STEM | AAUW Poughkeepsie (NY) Branch

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

AAUW supports promoting and strengthening science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, especially for girls and underrepresented populations.

Poughkeepsie Branch AAUW STEM Award
April 5, 2025, Dutchess Community College

AAUW Members Judge DC Science Fair

Vicki Greenberg, Amy Matts and Bonnie Auchincloss judged the 7th & 8th grade girls who entered the annual DCC Regional Science Fair on April 5th and were quite impressed by how many imaginative and innovative projects we saw.

The girl who won the 7th grade award explained the phenomenon of physiological after images, which result from staring at a colored circle and then seeing its complementary color on a white space. Her presentation was very clear with photos and charts to demonstrate her explanation.

The girl we chose as our 8th grade winner discussed with us how bio printers, which are well on their way to fruition, will be able to save lives by creating body parts and organs by using the patient’s own cells. She dreams of being able to take advantage of this technology herself by becoming a pediatric surgeon and using it to save the lives of children.

Other experiments and demonstrations explored ways of saving the environment by the use of hydro-electric renewable energy and by eliminating acid pollution in the ocean. We also saw a fascinating demonstration of the Fibonacci Sequence. We all left with a feeling that if these young women are an example of our future, we are in good hands.

Poughkeepsie Branch AAUW STEM Award
April 6, 2024, Dutchess Community College

AAUW members Bonnie Auchincloss, Vicki Greenberg and Amy Matts attended the Dutchess County Regional Science Fair on Saturday April 6, 2024 where they judged projects by enthusiastic 7th and 8th grade girls for a special award and a $50 gift certificate.

The 7th grade award winner was Nidhi Pandya (left). Her well-designed experiment investigated whether radish seedlings could prevent soil erosion.

The 8th grade winner was Aanya Shah (below). Her timely project investigated the stability of structures during earthquakes. She constructed a model from K’nex on a platform that could be shaken, simulating an earthquake. She then measured the swaying of the structure with and without shock absorbers and applied weights. Congratulations to the young scientists.