For Methuen High juniors Yasmine Bridaa and Tayyab Afzal and senior Thomas Le, talking “science” before a panel of judges is nothing new. Not only have their various projects been winning accolades here in Methuen, but these energetic scientific thinkers have advanced to regional and state science fairs these past few years.

And in 2025, the trend continues!

The trio, and several fellow MHS students, won awards at the 39th annual Methuen High Science Fair where over 150 individual students (sophomores to seniors) presented 87 projects. Kids utilize scientific inquiry while actively learning about science and gain valuable knowledge about the world around us through active, hands-on learning. Teens can do their projects solo, with a partner or as part of a trio.

Here are this year’s MHS Science Fair winners, selected by MHS science teachers, and their projects:
First Place (individual): Yasmine Bridaa, “Taking Safety to the Next Level: The Design and Safety Assessment of a Magnetic Levitation Elevator.”

First Place (team): Tayyab Afzal and Thomas Le, “Utilizing Magnetohydrodynamic Propulsion to Achieve Next Generation Solid-State Water Transportation.”

Outstanding Biology Project: Lana Nakkoul, “The Effect of Different Concentrations of Pollutants on Daphnia magna.”
Outstanding Environmental Science Project: Khloe Goggin, “How Does Smog Affect the Growth of Coral?”
Outstanding Chemistry Project: Chrystal Castro and Anwar Mamdouh, “Chrystal Clear: A Natural Alternative to Commercial Skin Care.”
Outstanding Engineering Project: Sloan Farrell, “Reflecting Brilliance: Engineering a Solar Tracking Hollostat.”
Outstanding Research Project: Sophia Ferrara, “What is the Best Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease?”
Outstanding Laboratory Project: Jacqueline Mastro, “Fingers Crossed: How Weather Changes Fingerprints.”

Both first-place teams as well as Chrystal, Anwar and Sloan, attended the Region IV Science Fair at Tuft University last month, with these qualifiers:
Milo Isaacs and Elias Castillo, “Green Solutions: Use of Algae to Reduce Carbon Dioxide.”
Anthony Czyzewski, “Vertex Box.”
Harry McPhee, “Biodegradable Hydrogels and Water Conservations.”
Hajar Damir, “Green World Hypothesis in a Computer Simulation.”
Yasmine, Tayyab and Thomas all head to the Massachusetts State Science Fair ion April 4 at Gillette Stadium. Tayyab and Thomas were last year’s first-place team at the MHS fair and Tayyab earned 2 awards at Regionals in 2023; Yasmine competed at Regionals and States in 2023 and 2024.

MHS Science Chair Joseph Harb is always rooting on these kids, and continues to be impressed by their drive.
“It’s a lot of work. Teachers offer support, but the work is all them,” he said. “It’s great to see these kids succeed. It’s their passion.”

Tayyab Afzal and Thomas Le won first place (team) in the MHS Science Fair for their project, “Utilizing Magnetohydrodynamic Propulsion to Achieve Next Generation Solid-State Water Transportation.” They competed at regionals and now move on to state competition at Gillette Stadium.

These science-minded students won awards at MHS’ Science Fair, thus earning spots at the Region IV Science Fair. They’re shown on Tufts University campus, the site of last month’s regionals. They are (from left) Harry McPhee, Yasmine Bridaa, Sloan Farrell, Anthony Czyzewski, Crystal Castro, Elias Castillo, Hajar Damir, Anwar Mamdouh, Milo Isaacs, Tayyab Afzal and Thomas Le. Photo courtesy of Peter Harris