Joseph Clary and Ashini Modi Selected as Finalists for LAJSHS

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News Release

CONTACT: Kris Clements
Caddo Parish Magnet High School

(ph) 221-2501 krisclements@gmail.com

Shreveport, LA Jan 17, 2021 – Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport is proud to announce that Joseph Clary (2nd place, $1500 scholarship) and Ashini Modi (1st place, $2000 scholarship) were selected among the five finalists in the 2021 Louisiana Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (LAJSHS) held this weekend virtually.  Both will compete for scholarships in the National JSHS to be held in April virtually.

Modi, a junior, used Gravitational Wave data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo to compute the two-point correlation function of Binary Black Hole Mergers. Previously, the two-point correlation function has only been used for galaxies and the Cosmic Microwave Background. The correlation function tells us how Binary Black Holes are distributed in our universe, helping us further understand their formation. She thanks her mentor Dr. Cavaglia at the Missouri Univeristy of Science and Technology and teachers at Caddo Parish Magnet High School.

Clary, a senior, created a 3D-printed 3D clinostat to simulate microgravity for biological applications and compared it to microgravity simulations available at Kennedy Space Center in November.  He made the device for <$900, and the only other available Clinostats existent are $65,000.  He thanks his parents, teachers, and mentors at LSUHS for all of their help during the development of his project.

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposia program is jointly sponsored by the United States Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, in cooperation with leading research universities throughout the nation. Forty-six regional symposia are affiliated with the JSHS program, reaching over 10,000 high school students and teachers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Europe and Pacific Rim regions. The university sponsored symposia invite the participation of secondary schools within their regions.