On March 23, Germantown Academy Upper School Science Research students competed at the Montgomery County Science Research Competition (MCSRC), directed by Upper School Science Teacher Philip Rittenhouse 1760. In total, 28 GA students earned first, second, or third place awards, and, in the process, qualified for the virtual Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF). 

GA students won $2,475 worth of prize money and additional gifts of swag from professional organizations and private companies. 

On April 6, 26 Upper School science research students competed in the Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF), which includes schools from the Lehigh Valley to southern Delaware, and from Chester County to the New Jersey shore. In total, 14 GA students earned first place, second place, third place, or honorable mention awards, while GA students also won 15 special awards. In addition to that, Raina Bandekar '23 was the recipient of the 2nd Place Silver Medal Award for the 11th Grade for her project. Since Bandekar finished second overall in her grade, she also qualified for the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) with an all-expenses paid trip to the fair, which she attended in Atlanta for a week in May.

“I decided to explore the question, ‘Does early gonadectomy predispose canines to cranial cruciate ligament injury’,” Bandekar said. “In simpler terms, does early spaying and neutering -- before 1 year of the age of skeletal maturity -- correlate with a canine having a higher chance of sustaining a rear leg orthopedic injury called CCL injury, which is compatible to the ACL in humans.”

Bandekar said that she got inspiration for the project after she worked as a veterinary technician at her mother’s clinic in New Britain. In the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, she decided to explore her passion in the medical field, but since hands on medical shadowing opportunities are very limited for high school students, she decided to take a position in the animal world. Bandekar said that this was where she discovered the problems of CCL injury in young and generally healthy canines. 

“I decided to create a procedure that was solely executed at the veterinary clinic by using an x-ray machine to take radiographic images of the stifle (knee) and measure certain angles that provided me with information on a canines predisposed to this injury,” Bandekar said. “I received guidance from my mom as well as the orthopedic surgeon that she works with.”

Bandekar added that she received guidance from her mother, as well as the orthopedic surgeon with whom she works. Despite the hard work, Bandekar said she never really expected to win the award. 

“Winning the silver medal was of course very exciting and unexpected,” Bandekar said. “In the past projects in the zoology category, or in non-lab settings, do not tend to be the most show-stopping. In addition, most chosen projects usually have a greater implication in the ‘human’ world. I was so excited to see that my project, which has primary benefits in the animal world and was totally conducted in a non-lab setting, was chosen to go to ISEF. I hope my project will inspire others to pursue their own passions and interests in the scientific world!”