted, asleep or any type of similar brain activity,” said Sparsh Patel.
“This way either the individual can be removed from the road, or they can take immediate action to prevent an accident.”
Nishka Rai, 14, grade 9, worked on her project “Buzz! An Affordable Chronic Wound Alert System.”
“(Buzz!) is a smart bandage model for patients with chronic wounds. This will allow patients to know when they should change the bandage for better and faster healing through temperature, humidity, and pH levels in order to detect and help the wound healing process,” noted Rai.
Jeremy Hiscock, President of the Wood Buffalo Youth Science Foundation & Composite High School science teacher said he is delighted with the results of the WBRSF.
“We have some real talent here, fostered by supportive parents and inspiring teachers in both of our districts,” stated Hiscock.
“Science fair season is a special time where the excitement of curiosity flourishes. Even on the national stage, Wood Buffalo’s projects have consistently impressed the judges, and we have high hopes for our national nominees this year.”
Hiscock congratulated all students who put in the hard work to build projects for this year’s WBRSF and cannot wait for the grade 4-6 WBRSF on May 6-7.
