WKU News

Gatton students Asa Ashley (’25, Bowling Green HS), Zahra Chasmawala (’25, duPont Manual HS), and Nikhil Kumar (’24, duPont Manual HS) were each awarded $500 at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Grand Awards Ceremony in May. The Regeneron ISEF, a program of Society for Science for over 70 years, is the world’s largest global science competition for high school students. Through a global network of local, regional, and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for approximately $9 million in awards and scholarships. This year’s ISEF competition was held in Los Angeles, California. Finalist awards are based on their projects’ creativity, innovation, and depth of scientific inquiry. The competition featured nearly 2,000 young scientists representing 49 U.S. states and nearly 70 countries, regions, and territories. 

“I am very proud of the hard work Asa, Zahra, and Nikhil demonstrated in their research which led to their competing at the Regeneron ISEF this year,” said Dr. Lynette Breedlove, Director of The Gatton Academy. “These students are remarkable ambassadors for the many up-and-coming talented young scientists of Kentucky.”

Awards were:

Asa Ashley – 4^th place, Sustainable Materials and Design - $500

“Novel Synthesis of Maghemite Nanospheres on Nickel Foam as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Splitting”

Zahra Chasmawala – 4^th Place, Computational Biology - $500

“Modeling Neuron Energy Efficiency and Consumption Using Hodgkin-Huxley Equations with Analysis and Application”

Nikhil Kumar – 4^th Place, Physics and Astronomy - $500

“Optimized and Accurate Planetary and Interplanetary Satellite Modeling Via Utilization of Advanced Differential Equations”

About Regeneron ISEF: In 2019, Regeneron became the title sponsor of ISEF to help reward and celebrate the best and brightest young minds globally and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM to positively impact the world. Regeneron ISEF is supported by a community of additional sponsors, including Akamai Foundation, Alfred E. Mann Charities, Aramco, Caltech, Google.org, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Howmet Aerospace Foundation, HP, , Jacobs, King Abdulaziz & his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, Microsoft, National Geographic Society, Richard F. Caris Charitable Trust II, Rise, an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, Schattner Foundation, Siemens Energy, Annenburg Foundation, Ballmer Group, Broadcom Foundation, Cesco Linguistic Services, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Edison International, Insaco, Oracle Academy, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and US Army ROTC. Many are entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. Learn more at https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/. 

About The Gatton Academy: Established in 2007, The Gatton Academy is Kentucky’s first residential two-year program for gifted and talented juniors and seniors. The Gatton Academy’s students enroll as juniors and are full-time WKU students pursuing their interests in advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Gatton Academy is a recipient of the 2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from Insight Into Diversity Magazine and the Innovation Partnership Award from the National Consortium for Secondary STEM Schools.