Janine Kerr (age 14)  a rising sophomore at Danbury High School recently competed in the GENIUS Olympiad at SUNY Oswego June 24th-28th. The Genius Olympiad is the world’s largest international science fair dedicated to environmental science issues with over 248 projects competing from 51 countries and 31 states of the USA. Janine Kerr won a gold medal in science at the event which is the highest award representing the top 10% of projects presented. She also won a tablet computer and priority consideration for a scholarship to SUNY Oswego worth up to $16,000.

Janine won the all expense paid trip to compete at the Olympiad by winning first place in environmental science at the Connecticut State Science Fair March 17th at Quinnippiac University in Hamden. Janine’s project detailed the biological control of zebra mussels using an environmentally safe extract from sponges collected off the shores of Indonesia. She demonstrated that the extract could stop zebra mussels from attaching to surfaces and even kill the invasive species without being toxic to aquatic plants and animals. Her research demonstrated a possible way to control the spread of zebra mussels which have begun to infest lakes and streams in Connecticut.

You can find out more information about the GENIUS Olympiad on their website (geniusolympiad.org).