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Projects by Derousie, Kouchakjy earn awards at Clay County Science Fair

Pair earn spots in state, international science competitions

By Wesley LeBlanc wesley@opcfla.com
Posted 3/3/21

CLAY COUNTY – Two high-schoolers aren’t just going to the state science fair competition, but the ISEF Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair as well.

Due to COVID-19, these …

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Projects by Derousie, Kouchakjy earn awards at Clay County Science Fair

Pair earn spots in state, international science competitions


Posted

CLAY COUNTY – Two high-schoolers aren’t just going to the state science fair competition, but the ISEF Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair as well.

Due to COVID-19, these fairs won’t be held in person like usual and will instead opt for a virtual conference. But Orange Park High senior Sebastian Kouchakjy, 17, and Ridgeview High junior Serenity Derousie, 17, are still as excited to take their projects to the global stage. Both of the students were first place winners in their respective categories at the county fair, and both have been to state before, but this will technically be the first time they’ve participated in an international fair.

“I won first at the county fair last year and was going to go to state and international, but COVID-19 happened and both were cancelled,” Derousie said. “So, I guess this is technically my first time going to the international fair.”

Derousie’s project is perhaps more relevant now than ever before due to the global pandemic with people ordering things online more than ever before. She started the three-year project for last year’s fair and it dealt with finding ways to break down the cellulosic material in cardboard boxes to arrive at glucose, which can hypothetically be used to create ethanol or fuel.

Her project was a success last year as she proved breaking down the boxes was possible. She won first in her category at the county fair. The project’s continuation this year saw her attempting to ferment the glucose from the boxes to see if fermenting those sugars was even a possibility. It was a success and she’s going to the international fair now.

Derousie plans to continue the project for next year’s science fair where she’ll attempt to actually create ethanol using the broken-down cardboard boxes and test the fuel in a small engine. She’s excited for that, but for now, she’s concentrating on her paperwork and video presentation practice to prepare for the state and international fairs.

Much like the county fair this year, the two upcoming fairs will be held virtually, which consists of a judging period where the contestants will have to present their projects live in video form.

“It’s so exciting to be selected for these fairs because it means you put in enough work and effort to make it that far,” Derousie said. “It is a bummer to not be able to go to these places, but it’s still a great honor to be chosen in the first place.”

Derousie still has a year of high school to go, but she already has her sights set on a science-dedicated future. She hopes to attend the University of Florida or the University of Central Florida and pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. She also hopes to see her project take off in a big way.

“Hopefully this will reach the right people for them to be inspired to use packaging waste instead of food crops to create fuel,” Derousie said. “This will help get trash out of landfills and allow for the (foods that will no longer need to be used to create fuel) to go to third-world countries and places that need it.”

Kouchakjy will join Derousie at this year’s international science fair, and he’ll be showcasing his exoskeleton.

“I wanted to make an affordable exoskeleton for people who have muscle problems, so people with muscle disabilities or injuries that damage their muscles,” Kouchakjy said. “The whole point wasn’t to make a super strong exoskeleton, because obviously that would add more weight, but to instead create a sleek design that’s controlled with muscle activity.”

Kouchakjy said his exoskeleton moves using electrodes that read signals from the wearer to let the electrodes know to flex in such a way that the signaled movement can occur. He got the idea from video games, where exoskeletons are heavily featured throughout the medium.

He wanted to take that sci-fi and otherwise fictional concept from video games and make it more applicable to reality. That approach worked and Kouchakjy has not only the working, wearable exoskeleton to show for it, but a first place in his category at the county fair and an invitation to the state and international science fairs as well.

This will be his fourth time attending the state science fair – the first time virtually – and his first time attending the international fair. Kouchakjy said none of this would have been possible without the guidance and help from Clay County regional science fair director, Chris Okamoto, and fair coordinator Amanda George.

This is Kouchakjy’s final year of high school, although he’s already dual-enrolled at Orange Park and St. Johns River State College, and he plans to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering in college.

Both Kouchakjy and Derousie will attend the state fair virtually at the end of this month and the international science fair in May. At the international fair, they’ll be joined by thousands of other students from 80 different countries where science will be celebrated across many different categories ranging from engineering to biology and more.

“I have absolute confidence that these two excellent students will do well at the international fair,” Okamoto said. “They’re extremely bright and their projects are fantastic. I can’t wait to see how they do.”