POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The work of our student scientists was on full display at Pocatello.

The Stem Action Center held its sixth annual East Idaho Science and Engineering Fair on the campus of Idaho State University.

Over sixty students presented their projects in four different science categories.

The event offered students the opportunity to present research projects that aroused their interest.

“STEM jobs are projected to grow 15.4% in Idaho by 2030,” said Idaho STEM Action Center Executive Director Dr. Kaitlin Maguire. “So it’s extremely important that we start priming the pipeline, so that we have workers to get into the workforce that we need.”

Danica Knapp, a freshman at Hagerman High School, says her family members with autism motivated her project.

It aimed to determine any correlation between the disorder and being a supertaster.

“They don’t like to eat vegetables and they eat less healthy foods,” Knapp said. “So we thought if we did a project on that, it would help nutritionists and parents feed their kids better.”

Skyline High School football player Jacob Demott wanted to learn what the most effective kicking technique was.

“It’s cool to show what’s really going on inside a soccer ball,” said Demott. “Most people think it’s a pretty easy thing to do. But if you look at the data, it all happens in 1.7 seconds. So there’s a lot to take in that time frame.”

Other topics ranged from the correct welding method to the effects on the student’s GPA.

“I found that with small sheets of metal, using more drastic welding methods completely ruins the metal and makes it more brittle and breaks faster,” said Hillcrest High School student Wyatt Going.

“We found that junior girls who don’t play sports have the highest GPAs, and that was interesting because we thought seniors would have the highest GPAs,” said Bonneville High student Brooklynn Hammond. School.

Tannon Bluth and Michael Ditzig have launched their own sugar rocket fuel test.

“When I heard about this fair, I thought, we should do what we’ve wanted to do in high school for a long time,” Bluth said.

With the amount of work and thought that has gone into each of these projects, Idaho’s future looks bright.

“Their research is top notch, and the projects that continue to represent Idaho are incredibly challenging and truly top-notch,” Maguire said.

Winning teams will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to attend and participate in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta May 7-13.