3 local students compete at International Science and Engineering Fair

One of our favorite educational events of the year is the area science fair held in Cape Girardeau. This year, Kaden Luker and Emma Shields of Jackson and Hiren Parekh of Saxony Lutheran went on to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. And one of the three -- Luker -- could be on his way to represent the United States in Stockholm, Sweden, pending his performance at a June competition in Colorado.

Luker's project has been focused around bacteria to eliminate microplastics in water.

"Well, see, the thing is, every time I go out on a drive somewhere, I'll always look out at water through the car window. It always saddens me whenever I see any kind of plastic around the water," Luker told the Southeast Missourian. "I wanted to create a solution."

After some trial, the Jackson student determined some types of bacteria were successful in breaking down harmful microplastics. He found success around lactococcus lactis, a "good bacteria" which also occurs in buttermilk and cheese.

You can read more about Luker's work in a story by reporter Michael Leifer that appeared in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian. Luker's work is impressive.

Science fairs are important opportunities, and we're always happy to see students engage in these events which provide significant educational learning and sometimes lead to scholarships and other benefits.

Congratulations to Luker, Shields and Parekh on competing at the Atlanta fair, and we wish Luker all the best as he goes on to Colorado and beyond.