The 2023 Manatee County Secondary STEM Fair Awards Ceremony was held on February 27th at Manatee High School.

Projects were previously on display at Manatee Technical College and judged by representatives from University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and LECOM.

“Students and teachers in the School District of Manatee County have earned a well-deserved reputation for being superstars when it comes to STEM,” said Superintendent Cynthia Saunders. “Congratulations to all of the winners – and best of luck to those moving on to the state competition.”

10 projects will advance to the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair in Lakeland next month.

The following schools participated: Manatee High and Southeast High; Braden River Middle, Dr. Mona Jain Middle, King Middle and Nolan Middle.

Air Force Association Award

Colton M.

Angel A.

Air Force Science Educator of the Year

Jennifer Kreisel from King Middle School

Best Use of the Scientific Method Award

Anthony Y.

Erick E.V.

Best Data Collection/Processing

Tristan L.

Allison S.

Most Unique Design

Kaitlyn W.

Ella E.

Best Interview and Presentation

Matthew W.

Aaniya D.

Best Research Project

Emmerson L.

Amy L.

Outstanding Research in Animals and Plants

Kinley M.

Shalalai E.

Outstanding Research in Health and Behavior

Kyla L.

Melisha G.A.

Outstanding Research in Chemistry

Briahna R.

Chloe H.

Outstanding Research in Earth and Environmental Sciences

Drake T.

Caitlyn C.

Outstanding Research in Physics and Math

Matthew F.

Sebastian C.

Outstanding Research in Engineering

Amanda H.

Steven S.

Lemelson Early Inventor Prize Award

Amanda H.

Animal Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Kinley M., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School; Best of Show “How are fruit fly offspring impacted by climate change?”; Teacher: Brittany Devlin

Sr. Division – First Place – Shalalai E., Manatee High School 

Behavioral & Social Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Sebastian L., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School  

Sr. Division – First Place – John G., Manatee High School

Biomedical & Health Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Kyla L., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Christine M., Manatee High School

Chemistry

Jr. Division – First Place – Preston S., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School  

Sr. Division – First Place – Erick E.V., Southeast High School

Cellular/Molecular Biology & Biochemistry

Jr. Division – First Place – Miles D.R., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Amy L., Manatee High School

Earth & Environmental Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Drake T., Braden River Middle School

Sr. Division – Caitlyn C., Southeast High School 

Environmental Engineering

Jr. Division – First Place – Grayson B., Braden River Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Sebastian C., Southeast High School

Engineering

Jr. Division – First Place – Anthony Y., King Middle School    

Intelligent Machines and Robotics

Jr. Division – First Place – Riley D., Braden River Middle School  

Mathematics & Computational Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Jack B. and Manuel A., Braden River Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Luana E., Manatee High School

Microbiology

Jr. Division – First Place – Malachi S., King Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Aaniya D., Manatee High School

Best of Show  - Amy L., Manatee High School; “Regenerate UV Memory”; Teacher: Christine Miller  

Physics & Astronomy

Jr. Division – First Place – Matthew F., King Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Miranda H., Southeast High School

Plant Sciences

Jr. Division – First Place – Lainey I., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School

Sr. Division – First Place – Audrey Y., Manatee High School

Other Special Awards

Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Award

Malachi S., Riley D., Drake T., Miles R., Sebastian L., Kinley M., Preston S. and Matthew F.

Headwaters Science Institute Award

Caitlyn C.

Florida State Science and Engineering Fair Finalists

  1. Kinley M., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School

  2. Miles R., Dr. Mona Jain Middle School   

  3. Drake T., Braden River Middle School  

  4. Riley D., Braden River Middle School 

  5. Malachi S., King Middle School 

  6. Caitlyn C., Southeast High School 

  7. Erick E.V., Southeast High School 

  8. John G., Manatee High School   

  9. Shalalai E., Manatee High School  

  10. Amy L., Manatee High School   

The 68th annual State Science and Engineering Fair is being held April 4-6, 2023, in Lakeland, Florida.