Why to How: Adventures in STEM

In this episode of the Why to How podcast, CWSF 2016 alum Sarah Simionescu discusses the challenges of entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of overcoming analysis paralysis and learning through experience. She highlights the necessity of collaboration and seeking advice from those who have navigated similar paths, as well as the importance of customer feedback in the development process.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to STEM Journeys

01:22 Sarah's Science Fair Experience

05:50 The Impact of STEM Fairs

08:06 Transitioning to Coding and Education

09:18 Navigating University Challenges

10:41 Research and Growth in Computer Science

17:51 Finding Co-op Opportunities

23:04 Building a Startup: SalesBop

27:33 Acquisition and Current Work at MongoDB

34:16 The Importance of Mentorship

36:43 Learning Through Experience

37:38 Building Confidence Through Presentation Skills

42:49 Navigating Feedback and Iteration

43:06 Working at a Dream Company

45:47 Advice for Aspiring Software Developers

52:36 Creating Impact Through Community

57:45 The Value of Sharing Your Work

01:05:46 Thanks for Watching Outro Video.mp4

In this episode of the Why to How podcast, we interview Claire Sehn, a young innovator who won the Junior Discovery Platinum Award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair for her project 'Beat the Blaze: Preventing Wildfires and Drought With a Novel, Biodegradable Treatment.' Claire discusses her biodegradable treatment designed to prevent wildfires and drought, the inspiration behind her project, her research and development process, and her experiences in the lab. She shares insights on balancing her interests, the support she received from family and friends, and her aspirations for the future. She also emphasizes the importance of curiosity and determination in tackling environmental challenges and encourages other young scientists to explore their passions.See Claire's project here: https://partner.projectboard.world/ysc/project/beat-the-blaze-preventing-wildfires-and-drought-with-a-novel-biodegradable-treatment*Chapters*00:00 Introduction to Claire and Her Project03:48 The Inspiration Behind Beat The Blaze06:35 The Science of the Hydrogel09:44 Research and Development Process13:00 Experiences at Science Fairs15:48 Advice for Young Scientists18:57 Future Aspirations and Interests21:48 Balancing School and Science Projects24:44 The Importance of Curiosity in Science27:35 Final Thoughts and Encouragement46:28 Thanks for Watching Outro Video.mp4

In this episode of the Why The How Podcast, host Stuart McKelvie interviews Sara Waqas, a young scientist who has made significant strides in mental health research, particularly focusing on schizophrenia. Sara discusses her award-winning project that aims to develop personalized treatments based on neurobiological profiles. She shares her journey of inspiration, the research process, and the importance of community engagement in mental health. Throughout the conversation, Sara emphasizes the need for flexibility in research, the impact of mentorship, and the significance of pursuing interests in STEM. She also addresses misconceptions about schizophrenia and the challenges faced during her project, while encouraging others to explore their passions in science.

See Sara's project here: https://partner.projectboard.world/ysc/project/neurobiologically-informed-targeted-schizophrenia-treatment-a-multi-omic-fmri-approach

*Chapters*

00:00 Introduction to Sarah Waqas and Her Achievements

01:02 Understanding the Project: Targeted Schizophrenia Treatment

03:01 Inspiration and Research Journey

06:02 Project Development and Flexibility

09:00 Timeline and Research Process

11:59 Mental Health Research Approach

17:01 Challenges in Mental Health Research

20:05 Impact of Research on the Community

24:00 Misconceptions and Surprises in Research

27:05 Overcoming Challenges and Mental Blocks

33:42 Exploring Chemistry and Learning Resources

35:20 Finding Mentors and Building Connections

39:10 Support from Friends and Family

41:49 Balancing Multiple Commitments

47:16 Protecting Mental Health in Research

50:04 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

54:38 The Importance of STEM Projects

57:11 Developing Communication Skills

59:57 Future Aspirations and Research Goals

In this episode of the Why to How podcast, host Stuart McKelvie interviews Trisha Haldar, a grade 9 student and the Junior Innovation Platinum Award winner at the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2025. Trisha discusses her award-winning project, the Visual Drug Interaction Checker, which aims to simplify the understanding of drug interactions for patients, especially seniors. She shares her journey of inspiration, the challenges she faced during the project, and the technical aspects of her work, including programming and research. Trisha emphasizes the importance of accessibility in health information, the value of STEM projects for youth, and the significance of support from family and mentors. The conversation highlights the learning process, the importance of simplicity in solutions, and the motivation to continue exploring new ideas in STEM.

