CAPS Congratulates the
2019 Outstanding Young Scientist

2019 CAPS Outstanding Young Scientist (center) Jacqueline Prawia, runners-up Amaya Bechler (center left), and Dalton Robinson (center right).  CAPS Public Relations Committee members Stephanie Lewis (far left), Valerie Chenoweth-Brown (second from left) and Margarita Gordus (far right) presented the awards.

It has been a longstanding goal of CAPS to promote scientific education to the young scientists of tomorrow. On October 19, 2019, CAPS hosted its annual Outstanding Young Scientists Luncheon.

This year, Jacqueline Prawia a young scientist from Mountain House High School, was crowned the Outstanding Young Scientist of 2019.  Families, CAPS Staff, and Board of Directors members were thoroughly impressed with her project, “ Ocean Bioplas: The Plasticity of Marine Exoskeleton-Inspired Materials and their Degradability in the Environment.”  Jacqueline took home a check for $1,000 and a pair of custom-made CAPS engraved geode bookends.

The other finalists were Amaya Bechler, from Northcoast Preparatory Academy, with her project, “How Does Spartina Densiflora Affect Bird Abundance, Diversity, and Frequency in Humboldt Bay Tidal Marshes?” and Dalton Robinson, from Mendocino High School, with his project, “Parasite Susceptibility in Icelandic Sheep: a Comparison of Offspring of Iceland-born Versus American-born Rams.”  These two young scientists each took home a check for $500 and custom-made CAPS engraved geode bookends.

About the Competition

The Outstanding Young Scientist competition begins annually in the summer with the awards ceremony in the fall.  The competitors are those students who have been selected to receive the regional CAPS Science Achievement Award.

Three finalists are selected by the CAPS Public Relations Committee after a detailed review of each project.  The finalists will be invited to attend the Outstanding Young Scientist Awards Luncheon in Sacramento in the fall.  Each finalist may be accompanied by his/her parent(s) or chaperone(s) and travel expenses are covered by CAPS.

Finalists and semi-finalists all receive an award and monetary scholarship.