Newly graduated Bolles School student James Staman recently took fourth place in the category of animal science at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in Los Angeles.
Staman, who participated in the fair in May, is only the second Bolles student to place at the prestigious science competition, which draws participants from all over the world. The title of Staman’s project was “Blue Light Effect Study: Impact on Drosophila’s Cognitive Ability and Gender Ratios,” in which he studied the effect of blue light on learning and population structure in fruit flies. He found that flies being raised in blue light had significantly reduced ability to complete a maze and that the population was stressed, as was indicated by the skewed sex ratio.
“We are so proud of James,” science teacher Dr. Kathryn Hollaran said.
Staman also is the 2017 winner of the D-hal Award, named in Halloran’s honor and established by the McGrane family to acknowledge a student with a love of science demonstrated by independent research and going beyond classroom requirements.
In other Bolles news, two additional students, Sneha Reddy and Ann Maris Walton, were awarded silver medals in May at the International Sustainable World Energy Environment Project Olympiad, or ISWEEP, in Houston. The rising seniors studied reducing the environmental impact of phosphorus fertilizers.
