Nine ASMS Research Fellows Students Compete and Excel at Mobile Regional Science Fair

Nine ASMS Research Fellows students competed in and dominated the Mobile Regional Science Fair on Feb 27 and 28, with many students placing first in their categories, and Madeline Borchert nabbing Best in Fair, an honor which will send her directly to compete in the International Science Fair in Columbus, Ohio in May. YangHong Chi received the honor of being named first alternate for Best in Fair.

Dorian McKercher, John Wilhite, Kahyeon Joen, Lucas Miller, Ben Le, Alex Nguyen, Daniel Pacheco, and Madeline Bochert have been participating in the ASMS Research Fellows Program. They developed and executed original research in Chemistry, Physics, Animal and Plant Sciences, Engineering, and Computational and Bioinformatics Sciences, mentored by ASMS faculty including Dr. Mark Byrne, Dr. Matthew Davenport, Dr. Andrew Gentry, Mr. Kevin Dolbeare, and, as Research Fellows Coordinator, Ms. Asia Frey. Off campus mentors from Auburn University and the University of South Alabama also devoted their time to mentor these projects, which will now be presented further at the Alabama State Science Fair and the ASMS Spring Research Forum.

Most of these students beat tough local competition to win first in their categories. Students competing in Auburn are hoping to join Madeline Borchert in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international STEM research competition for high school students.