See Trisha's project here: https://partner.projectboard.world/ysc/project/visual-drug-interaction-checker

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Annabelle Rayson, a student from Lambton County and our Best Project Award - Discovery winner at CWSF 2022 for her project, "Plankton Wars: An Innovative Analysis of Daphnia Genotype Biomanipulation for Algae Bloom Prevention".  

Feel free to check out Annabelle's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/plankton-wars-an-innovative-analysis-of-daphnia-genotype-biomanipulation-for-algae-bloom-prevention

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Arushi Nath, a student from Toronto and our Best Project Award - Innovation winner at CWSF 2022 for her project, "Strengthening Planetary Defense: Detecting Unknown Asteroids using Open Data, Math, and Python".  

Feel free to check out Louis and Koral's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/planetary-defense-detecting-unknown-asteroids-using-open-data-math-and-python

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Louis Wu and Koral Kulacoglu, students from York and our Senior Platinum Award - Innovation winners at CWSF 2022 for their project, "FourSight Screenings".  

Feel free to check out Louis and Koral's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/foursight-screenings

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Max Du, a student from Calgary Youth and our Intermediate Platinum Award - Innovation winner at CWSF 2022 for his project, "A Novel Pre-Hospital Indoor Rescue Drone".  

Feel free to check out Max's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/old-novel-pre-hospital-indoor-rescue-drone

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Jasmine Schneider, a student from Waterloo-Wellington and our Intermediate Platinum Award - Discovery winner at CWSF 2022 for her project, "Phosphate Removal from Groundwater Using Mussel Shell Biochar".  

Feel free to check out Jasmine's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/phosphate-removal-from-groundwater-using-mussel-shell-biochar

Welcome, welcome all, to this episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an amazing CWSF a few months ago, I wanted to check in with our Platinum & Best Project award winners, to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Audrey Cowen, a student from Toronto and our Junior Platinum Award - Discovery winner at CWSF 2022 for her project, "The Hidden Side of Your Dog's Love".  

Feel free to check out Audrey's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/the-hidden-side-of-your-dogs-love-npdmr

✨ Welcome, welcome all, to this special episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. Today, I’m joined by Shreya Plassery, a Grade 8 student from Peterborough and our Junior Platinum Discovery award winner at CWSF 2021 for her project, Unlocking the Legacy: Can Mycorrhizae and Spent Mushroom Substrate activate Legacy Phosphorus?

🎙️ Available on all your favourite podcast apps, you can also watch this episode on YouTube at: https://cstu.io/40fa2f

📣 Feel free to check out Shreya's project and leave comments of support at: https://cstu.io/c25e9b

🤷 Who is Shreya Plassery?

Hi! I am Shreya, a grade 8 student from St. Catherine Elementary School, Peterborough. This is my fourth time doing the science fair and I got to go to Canada Wide virtually this year. It was a fantastic experience!

Instagram: @shreyaplassery 

💜 Thanks so much for your support! Have a great day, and stay curious

✨ Welcome, welcome all, to this special episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. Today, I’m joined by Calvin Karthik, a Grade 9 student from Peterborough and our Discovery Best Project award winner at CWSF 2021 for his project, A Mighty Mushroom and the Power of Poop: Testing Biogas Production using Spent Mushroom Substrate Phase 2.  

🎙️ Available on all your favourite podcast apps, you can also watch this episode on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/sasi_t-5JU8

📣 Feel free to check out Calvin's project and leave comments of support at: https://cstu.io/55bc7a 

🤷 Who is Calvin Karthik? 

Hi, my name is Calvin Karthik and I'm a Gr. 9 student. I love playing basketball, hip-hop music, dancing, coding, creating digital art, and science. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to participate in the CWSF.  

💜 Thanks so much for your support! Have a great day, and stay curious

Bienvenue à tous dans cet épisode spécial du podcast Pourquoi et comment, où nous explorons les aventures dans le domaine des STIM. Aujourd'hui, je suis accompagnée d'Allison Engo, une élève de 12e année du Réseau Technoscience et notre lauréate du prix Platine Découverte senior à l'ESPC 2021 pour son projet Saved on the Fly.

