They Blinded Us With Science

by Laura Breen Galante

A trio of Oviedo High School students recently received top honors at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) – designating the teens as some of the brightest young scientists in the world.

Produced by the nonprofit Society for Science, this year’s competition was held in May in Phoenix, Arizona, drawing nearly 1,800 high-school researchers from more than 67 countries, regions, and territories.

Oviedo’s Moitri Santra, Ankan Das, and Angela Calvo-Chumbimuni each placed among the top in the world in their respective categories. This is the first time Seminole County Public Schools has had a first-place finisher in their category and a top award winner in the overall contest, honors that were achieved by Moitri. 

William Furiosi, who teaches Advanced Placement (AP) science and research classes at Oviedo and runs the school’s science fair program, mentored the students as they prepared their projects for competition.

Before competing at the ISEF level, Moitri, Angela, and Ankan had a regional hurdle to clear. They competed alongside about    75 other high schoolers at the Seminole County Regional Science, Math, and Engineering Fair in February. All three won first place in their categories: Moitri (Plant Sciences), Ankan (Engineering), and Angela (Cellular/Molecular Biology & Biochemistry). Moitri and Angela also earned the two best-in-fair awards, securing direct nominations to compete at ISEF. Ankan won Seminole County’s third and final international spot.

“It’s really tough to put into words how hard it is to do research – let alone to succeed – and to the level that all three of them did,” says William.

Planting Her Roots 

Moitri, who graduated in May as Oviedo High School’s salutatorian, will attend Stanford University this fall to pursue a degree in materials science and engineering with a focus in biological applications. 

At ISEF, she took home a first-place Grand Award in the Plant Sciences category, which earned her $6,000. From the pool of 36 first-place category awards, judges selected the Top 14 European Union Contest for Young Scientists Awards. Moitri was in that Top 14 tier, which means she will represent Regeneron ISEF in September in Kiel, Germany.

“I feel very grateful and honored to receive this recognition at the international stage,” says Moitri, who is looking forward to competing in Germany this fall.

Her project created an eco-friendly, cost-effective nanocarrier for oxytetracycline (OTC), a systemic antibiotic used to treat and prevent diseases in trees. The antibiotic is administered by injection in the trunk.

“OTC is a very common treatment for several crop diseases, including citrus greening and peach bacterial spot,” says Moitri. “The carrier improves the performance of OTC toward disease symptoms.”

Crop diseases have caused billions of dollars in damages annually to Florida’s orange crops, a problem that hits close to home for her.

“Growing up in Oviedo, I was exposed to the troubles faced by local growers due to crop diseases and frustrations with current treatment methods,” says Moitri. “I was interested in trying to find a way to address OTC limitations, while still remaining practical for the needs of growers.”

That’s Grand 

At ISEF, Ankan and Angela each earned a fourth-place Grand Award in their respective categories, earning $600 each. Both students say they felt honored to compete and be recognized for their work at such a prestigious contest.

Ankan, a rising junior who competed in the Engineering Technology: Statistics & Dynamics category, built novel robotic systems using a tensegrity structure framework and shape-memory alloys as actuators. 

“This robot is compact, lightweight, autonomous, and shape-morphable,” he says. “It is well-suited for applications that involve navigation on rough terrain such as planetary exploration. I sincerely hope that I can continue to pursue this research topic and advance this project further.”

Angela, a rising senior who is interested in the intersection of neuroscience, biochemistry, and psychology, competed in the Biochemistry category. She developed a combinatory sensor/biosensor for detecting brain biomarkers in dysregulation from those suffering from mental health disorders. 

“By developing these sensors, I focused on a biomarker-driven/biological approach to support those in the early diagnosis of mental disorders,” says Angela. “The most memorable aspect [of the ISEF experience] was how it reinforced my research interest, strengthening my desire to pursue scientific research.”

For their mentor, the accomplishments of Moitri, Angela, and Ankan can’t be overstated.

“These three students moved me to tears, because it is so ridiculously hard to win. But it’s not even about winning – that’s the icing on the cake,” says William. “It’s more the fact that whatever these kids do, they’re going to be so well prepared because they know how to dive deep into very complex things.”

William chuckles and adds, “I guess that’s a long-winded way of saying I’m incredibly proud.”