Juniors Named Place Award Winners at Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society Event

Juniors Julia Kagiliery and Jordan Harrow were named Place Award winners in the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society Virtual Symposium last week. Julia was the First Place High School Winner in the oral presentation category for her work to improve the efficiency and lower the cost of sulfur analysis in lignite coal. Jordan was the Third Place High School Winner in the poster competition for her work to build pesticide resistance in daphnia.  As they presented their projects to the panel of judges, both Julia and Jordan stressed how their research could be critical in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The awards were accompanied with cash prizes.

Both students plan to continue their scientific investigation next year. Participants in the Sigma Xi competition were selected from an elite pool of high school, college, and graduate researchers who were previously chosen to compete in international science competitions that were cancelled due to COVID-19. Participants presented their projects on Zoom to a panel of judges, who were then given time to ask questions. The students attend some of the most elite public and private educational institutions from around the country and around the world, and the research topics ranged from engineering and computer science to medicine and environmental studies  Due to the limited time and scope of the competition, all topics were judged together and there were only six awards presented to high school students. Episcopal is the only educational institution to have two winners.

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, is the international honor society of science and engineering. One of the oldest and largest scientific organizations in the world, Sigma Xi has a distinguished history of service to science and society for more than 125 years. Scientists and engineers, whose research spans the disciplines of science and technology, comprise the membership of the Society. Sigma Xi chapters can be found at colleges and universities, government laboratories, and industry research centers around the world. More than 200 Nobel Prize winners have been members.