2 Clovis North students heading to International Science and Engineering Fair

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Select high school science students are gearing up to head to an international competition later this month.

During the Fresno County Science Fair, four students earned their entry and two of them were from Clovis North.

"It's such an incredible and exciting experience," Clovis North Junior Pauline Estrada said.

Pauline earned her ticket to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) with her project about the development of a super weed identifier program.

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

She says this will allow growers to reduce their overall herbicide use, increase their yield, increase their profit and help protect the environment.

Her work earned her one of four spots to ISEF during the Fresno County Science Fair and earned her second place in her category at the California State Science Fair.

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

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

"An American dies of a cardiovascular disease almost every 30 seconds," Shiv said.

He says specialty 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 several cardiovascular diseases using AI," Shiv said.

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

Chemistry teacher Kay Barrie says she has been impressed with the hard work Shiv and Pauline have put into their projects.

"It's inspiring to me as a teacher to see that these kids have scientific thinking going on and they are going to change the world - and that's something that you don't get every day," Barrie said.

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

They leave to head down to Los Angeles on Mother's Day, and they'll find out later that week how they did in the international competition.

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