Feel free to check out Allison's project and leave comments of support at: https://cstu.io/db1cbc

Pour sa vidéo de présentation en français: https://cstu.io/055b14

Who is Allison Engo?

My name is Allison Engo, born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. I'm a 16-year-old student from Marianopolis College studying in the Honours Health Science program. I'm passionate about sciences and finding ways to improve the lives of people in our community through research and education.

My Social Media Links

https://cstu.io/0c0b15

https://cstu.io/8ccf6e

https://cstu.io/507ee6

You can also watch this episode in French on YouTube at: https://cstu.io/c7e9e0

Thanks so much for your support! Have a great day, and stay curious 💜

Welcome, welcome all, to this special episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an absolutely incredible virtual CWSF a few weeks, it was clear that you all wanted to hear more from our Platinum & Best Project award winners, so over the next few weeks, I’ll be catching up with them all to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Hardit Singh, a Grade 9 student from Waterloo-Wellington and our Best Project Innovation award winner at CWSF 2021 for his project, Speculor: A Comprehensive Teleophthalmology Platform for People Centered Eyecare.   

Feel free to check out Hardit's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/speculor-a-comprehensive-teleophthalmology-platform-for-people-centered-eyecare 

Who is Hardit Singh? Hi! My name is Hardit Singh and I am a Grade 9 student from Waterloo Ontario. My interests include computer science, artificial intelligence, optics, medicine, and sports. I love developing innovative solutions involving my interests to help solve our world's biggest problems! Check out my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvmkfw1hfQvAdsY4Qi714MA

You can also watch this episode on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/XgouWFTv29o

Thanks so much for your support! Have a great day, and stay curious 💜

Welcome, welcome all, to this special episode of the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM. After an absolutely incredible virtual CWSF a few weeks ago, it was clear that you all wanted to hear more from our Platinum & Best Project award winners, so over the next few weeks, I’ll be catching up with them all to learn more about their science fair projects & the adventures they’ve had along the way.   

Today, I’m joined by Timothy Cai, a Grade 11 student from South Fraser and our Senior Platinum Innovation Award winner at CWSF 2021 for his project, An Investigation into Active Control for Accessible Orbital Flight.  

Feel free to check out Timothy's project and leave comments of support at: https://projectboard.world/ysc/project/an-investigation-into-active-control-for-accessible-orbital-flight   

Who is Timothy Cai? 

Timothy Cai is a grade 11 student currently attending Fraser Heights Secondary. He decided to begin this project out of an interest and love for engineering and aerospace. At school, he runs the school science club, makerspace, and the class server. He enjoys reading novels and tinkering with his 3D printer and assorted projects in his free time. He also likes to snowboard and play badminton, and he hopes to reach provincials with his school. Timothy would recommend future science fair students to find something they love and work on it until it becomes something exceptional. In the future, he hopes to stand out in the field of aerospace and catch the attention of SpaceX.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/3MWzFIDefKQ 

Thanks so much for your support! Have a great day, and stay curious 💜

In today’s episode of the Why to How podcast, as we explore Christian’s adventures in STEM, I wanted to focus the conversation on two main topics: the importance of effective science communication, as well as the challenges involved in the commercialization of ideas.  

Christian Theriault is an award-winning serial entrepreneur with expertise across several deeptech industries. He has co-founded or been involved with startups in robotics, machine vision, medical devices, and new chemical entity development. His latest company, which was acquired by a Japanese multinational, had the distinction of producing the world’s fastest focusing lens – widely used across several markets ranging from laser material processing to metrology and biomedical imaging. More recently, Christian has been involved with mentoring high-tech startups through his participation in various accelerator programs, angel groups, and the National Science Foundation. Christian holds an MSE in Material Science and Process Management and an A.B. in Molecular Biology and Bioengineering, both from Princeton University; he has authored several academic papers and holds numerous patents. He currently serves as an advisor to several technology and consumer facing startups and resides in New York City. He is an alumnus of four CWSF/ESPCs which he credits for shaping his intellectual curiosity and love of learning, as well as being one of YSC's newest Board members.   

Please show your support for Christian as we welcome him to the Why to How podcast!

