25 Genes in Space Awardees Announced

The Genes in Space™ competition attracts students who are curious about science on Earth and beyond. This year, we received over 380 submissions from across the US. The selection committee was thrilled by the caliber of the participants and was excited by the creativity of these Space DNA pioneers. We welcome all the participants and their educators to the Genes in Space community.

These finalists will present their proposals at the ISS Research and Development Conference in San Diego, California. One winning experiment will be performed aboard the International Space Station.

5 Genes in Space Finalists

– Mason Frizado (16), Dylan Barcelos (16), and Kylie Cooper (16) from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Massachusetts
– Julian Rubinfien (15) from Stuyvesant High School, New York
– Justin Harris (18), Savanna WeaselBear (17), Corey Ardrey (18), and Seth Bittle (18) from Pontotoc Tech. Center, Oklahoma
– Maria (Chabelis) Byamana (17) and Amy Gu (17) from Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Massachusetts
– Finsam Samson (15) from Troy High School, Michigan

5 Junior Scientist Awards

Outstanding proposals by middle school teams

– Eleanor Berkenblit (13) and Noa Popko (13) from The Sage School, Massachusetts
– Tina Treherne, Andrea George, Khalia Bowen, and Zaidehli Quevedo from Mott Hall Bridges Academy, New York
– Ailun Shi (14) and Lily Yan (13) from Hyde Park Middle School, Nevada
– Madison Li (13), Srijana Mdimi (16), and Jeannie Reyes (15)from The American Museum of Natural History, New York
– Amelia Sanchez (12), Simon Amaya Price (11), and Trygve Aarestad (11) from The Innovation Institute, Massachusetts

10 Honorable Mentions

Ten Honorable Mention Awards are presented to teams whose proposals display remarkable scientific rigor and creativity.

– Nishta Krishnan (16) from Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, Massachusetts
– Samuel Shin (18), and Alexander Winters (18) from Bob Jones High School, Alabama
– Vanesa Johnson (18), Alyssa Baisler (17), and Skye Aldrich (18) from Eastlake High School, Washington
– William Gao (17), Michael Gao (17), Yinyu Ji (16), and Julia Hansen (17) from Boston Public Schools, Massachusetts
– Fiona Dunn (14) from Winsor School, Massachusetts
– Lindsay Bledsoe (18), Ansley Grider (16), and Brooke Titshaw (16) from Fort Payne High School, Alabama
– Ruby Schnirman (17), Grace Moorhead (16), Naomi Shimberg (16), and Francess Kamara (16) from the Wheeler School, Rhode Island
– Geevanesam Devakanmalai (16) and Ashley Phillips (17) from Bronx High School of Science, New York
– Miranda Powell (17), Dario Fucich (16), Corinne Stonebraker (16), and Timothy Reizis (16) from from Bronx High School of Science, New York
– Catherine McNamara (16), Karina Dsouza (17), Andrew Severino (17), and Nicole Easo (17) from Bergen County Technical High School, New Jersey

Constellation Awards for 5 schools

The Constellation Award celebrates an educational institution’s collective enthusiasm for Science and Space. Five US educational institutions (one in each major geographic region) with the highest number of submissions.

– SouthEast: Pelahatchie Attendance Center in Mississippi
– MidWest: Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Illinois
– West: Kaimuki Middle School in Hawaii
– SouthWest: Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan in Texas
– NorthEast: Forest Hills High School in New York