Millard Oakley STEM Center

2025 Science & Engineering Fair

67th Annual Cumberland Plateau Regional Science & Engineering Fair

It is our pleasure to invite students to participate in the 67th Annual Cumberland Plateau Regional Science & Engineering Fair, hosted by Tennessee Tech University’s Millard Oakley STEM Center, on April 5th, 2025.

67th Annual Cumberland Plateau Regional Science & Engineering Fair Winners 2025

Overall Senior Division Winners
Overall 1st Place
Benjamin Sprik – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – Filtration Face Off

Overall 2nd Place
Chloe Boyd – Dekalb County High School, Dekalb County – The HOLE Truth

Overall 3rd Place
Elsie Sheumaker – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – Stayin' Alive, One Compression at a Time

Senior Division Winners
Animal & Plant Sciences
1st – Alivia Hart – White County High School, White County – Is Your Livestock Grain Worth Its Weight?
2nd – Olivia Minton & Kinley Niehuus – Dekalb County High School, Dekalb County – Garden Grooves

Behavioral & Social Sciences
1st – Taeyoo Kim & Louis Kim – Cookeville High School, Putnam County – Analysis of Effects of MBTI with respect to age, gender, blood type, and ethics
2nd – Eva Greene – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – Social Media and the Perception of Beauty Standards
3rd – Nolan Archer – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – The Future of AI Art

Chemical Sciences
1st – Levi Pelfrey – Bledsoe County High School, Bledsoe County – How acidity affects the digestive enzyme in saliva

Earth & Environmental Sciences
1st – Lly Madge – White County High School, White County – Geospatial Analysis of Ambient mR Radiation Dose Rates in Urbanized and Rural Ecosystems in Tennessee

Energy and Environmental Engineering
1st – Estee Willis & Macie Burton – White County High School, White County – Comparative Analysis of Decomposition Rates for Biodegradable vs. Plastic Glitter

Engineering, Robotics, & Computer Sciences
1st – David Wheeler & Jaxon Kleparek – Dekalb County High School, Dekalb County – AI vs Reality
2nd – Breanna Powell – White County High School, White County – A Comparative Analysis of Tensile Strength and Durability of TIG, MIG, and STICK Welds

Health & Wellness
1st – Sydney Hassler & Jaelyn Hawn – Monterey High School, Putnam County – Bacterial Resistance on Contaminated Cell Phones
2nd – Levi Rempel & Martin Anderson – Monterey High School, Putnam County – What are you drinking?
3rd – Jackson Reel – Bledsoe County High School, Bledsoe County – Electrolyte Challenge: Sports Drink vs Orange Juice

Junior Division Winners

Best of Junior Division
Marvin Tidwell Award – Jaxon Green – York Elementary School, Fentress County – Like Father, Like Son

Animal & Plant Sciences
1st – Thomas Troutt & Chantley Driver – Macon County Junior High School, Macon County – Reel 'Em In
2nd – SkyLynn Woodard & Marlee Lane – Smith County Middle School, Smith County – Plants in different environments

Behavioral & Social Sciences
1st – Kelsey Roark & Addie Schafer – Macon County Junior High School, Macon County – Attraction In Action

Chemical Sciences
1st – McKenzie Neill – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – The pHacts of Fruit

2nd – Addison Dishmon – York Elementary School, Fentress County – Pop Goes The Fizz
3rd – Logan Garrett – York Elementary School, Fentress County – The Race to Melt

Engineering, Robotics, & Computer Sciences
1st – Greyson Neill – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – Can You Truss This Bridge

Health & Wellness
1st – McKenzie Walker – York Elementary School, Fentress County – Feel The Beat: How Different Types of Music Impact Heart Rates
2nd – Joel Vaughn – New Colossus Academy, Putnam County – Freezing Temperatures of Sodas
3rd – Braxton Walker – York Elementary School, Fentress County – Tooth Takedown: Which Drinks Are Weakening Your Enamel?

Physics, Astronomy, & Mathematics
1st – Katelyn Emmitt & Demi Carter – Macon County Junior High School, Macon County – Bounce It Like It's Hot
2nd – Audrey Reiser – Macon County Junior High School, Macon County – Want Some Popcorn?
3rd – Bently Carter & Colby Neely – Macon County Junior High School, Macon County – Make It Pop

Congratulations to all of our Regional Science & Engineering Fair Winners!

Prepare for the Fair

CATEGORIES

When you register you will be prompted to select the category you will be competing in. If you are uncertain of which category your project falls in, please select undecided and we will review your project and assign the category.

