Washington, DC—Can you taste PTC? Which is better—photovoltaic or photochemical solar power? Should teachers care what side you’re on? These were just some of the projects that won awards March 27 at the 64th annual citywide DC Science & Engineering Fair.

The 2010 competition, which drew students from public, charter and private middle and high schools across the District of Columbia, also brought together a unique public-private partnership to host it. Joining the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and DC Public Schools were Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the nonprofit Center for Minority Achievement in Science and Technology. “This truly was a team effort, just like in the real world of science and engineering,” noted Ward 2 State Board of Education member Mary Lord, who championed the state-led partnership approach. The citywide fair, like its counterparts in other states, is a steppingstone to the nationwide Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. DC’s top two grand champions received all-expenses paid trips to this national competition in San Jose, California, May 9-14.

You didn’t have to be an Einstein to appreciate the depth of knowledge and high level of engagement on display in McKinley Tech’s huge gym. Bronte Jasinski, a senior at Georgetown Visitation and three-time citywide science fair participant, became interested in an extremely bitter chemical called PTC after her teacher brought in samples and she couldn’t taste it but some classmates could. Her project, among the handful considered for the grand prize, took top honors in the cellular and molecular biology category, winning a $2,000 eight-week internship at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research this summer. “The science fair has been more than ribbons and trophies,” observed Jasinski, who is headed to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland next year. “It allows your voice to be heard and your discoveries to go far.”

Along with paid summer internships, many students won gift certificates and special awards from such groups as the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Washington Statistical Society. State Board student representative Kirstin Jones, a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School, was honored for her project on lactose intolerance—an interest sparked by her own difficulty digesting dairy products. She joined fellow student representative Kevin Jackson, Ward 7 Board Member Dorothy Douglas and Ward 2 Board Member Mary Lord on the stage at the awards ceremony. 

Another Banneker student, Betihem Alayew, is headed to the Intel national competition with a second grand prize-winning life sciences project on a flatworm called Planeria. The top prize went to St. Albans student Anirudha  Balasubramanian for his math project on lower central series quotients. Third place overall winner William Soller of School Without Walls, who created a “novel device” for detecting heart arrhythmia, is the alternate delegate to the national contest if the first or second place winner cannot attend.

See full rosters of all winners; Grand Winners, Category Winners, and Organizational Awards, courtesy of Walter Reed’s Dr. Marti Jett, who oversaw the judging. Thanks to all the partners, sponsors and volunteers who made the 64th annual citywide fair such a success—and congratulations to all the students, teachers and families for reaching this major milestone.