Zavion Felton knew he wanted to do something with computers for his science fair project.
The 8th grader at Academy Prep Center of Lakeland zeroed in on QR codes, those black and white squares with random digitized patterns that leads users to a website when they hover over it with their smartphone.
“It was very interesting to me to see if I could manipulate them and the QR code still work properly,” Felton said in an email. “I honestly thought it would continue to work regardless of the amount of changes I made to the code. I found out that after only four slight changes, the QR code no longer worked. It wouldn’t take me to the original site any longer.”
On Feb. 1, Felton won first place in the 2024 Polk County Regional Science and Engineering Fair in his category of Intelligent Machines and Systems Software, and was named the Overall Junior Science Fair Winner for his project on “QR Code Corruption.” He also earned a Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge Award.
Felton has plans to attend Santa Fe Catholic High School next year, where he has been accepted. He would like to grow up and work as an IT director, programming, repairing and troubleshooting computer systems. His mother is Vesi Norman.
His teacher said Academy Prep of Lakeland, staff and students, could not be prouder to have Zavion find success with the science fair this year.
“Zavion is the kind of student that all educators would be proud to have in their classrooms,” said Stephanie Short, an eighth grade science teacher at Academy Prep. “Everything may not always be easy, but he never gives up! He is incredibly gifted when it comes to technology and his winning allows everyone else to see what we already know!”
About 65 students from throughout Polk County participated in the regional science and engineering fair in late January at Mulberry High School.
“Once again, the quality of student projects was top-notch, reflecting the excellent STEM teachers and programs in our schools,” said Polk County Public Schools Spokesman Kyle Kennedy.
Best of Fair
Three other “Best of Fair” winners were announced at a ceremony on Feb. 1:
- Zoe Quel won in the Junior Earth and Environmental Sciences category for her project “Methods to Prevent Beach Erosion.” She is a middle school student at Ridge Global Studies Academy, a charter school in Davenport. In addition to Best of Fair, she also earned a Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge Award, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award, RICOH Sustainable Certification and Tree Award, Environmental Protection Agency Letter of Encouragement.
- Syed Rob won in the Senior Biochemistry category for “Investigating Neurotransmitter Absorbance at Different Human Body Temperatures.” Rob, a student at Haines City High School International Baccalaureate, earned the Regeneron Biomedical Sciences Award and a $375 cash prize.
- Isabella Wenxiu Wang won in the Senior Plant Sciences category for her project, “Should Trees Melow-Tone-In for Citrus Greening?” Wang, a student at Haines City High School International Baccalaureate, also won a University of Florida IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Award and a U.S. Metric Association Certificate and 1-Year Membership.
Middle school winners
Other middle school students who won first-place awards in their respective categories are:
Katya Gonzalez
Project: “Sweet Juice!”
Category: Junior Biomedical and Health Sciences
School: Dundee Ridge Middle Academy
Other awards: Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge
Mattison Phillips
Project: “How Dark Beverages Stain the Color of Your Teeth”
Category: Junior Chemistry
School: Ridge Global Studies Academy
Other awards: Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge
Megan Heter and Savannah Watts
Project: “Run, Hide, Fight”
Category: Junior Physics & Astronomy
School: Dundee Ridge Middle Academy
Other awards: Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge
Ellen Rayno
Project: “Polar Opposites”
Category: Junior Physics & Astronomy
School: Ridge Global Studies Academy
Other awards: Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge, Orlando Science Center Physical Sciences Award
Middle schoolers who won second-place awards are: Kaleb Jones, Andrea Martinez, Heaven Parra, Daxton Philogene, Kiana Rodriguez, Zoe Swanborough, Allie Wallace, Antonio Zetina
Third-place winners are: Tayli Barwick, Valerie Correa, Autumn Dimmer, Sofia Figueroa, Jurnii Hardrick, Allison Hoang, Morgan Hoke, William Hughes and Aubrey Mutschler.
High school winners
High school students who took first-place honors in their various categories are:
Noah Stone
Project: “Superworm Pupate”
Category: Senior Animal Sciences
School: Ridge Global Studies Academy
Santiago Aguirre Lopez
Project: “The Effect of Antacid Pills on Stomach”
Category: Senior Biomedical & Health Sciences
School: Haines City High School International Baccalaureate
Farha Rubiya Rahman
Project: “The Effect of Rosemary Essential Oil on the Peroxide Value and the Rancidity of Olive Oil”
Category: Senior Chemistry
School: Haines City High School International Baccalaureate
Other awards: University of Florida IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Award, Yale Science and Engineering Association Award Certificate
Audrey Rodas Bristol
Project: “Investigating the Quality of Soil”
Category: Senior Earth & Environmental Sciences
School: Haines City High School International Baccalaureate
Other awards: Association of Women for Geoscientists Certificate and Honorary Membership, Environmental Protection Agency Letter of Encouragement
Danielle Howell and Faith Okereafor
Project: “Can It Take the Heat?”
Category: Senior Materials Science
School: Bartow International Baccalaureate
Other awards: Orlando Science Center Physical Sciences Award
Aksh Ladegaonkar
Project: “Antimicrobial Properties of Metals against Staphylococcus epidermidis Growth As a Model”
Category: Senior Microbiology
School: Bartow International Baccalaureate
Alexandra Eary
Project: ”What is This Ringing?: Does the Density of Water in a Glass and the Glass’ Shape Affect Its Resonant Frequency?”
Category: Senior Physics
School: Haines City High School International Baccalaureate
High schoolers who won second-place awards are: Edgar Baez Ortega, Alexandra Eary, Alexandria Nguyen, Catherine Nguyen, Kyara Segarra, Chloe Shao and Jonathan Vargas.
Third-place winners are: Evan Shion Favis, Jonathan Filgueiras Gorra, Emily Huang, Nicole Serrano and Hannah Grace Young.
All first-, second- and third-place finishers are now eligible to advance to the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair, April 2-4 at the RP Funding Center.
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