Parker Student Claims 1st Place at the Greater San Diego Science Fair

Preetam Soundararajan at this year's science fair.

Francis Parker School Sophomore and Scripps Ranch resident Preetam Soundararajan earned 1st place out of more than 750 entries at the 58th Annual Greater San Diego Science Fair (GSDSEF) that took place March 20-25 in Balboa Park.

His entry entitled The Use of Porous Silicon Hydrophobic Sensors to Detect Contaminants in Water not only took top honors in the senior level division, it also won the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) Sweepstakes that is awarded to only one high school aged student in the county.  Soundararajan was also recognized by the San Diego County Water Authority as one of the 2012 GSDSEF “water related” project winners in the senior level division.

All in all, Soundararajan walks away from the competition with a $2,000 award from the AFCEA, some gifts from the United States Air Force and another $300 from the San Diego County Water Authority.  He also qualifies to participate in the California State Science Fair that will be held in Los Angeles.

Category: Education