Shown from left at the AAUW McLean Area Branch May 4th luncheon are Judy Page, STEM Chair; Phyllis Yoshida, Science Fair coordinator and judge; Gabriela Konde, STEM Excellence Award winner; and Hamideh Soltani-Ahmadi, Science Fair judge.

Gabriela Konde, a junior at George Marshall High School, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the STEM Excellence Award given annually by the McLean Area Branch of AAUW. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Excellence Award is presented to a female student or team from a high school in the McLean area with an outstanding project in the field of Engineering entered in the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Phyllis Yoshida and Hamideh Soltani-Ahmadi served as judges for the branch at the in-person science fair held in March. They were impressed by the work done by Gabriela on the project, “Optimal Sound Frequencies for Targeted E. coli Biofilm Eradication on Medical Devices,” as it represented an innovative solution to a serious medical problem. In addition to receiving the STEM Excellence Award, Gabriela was selected as a first-place category winner in Microbiology, which qualified her to attend the Virginia State Science Fair. There she again took first-place in her category and fifth place overall, making her eligible to attend the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) this May in Los Angeles.

Gabriela was presented with the STEM Excellence Award at the May 4th branch luncheon held at River Bend Club, where she made a few remarks about her project and her interest in STEM. Her mother also attended the event. Her mother also attended the event. For the award, Gabriela received a Certificate of Merit and a check for $100.

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