Three Ohio students demonstrated the power of agriculture-based research at State Science Day, hosted by the Ohio Academy of Science. Their projects earned top honors from the Ohio Soybean Council Foundation, which awards the Ohio Bioscience 1st through 3rd place awards for the best individual and team projects at the state level.

Alaina Bell

Alaina Bell from Bloom Carroll High School won first place for her project “How Does Peptide D4E1 Affect Soybean Cyst Nematode Survival Rate?” Her research highlights how agriculture provides real-world applications for scientific careers in entomology.

Grace Whitmore

Second place went to Grace Whitmore of Global Impact STEM Academy. Grace’s project, “The Nutritional Viability and Protein Absorbance of Insect and Plant Sources for Malnutrition,” shows how modern agriculture integrates multiple disciplines, such as nutrition and insect science.

Elsie Hess

Elise Hess, also from Global Impact STEM Academy, secured third place with “Precision Agriculture: Evaluating Soil Moisture with RGB, Multispectral, and Thermal UAV Sensors in Agricultural Fields.” Her project demonstrates how important scientific research and technology are in modern agriculture.

The Ohio Soybean Bioscience Award, sponsored by the Ohio Soybean Council, offers prizes for outstanding soybean-related projects. It encourages students to explore topics in agriculture, biosciences, bioresources, biopolymers, bioproducts, biofuels, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, and environmental sciences.

GrowNextGen provides resources to support student-led research throughout the year. These include:

Teachers help students develop critical thinking skills while exploring the science behind Ohio’s largest industry when they support student-led scientific research focused on agriculture.