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Photo courtesy of Hoover High Sc
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Hoover High School students Lauren Geisler and Dev Patel compete in the 2022 statewide TEAMS competition sponsored by the Technology Student Association. They were on a science, technology, engineering and math team that took first place statewide.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover High Sc
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Hoover High School students Remy Deschaine and Eshika Kudaravalli compete in the 2022 statewide TEAMS competition sponsored by the Technology Student Association. They were on a science, technology, engineering and math team that took first place statewide.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover High Sc
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Hoover High School students Siam Siddiqi and Srijan Meesala compete in the 2022 statewide TEAMS competition sponsored by the Technology Student Association. They were on a science, technology, engineering and math team that took second place statewide.
The Hoover High School science, technology, engineering and math teams claimed a state championship and took the top three spots in this year’s statewide TEAMS competition sponsored by the Technology Student Association.
The No. 1 team — made up of juniors Dev Patel, Lauren Geisler, Eshika Kudaravalli and Remy Deschaine — ranked in the top 10 nationally, qualifying to go to the national competition in Dallas June 28-29, which will include the top 25 teams in the country, Hoover coach Janet Ort said.
The second place team included Siam Siddiqi, Srijan Meesala, Adnan Porbanderwala and Sreekiran Nataraj, while the third place team featured Midhun Sadanand, Nathan Li, Akhil Boddupalli and Jayden Kim. Hoover had three other teams with four students each.
The TEAMS competition is divided into three parts. One is a multiple-choice test with high-level, complicated math problems that include physics problems and real-world STEM application problems, Ort said.
The second part is a design/build competition in which the students are given certain materials and a certain amount of time to come up with a design for a project and then use the materials they are given to build it.
This year’s project was to build a miniature prototype of an amusement park ride with the goal of keeping the ride moving as long as possible, using a marble as the simulated rolling vehicle, Ort said. Other materials included things such as paper clips, popsicle sticks, twine, tape, pencils, rubber bands and scissors, she said.
The third part of the competition is for the group to work together to write a 1,000-word essay on a particular topic. This year’s topic at the state competition was engineering in entertainment, Ort said.
“This group of kids has been amazing,” Ort said.
Members of the Hoover High STEM team also participate in the Science Olympiad, individual research competitions, environmental science competitions and service projects associated with science, she said.
Three of the senior STEM team leaders — Samir Abouhaidar, Meesala and Nataraj — and fellow senior Shayaan Essani were among 12 finalists for the Gorgas Scholarship Competition, a prestigious research competition for Alabama seniors, and Meesala and Nataraj came in second and third, respectively. Meesala also competed in the international Regeneron Science competition, Ort said.
One of the juniors, Kudaravalli was selected from among 325 applicants to be among 18 students presenting at a symposium for emerging scientists sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology, she said.
Furthermore, Meesala was the first place winner at the state level for the Alabama Junior Academy of Sciences competition in the biological sciences division and then went to nationals.
Hoover’s STEM team has done well in the TEAM competitions each year since getting involved three years ago, Ort said. Each year, Hoover has had at least one of its teams take first place in one of the divisions, she said. Until this year, there were separate divisions for students in grades 9-10 and grades 11-12. This year, the divisions were combined.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 5:28 p.m. on May 11, 2022, to correct the name spelling for Remy Deschaine. An incorrect spelling was provided to the Hoover Sun.