ST. GEORGE — Allison Munro is following in the footsteps of her father, Southern Utah University engineering professor Scott Munro.
She was one of four students from Southern Utah who recently shined at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 2023 (ISEF) held in Dallas, Texas, in May.
Scott Munro told St. George News that in past years, he’s helped 12-13 students from Southern Utah complete science projects for ISEF.
“It was really cool. This year was the first time I went to see the ISEF. It was an interesting experience,” he said. “It’s really big. It’s got a lot of international kids there and kids from all around the country.”
The fair was a great opportunity for Allison to meet others in the science field, Munro noted.
“She had a good little project that we weren’t expecting to win,” he said. “She did a great job presenting it and she had a good time.”
In an email to St. George News, SUU Director of the STEM Center (science, technology, education, math) Dylan Kirklin said that ISEF hosts over 1,600 students from 60 different countries.
The students design and present science projects to judges who award scholarship money and prizes based on the quality of their presentations.
“Dr. Carrie Bucklin and I were pleased to host a truly amazing group of young women at the ISEF,” Kirklin stated.
“We were impressed by the preparation and execution of their incredible projects and their poise in remaining calm under the pressure of dozens of questions asked by qualified scientists and professors from around the world.”
Attending was a contingent of four Southern Utah students — Allison Munro, Taytum Stratton, Anna Ence, June Bryant — three of them earning prizes for their projects. Ence, a student observer, was preparing her project for next year’s fair.
Allison Munro’s project was titled “Replica of an Acoustic Liner Simplified.” She explained how airplane engines have acoustic liners around their engines that are designed to dampen noise.
“I replicated that and simulated the deconstructive interference that occurs in acoustic liners,” she said.
Her experiment tested how the liners function after being damaged with broken glass or damaged by excessive vibration.
“In a previous year I did an acoustics and sound project, and I was really interested to take a deep look into that,” Allison said, adding that her father is interested in aerospace engineering as well and he helped bounce ideas around.
Allison said that socializing with new friends, seeing new places and going to the college fair was just as important as what happened with the science fair at ISEF.
“It was nice not to be judged all the time,” Allison said. “The people around you were able to help, just to be able to hang out and calm your nerves. We were all in the same position, and that really helped ease the pressure.”
Allison won a scholarship for her project and will attend Lawrence Technological Institute in Michigan.
June Bryant agreed that the highlight of ISEF was meeting new friends. She said she immediately bonded with the other girls from Southern Utah and she met “some awesome friends from Australia.”
“It really was an incredible opportunity,” Bryant said. Her award-winning project at ISEF was titled “The Correlation Between Physical Activity and Balance in the Elderly.”
Bryant said she hoped her project would be helpful for the large population of seniors in St. George. Her project surveyed seniors in three different age groups about their activity levels and their ability to maintain balance over time.
She was awarded two scholarships after her presentation and will attend Brigham Young University in the fall.
“I’m interested in studying public health but from a neuroscience, biological perspective,” Bryant said, adding that she’s wanted to be a scientist for most of her life.
Bryant was delighted that the Utah contingent at ISEF was all female.
“I think there’s a lot more women interested in STEM careers than in generations past,” Bryant said. “It was so cool to see that at ISEF, it makes you feel empowered.”
The third award winner at ISEF from Southern Utah was Taytum Stratton. She won a $1,000 scholarship and third place in chemistry for her project “Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese Desert Rose Nanoparticles: A Fourth Year Study.”
Kirklin had high praise for the four future scientists.
“No one could have represented Southern Utah better than Taytum, June, Allison and our student observer Anna,” Kirklin wrote. “To bring home a 3rd Place Grand Prize in Chemistry is astounding. The future of STEM is young women from Southern Utah.”
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