Animal and Plant Studies (AP)	The study of animal and plant life, including their structure, function, life history, interactions with other plants and animals, classification, and evolution. Includes: Animal Behavior, Development and Growth, Ecology, Genetics/ Breeding, Nutrition and Growth, Pathology, Physiology, Soil and Pesticides, Systematics, and Evolution.
Behavioral and Social Science (BE)	The science or study of the thought process and behavior of humans and other animals in their interactions with the environment studied through observational and experimental methods. Includes work on Psychology and Sociology.
Chemical Science (CH)	The science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter and/ or their interactions with living organisms. Includes the study of the design, synthesis and properties of substances, including condensed phases (solid, liquid, polymers) and interfaces, with a useful or potentially useful function.
Earth and Environmental Science (EA)	Earth and Environmental Science are studies of the environment and its effect on organisms/ systems, including investigations of biological processes such as growth and life span, as well as studies of Earth systems and their evolution. Including: Atmospheric Science, Climate Science, Environmental Effects on Ecosystems, Geosciences, Water Science.
Energy and Environmental Engineering (EE)	Energy is the study of renewable energy sources and structures, energy efficiency, biological and chemical processes of renewable energy sources, clean transportation, and alternative fuels. Includes: Hydro Power, Solar Power, Wind Power, Thermal Power, Sustainable Design, Alternative Fuels, Fossil Fuel Energy, Fuel Cells and Battery Development, Microbial Fuel Cells. Environmental Engineering are studies that engineer or develop processes and infrastructure to solve environmental problems in the supply of water, the disposal of waste, or the control of pollution. Including: Bioremediation, Land Reclamation, Pollution Control, Recycling and Waste Management, Water Resources Management.
Engineering, Robotics, and Computer Science (ER)	Engineering studies the design, manufacture, and operation of machines, structures, processes, and systems. Includes, Aerospace and Aeronautical, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Construction, Industrial, Processing, Ground and Naval Vehicles. Robotics is the studies in which the use od machine intelligence is paramount to reducing the reliance on human intervention such as Biomechanics, Cognitive Systems, Control Theory, Robot Kinematics, Machine Learning. Computer Science is the study and development of technological software and hardware and information processes. Including: Programming, Algorithms, Data Bases, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Communications, Computational Science, Computer Graphics, Software Engineering, Programming Languages, Computer Systems, Operating Systems.
Health and Wellness (HW)	Health and Wellness are projects that aim to improve human health and longevity by translating novel discoveries into effective activities and tools for clinical and public health use. Projects can be those developed through basic research moving toward clinical testing or project that provide feedback about the applications of new treatments and how they can be improved.
Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics (PM)	Physics is the science of matter and energy and of interactions between the two. Includes: light, sound, magnetism and motion. Astronomy is the study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

Visit the link below for ISEF rules, information, and PDF. We suggest you print a hard copy for your reference. 2025 INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR RULES & GUIDELINES

REQUIREMENT: Before students start any research, the necessary forms must be approved and signed by the appropriate individuals (i.e. Adult Sponsor, Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or the Scientific Review Committee Members (SRC) on human or animal research, etc.)

JUDGING RUBRIC

The criteria outlined in the attached rubrics will be used to judge projects.

2025 JUDGING RUBRIC

Location & Schedule

LOCATION

Junior Division (5th-8th Grades)

The Academic Wellness Center

Tennessee Tech University

1150 McGee Blvd

Cookeville, TN 38505

Senior Division (9th-12th Grades)

The Academic Wellness Center

Tennessee Tech University

1150 McGee Blvd

Cookeville, TN 38505

SCHEDULE

Friday, March 28, 2025

11:00pm Registration Closes

Saturday, April 5, 2025

7:30am-9:00am Check In

9:30am-12:00pm Judging (Closed to the Public)

12:00pm-1:30pm Lunch Break (Please bring your lunch or plan to eat in the Tech Cafeteria.)

1:30pm-3:00pm Judging (Closed to the Public)

AWARDS

Change of Award Ceremony Format:

This year, we've made a few changes to improve the fair. First, we're moving the competition from a weekday to a Saturday. Over the past few years, the fair has grown significantly, and we found it challenging to judge all the entries within the limited time available. By holding the judging on a Saturday, we can provide judges with ample time to thoroughly review each project and engage with the students about their research. In addition to this, we’re also updating how we recognize award winners. Rather than holding an in-person ceremony, teachers will receive an email with the list of winners following the event. We’ll then coordinate with each winner's school to personally present their awards.

REMINDER

Tennessee Tech cares deeply about the safety and welfare of children while on its campus. As a parent, guardian, or teacher (as applicable) if a student is attending the 66th annual Cumberland Plateau Regional Science and Engineering Fair, you are responsible for the supervision, oversight, and protection of your student participant(s) while on Tennessee Tech property.

A parent, guardian, or teacher (as applicable) must accompany the student(s) at all times. Students may not be left unattended.
Register Online

Register Here

Information and Assistance

Please contact Christina Hatley, email chatley@tntech.edu or call 931-372-6531.

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