Elijah Burks has made Caddo Magnet history!
Elijah Burks has been recognized as a Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist. He is the first student to have ever received this honor from CMHS, the first in Louisiana since 2006, and the 13th in Louisiana since 1950!
Burks joins the ranks of 13 Nobel prize winners, 22 MacArthur Foundation Fellows and many other distinguished alumni of the Science Talent Search. This honor identifies Burks among the nation’s most promising young scientists or mathematicians. He receives a $25000 award scholarship to be used at the school of his choice, and will also receive an all-expenses-paid journey to Washington, DC to compete for even more scholarship against the other 39 finalists.
Burks’s research is entitled “The Effect of Freshwater Acidification on Clams.” The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing due to the increased use of fossil fuels stemming from the industrial revolution 200 years ago. A multitude of research has been done on how increasing CO₂ affects saltwater organisms, but not on freshwater. This is mainly because freshwater only encompasses 3% of the water on Earth, with the rest being salt water. The main goal of his project was to determine how increasing CO₂ affects freshwater clams. Using varying amounts of CO₂, he exposed the clams to different pH ranges and measured their respiration and mass. This research showed that increasing CO₂ had a negative effect on freshwater clams. The mass of the clams in the acidic environment decreased, and their respiration increased, which is a sign of stress. With increasing carbon dioxide having a different effect on various organisms and the amount of CO₂ rising in the atmosphere, this research is very relevant. He hopes his project will inspire scientists to conduct more research on freshwater organisms and see how climate change will impact them.
He would like to thank his parents for their support, Dr. Erickson and Mr. Stratton at LSUS for helping him conduct his project, and Kris Clements for inspiring him to participate in science fairs.