On today’s episode, I’m joined by David Ross, the incredibly personable CEO of Ross Video which powers video productions for billions of global viewers daily. If you’ve ever watched a news broadcast, the SuperBowl, the Grammys, Tony awards, eSport & Drone Championships or even watched a worship ceremony, it’s likely you’ve witnessed the power of Ross Video and their product and software solutions. David was CWSF finalist in 1978, 79 & 81, he was awarded the honor of being Ottawa CEO of the Year 2016 as well as being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa for his achievements in Engineering and Business. Ross Video is a silver sponsor of the Ottawa Regional Science Fair and David still holds his three CWSF medals among his greatest achievements.   

You can find out more information about Ross Video & the work that David and his team are doing at: 

Website: https://rossvideo.com  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drossvideo

On today’s episode, I’m joined by the wonderful Dominic Tremblay. Dominic works as an innovative, Canadian educational consultant, having supported thousands of students and teachers in every province of the country in mathematics, science, technology, social studies, robotics and literacy. He currently leads the Youth Science Canada Smarter Science initiative and has also attended 25 Canada-Wide Science Fairs both as a student, and as an organizer!  

With such a strong passion for STEM education, this is sure to be a fascinating conversation, especially for the teachers and parents among our listeners. Don’t worry students, there’s plenty of advice for you in this episode as well.   

If you'd like to learn more about Dominic and the work that he does, check out the below resources: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/d_tremblay  

Website: https://dominictremblay.com/

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Catharine Bowman. Catharine was raised in a family of CWSF alumni with her older brothers Jordan and Patrick participating before her. She participated in CWSF 2011, 12 & 13, ISEF in 2014 & 15 winning a bunch of awards. Now in her early 20s, Catharine has just completed an undergraduate degree in health sciences, studying the effects of naturally occurring compounds from the lupine flower on lymphedema, an inflammatory condition affiliated with cancer treatments. She’s presented at a TEDx event in 2019, and been included in Lifestyles Magazine's 2020 Health List, Forbes 30 Under 30 (Healthcare), Avenue Magazines 40 Under 40, Think for Actions Top 20 Under 25 and also won the UCalgary President's Award. Most recently, she’s presented at the Women’s Forum Global Meeting virtual event & is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine with a PhD to come. 

This is a conversation, I’m certain you’re all going to love. Find it on your favourite podcast app or at this YouTube link: https://cstu.io/4765e7

Please show your support for Catharine as we welcome her to the Why to How Podcast.

You can find more information about Catharine and her amazing work at these links:

LinkedIn: https://cstu.io/88362a

Twitter: https://cstu.io/e60c8d

On today’s episode, I’m joined by CWSF 2017 & 2018 alumni, Stella Bowles who was recently awarded the Order of Nova Scotia for her commitment to cleaning up the LaHave River. Her 2017 science fair project garnered quite some attention on social media, influencing three levels of government and prompting a $15.7m action plan to clean up her local river. She’s been awarded numerous conservation & environmental awards for her work, been recognized as an emerging environmental leader, and even travelled to Ecuador as a member of the Canadian Youth Ambassador program. Having spoken at multiple TedX events, moderated various virtual webinars and even written a book called My River: Cleaning up the LaHave River with author Anne Laurel Carter, needless to say, I’m very excited for today’s conversation.   

Please show your support for Stella as we welcome her to the Why to How Podcast, where we explore adventures in STEM.   

You can find more information about Stella and her amazing work at these links:  

Facebook: https://cstu.io/178717  

Twitter: https://cstu.io/983333  

Website: https://cstu.io/f87b2b

We're very excited to announce our first guest for the Why to How: Adventures in STEM podcast - Ann Makosinski!   

Ann is a 23-year-old student, serial inventor and media darling doing numerous global appearances and keynote talks. Having participated in science fairs since Grade 6, she won a gold medal at CWSF2013 for her project Hollow Flashlight, and in that same year won the Google Science Fair, presented at two different TedX events and was named in Time Magazine's 30 Under 30 list. In 2014, two more TedX events, 4 awards at the International Science & Engineering Fair as well as presenting her eDrink mug on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon rounded out another big year for Ann. Since then, the awards, brand ambassador campaigns and public speaking appearances have continued to keep her busy, she's founded her own company Makotronics Enterprises, filed numerous patents and still found time to enrol as a student at the University of British Columbia to study Arts & English Literature.   

Ann has an incredible story and is so much more than the little I listed above. You can learn more about her achievements and her every day by checking out the links below:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annmakosinski/

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annmakosinski

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annmakosinski/

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ANDINIELVIS 

This conversation is sure to be one not to miss!