As a participant in the second annual White House Science Fair, Priyen Patel, a junior at Sussex Technical High School in Georgetown, was rewarded for his hard work with a well-deserved handshake from President Obama.
Senator Coons, who had the opportunity to meet Priyen last summer after the BioGENEius challenge, came away impressed with his practical application of his science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
The White House science fair celebrated student winners of a broad range of STEM competitions from across the country. Senator Coons is a passionate supporter of STEM education, and admired the higher-order thinking skills that Patel used in his project, “Over-the-Counter and In Your Water? The Most Effective Filtration of Pharmaceuticals.”
“Congratulations to Priyen on this remarkable accomplishment,” said Chris. “Priyen’s project exemplifies what STEM education is all about—using science, technology, engineering and math to solve real world problems. An education rooted in STEM will give students like Priyen a leg up when it comes to finding good quality jobs.”
Priyen’s project focused on using various water filters to determine the concentration of medicines that end up in our drinking water. Priyen first became interested in the issue of pharmaceutical containment after reading an article in the News Journal in 2010 and learning common drugs were being found in the local water supply.
After winning his high school science fair, Priyen advanced to the Sussex County Science Fair, then moved on to the Delaware BioGENEius Challenge. His win in the 2011 U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge earned him the spot in the White House science fair where he represented Delaware, the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, and the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge.