Fifteen Eighth Grade Students Awarded at PJAS State Competition

Fifteen eighth grade students from Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh won awards at the Region 7 Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Competition on Saturday, February 10, at Baldwin High School. Nine of the Aquinas students qualified for the State competition by earning a First Place Award.

"The Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) is a statewide organization of junior and senior high school students designed to stimulate and promote interest in science among its members through the development of research projects and investigations." (PJAS website) Students can choose a project in one of thirteen categories. "The State Meeting of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science is held each May at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. All first award winners from Regional Meetings are eligible to compete at the State Meeting. Approximately 3,000 of the best and brightest science students from Pennsylvania’s twelve separate PJAS regions descend upon State College each May to present their research." (PJAS website)

Aquinas First Place Award winners and State Qualifiers include: Elizabeth Austin, Elizabeth Bird, Silvia Grimm, Juliana Gruber, Amelia, Jeremiah Koenig, Morgan Randall, Hadley Rouce (Perfect Score), and Daniel Yuo

Aquinas Second Place Award winners include*: Ava Best, Mary Grace Dolan, Gabriela, and Jack Leyenaar

Three Aquinas students each won the Directors' Awards given by the PJAS Directors to the top project in each scientific category for each age group (Middle School or High School) within Region 7. Each Directors' Award came with a cash prize of $100:  Physics - Daniel Yuo, Behavioral Pyschology - Hadley Rouce, Zoology - Elizabeth Bird

Jeremiah Koenig won the Duane Keenan Award which is given out for excellence in Biochemistry, along with a $50 cash prize.

* Not all award winners are listed