Experiment and mission patch winners from STEM Academy and other Ector County ISD campuses were recognized at an assembly Monday in the multipurpose room at STEM.
STEM had the winning experiment that will set off for the International Space Station in December. It was pushed back from June.
The experiment and patches are part of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, or SSEP.
The winning STEM student team, coached by their teacher Karey Grametbaur, created an experiment to test whether a specific fungus, Pestalotiopsis microspora, would survive and reproduce in space with the goal of the fungus breaking down waste plastic into biodegradable components. The biodegradable byproduct of this experiment could then be used by astronauts to grow plants in.
Team members are sophomores Evan Hernandez, Bryan Nash, Evan Boyer and Kagan Holder and junior Georgi Shoumaroff.
“It’s really cool,” Nash said of the experiment going into space. “I still can’t believe it’s happening.”
Hernandez said it was a little disappointing that it was pushed back. But Shoumaroff said it was understandable.
“I think it just shows it’s real space stuff,” Nash said.
Mentors were Kedaijah Evans, an undergraduate biology student at UTPB, Paula Gutierrez, UTPB biology lecturer, and Joanne Hernandez-Clayton, UTPB laboratory director.
“I think that it’s a wonderful experience to be able to go through the same process that professional scientists and researchers go through to design an experiment, optimize the experiment and then actually have it be flow on the International Space Station. It involves writing and teamwork and a lot of perseverance to get through the challenges so it’s amazing that they’ve had this opportunity to e participating in real STEM,” Kristin Whittenburg, research and innovation strategist for ECISD.
Also on hand were Angela Johnson and Jett Casas, both innovation instructional specialists.
Two other teams from ECISD were finalists in the flight experiment competition — George H.W. Bush New Tech Odessa, coached by teachers Lornalyn De Leon and Maria Lopez including sophomore Eva Brower, junior Nathalaine Denise De Leon, 10th-graders Mikail Karais and Adrian Rodriguez and junior Beverly Lanae Vanessa Woods.
Hays STEAM Academy, coached by teacher Erika Pocaterra, included fifth-graders Horacio Hernandez Frias, Cristian Eduardo Lopez, Caleb Daniel Orozco, and Harper Pierce-DeShazo.
Secondary winners recognized Monday were Naelie Perez, first place, Wilson & Young Medal of Honor Middle School; Marley Miles, second place, W&Y, and tied for third place, Genesis Carbajal, NTO, and Quinn Boyer, STEM Academy.
Elementary winners were Edith Martinez, first place, Buice Elementary, Celeste Ortega, Downing Elementary, and Haylee Ann Moreno, STEM Academy.
Grade level winners, mentors and the ECISD Innovation Department also were recognized at STEM Academy. Awards and medals were given as well.
STEM freshman Emily Flores was the biomed pathway patch winner.
“I wasn’t really expecting it to be honest. I didn’t think I would place honestly. I was just kind of doing it,” Flores said.
Moreno, the third place elementary winner, talked about her patch design.
“I love aliens. I love them so much, so I decided to put an astronaut and an alien together fist bumping. Then my mom thought of this idea of … education connection so we put that on the top …,” Moreno said.
