FMS strong at Appalachian contest
Farragut Middle School winners at the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair included, from left, Irene Mamontov, Emma Tarditi, Kavita Bodin-Krishen, Olivia Spradling, and Ridhima Singh. Not pictured are Kate Cho and Eyrin Kim.
The 67th Annual SASEF event featured school-level champion projects from junior high and high schools from Knox and 22 surrounding counties.
Ridhima Singh; Emma Tarditi and her project partner and cousin, Kavita Bodin-Krishen; Olivia Spradling; Irene Mamontov; Kate Cho; and Eyrin Kim all won awards in the Fair’s Junior Division.
Ridhima, the lone eighth grader in the group, won first place overall and was Grand Champion of the Junior Division with her project titled: “Impact of Urbanization on the Intensity of Flooding.”
She received a trophy for the honor and $250.
Ridhima’s project also won Certificate of Excellence in the Junior Environmental Science category and a special award from the Environmental Sciences and Geophysical Society. She is the daughter of Nagendra and Debjani Singh.
Emma and Kavita won second-place overall for their team bioengineering project: “Lighting in Vertical Hydroponic Systems: Do LEDs Stack Up?” for which they received a trophy and $100.
The project also was a Junior Division Category Certificate of Excellence winner for the Junior Materials and Bioengineering category. They also received an award from the Society of Women Engineers.
Because of these top honors, both Emma and Kavita are eligible for nomination to the National Broadcom MASTERS Science Challenge, said Ellen Manning, seventh-grade FMS science teacher.
Emma’s parents are Dr. Lovely Krishen and Dr. Alfonso Tarditi, and Kavita’s parents are Edward Bodin and Dr. Sangeeta Krishen.
Olivia won a third-place medal overall for her project “Inorganic Crystal Growth in a Magnetic Field.” She also won a Certificate of Excellence and $25 in the Junior Chemistry category, and won a special award from the American Chemical Society.
Olivia is the daughter of Andrew and Kim Spradling.
Irene won third-place for her project, “Bacteria Begone!” in the Junior Medicine and Health Science category, and a Special Award in medical sciences.
She is the daughter of Eugene and Lyubov Mamontov.
Kate and Eyrin also received Honorable Mention for a group project in the Junior Division at SASEF. Kate is the daughter of Sungki Cho and Jeeyoun Kim, and Eryin’s parents are Hyun Kim and E.J. Choi.
