2 Clovis North students heading to the International Science and Engineering Fair

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) – Selected high school science students are preparing for an international competition later this month.

During the Fresno County Science Fair, four students won entries and two of them were from Clovis North.

“It’s an amazing and exciting experience,” said Clovis North junior Pauline Estrada.

Pauline won her ticket to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) with her project on developing a superweed identification program.

She converted a camera and changed the light spectrum to help identify herbicide-resistant weeds.

She says this will allow growers to reduce overall herbicide use, increase yields, increase profits and help protect the environment.

His work earned him one of four ISEF spots during the Fresno County Science Fair and second place in his category at the California State Science Fair.

“It’s really rewarding to see when judges or just other teachers see the hard work I’ve put in or appreciate it because it makes me feel like all that hard work and lost sleep is worth it,” Pauline said.

Shiv Mehtrota-Varma, his classmate, focused his project on saving lives through early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

“An American dies from cardiovascular disease almost every 30 seconds,” Shiv said.

He says specialized care and equipment aren’t always available in rural areas, but 2D echocardiograms and a simple stethoscope are.

However, even with the right tools, not all doctors can interpret the information. That’s where his project comes in.

“The algorithms I created can diagnose various cardiovascular diseases using AI,” said Shiv.

He says this will allow doctors in rural areas to determine which patients should be treated as higher risk and referred for specialized care.

Chemistry teacher Kay Barrie says she was impressed by the hard work Shiv and Pauline put into their projects.

“It’s inspiring for me as a teacher to see that these kids are scientifically minded and are going to change the world – and that’s something you don’t realize every day,” Barrie said.

Pauline and Shiv are working to patent their designs and are looking forward to connecting with other student scientists and professionals at ISEF.

They leave for Los Angeles on Mother’s Day and will find out at the end of the week how they fared in the international competition.

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