Inaugural WJA-Gonzaga Science Fair

The Inaugural Gonzaga-WJA Science Fair took place on Friday, February 25 in the Arrupe Commons -- a culmination of months of work on the part of 24 pairs of Gonzaga and WJA students.

The fair was founded by Gonzaga student John Corso '23 and co-founded by William Deye '23 and Aidan Friedman '23, who partnered with Science Teacher Mr. Drew Hudspeth to bring the idea to life. The goals of the event were to introduce WJA students to lab science, create a new leadership opportunity for Gonzaga students, and foster scientific growth in both the WJA and Gonzaga communities. Gonzaga students paired up with WJA students to develop a science project based on their combined interests. Starting as early as November, students met with their partners in open lab sessions at Gonzaga to plan their experimental design, collect data, analyze results, and draw meaningful conclusions.

On the date of the fair, students prepared presentations to a panel of judges, including Dr. Kathleen Maguire-Zeiss of Georgetown Medical School, Dr. Diana Glick of Georgetown University, Dr. James Deye, emeritus director of the Radiation Research Program at the National Cancer Institute, and Mr. Brian Gaudet and Ms. Sierra Gardner of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center.

The projects addressed a wide range of scientific questions and problems -- from studying the effects of compost soil on bean growth to analyzing the effects of counterweights on a projectile. The winning projects were:

Overall 1st Place: The Effect of Temperature on the Efficiency of Solar Panels, Anthony Pierce and Aidan Friedman '23
1st Place Scientific Background: Algae Growth in Different Light Conditions, Antoine Washington and Tim Lis '23
1st Place Analysis and Conclusions: Making Batteries from Scratch, Edgar Jimenez and Johnny Broome '25
1st Place Data and Scientific Method: Positive Effects of Bed Coverings for Pickup Trucks, Edlin Saintil and Jack Deye '23

At the end of the event, Mr. Hudspeth thanked the students for all of their hard work leading up to the science fair. "I want to give a big shout out to all of you who put in so much time after school -- every Friday going all the way back to November. There was a lot of time that went into each and every one of these projects," he said, before adding that they hope to make this an annual event. "Thank you all for coming, and hope to see you again next year."

We hope you enjoy these great photos and short video recap. And congratulations to all the student scientists!