Hail to the budding scientists!

Kapil Sinha and Kyra Grantz were recently recognized for their achievements in science.

Kapil Sinha, who attends Buena Vista Middle School in the Spreckels Union School District, has been selected as a semifinalist in its first Broadcom MASTERS competition.

Kapil’s project, “Bugs B Gone: Aphid Control through Home (Organic) Remedies” took first place in the Junior Division at the Monterey County Science & Engineering Fair in March, and third place at the California State Science Fair in May.

Now, Kapil's project will compete with 300 other semifinalists from all other the country. If his project is one of 30 chosen on Aug. 31, he will get an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. in October to compete in a four-day STEM competition.

Now to Kyra Grantz, a graduate of York School who was awarded an Army Certificate of Achievement of Excellence from the American Meteorological Society at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May for her project "The Effects of Ocean Temperature on Aerosol Particle Absorption." Grantz won first place in the senior division at the California State Science Fair, and she was one of five students selected to participate in the Intel competition.

Before heading to the University of Chicago, Grantz worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and conducted studies with scientists at the Naval Postgraduate School.