Last weekend, the campus of Radford University became a hub of scientific innovation as twenty students from Blacksburg High School competed in the Blue Ridge Highlands Regional Science Fair. The delegation delivered an extraordinary performance, securing a total of sixteen category awards and twelve special awards. The school’s presence was felt across a diverse range of disciplines, from environmental engineering to biomedical health, signaling a banner year for the school’s science department.
The high point of the event came during the announcement of the top honors, where Xavier Gitre was named a Grand Award Winner. Gitre’s research into the vocal begging patterns of Eastern Bluebirds and their environmental correlates earned him first place in animal sciences and a trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, this May. This marks the third consecutive year Gitre has advanced to the international stage. Fellow student Ian Yu also achieved high honors as the Grand Award Alternate for his performance analysis of a pentapod designed for Martian locomotion, which also took first place in the embedded systems and robotics category.
Several other students earned the distinction of qualifying for the Virginia State Science Fair, scheduled for April 10-11 at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Saad Ali secured his spot by taking first place in cellular and molecular biology for his work on cell division in Stentor coeruleus, an achievement bolstered by a distinguished award from the Office of Naval Research. Lucas Holland also advanced to the state level after placing first in earth and environmental sciences for his spatial temperature modeling. Adelaide Li rounded out the state-bound group by winning first place in the mathematics category for her agent-based modeling of wealth tax sustainability.
The depth of the team’s success was evident in the variety of specialized accolades received. Dahlia Obiedat earned four distinct honors, including the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and a NASA Earth System Science Award, for her feasibility analysis of solar-powered desalination. Ian Jora Macrea and Mateja Grove both took second-place honors in their respective engineering fields, while Josiah Townsend and Mohamed Abdel Motaleb also earned silver finishes for their research into neutrino detectors and soil stability.
The third-place finishers contributed significantly to the school's total award count. Santiago Angulo, Mirabella Garza, Rishi Nair, Milo Tao-Lin, Ethan Zhu, and Tony Zhao all stood on the podium for their respective categories. Their projects covered a wide spectrum of inquiry, including the mechanics of infant car seat carrying, the impact of weight training on swimmers, and the use of autonomous robotic arms for environmental cleanup. As these young scientists prepare for the state and international competitions this spring, the local community is invited to celebrate their dedication to expanding the boundaries of student research.