Science Fair

George Washington Carver Science Fair 

The Willets lab members mentored local high school students who wanted to expand their learning experience through scientific discovery at the George Washington Carver Science Fair, hosted by Temple University. 

"Spread the Word"

Mahogany Williamson-McCants, Cianni Ortiz, A'yana Holloway (Freire Charter School) and scientific mentor Abby (Willets Lab) investigated the chemical affinities and water resistance of various inks drawn onto different kinds of paper.  Thin layer chromatography allowed the team to determine how many dyes were present in each ink, while optical microscopy was used to compare the line width of the pen lines before and after wetting.

The team got third place at the 2023 Science Fair in the team project category and qualified for the Delaware Valley Science Fair!

"Extracting Color"

Dayonna Harper, Atavier Green, Alanna Walker-Kegler, Lea White (Freire Charter School) and scientific mentor Sanjay (Willets Lab) studied the color components of various strawberry-flavored snacks and compared them to real strawberries using uv-vis spectroscopy and thin layer chromatography. 

The team got second place at the 2023 Science Fair in the team project category!

The team also won special award for excellence in the use of chromatography, which was awarded by the Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley!