Monisha Rekhraj, a senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, talked about her project with judge Brett Spear during the 30th Annual Kentucky American Water Science Fair at Bryan Station High School, where about 655 Fayette County public, private and home-school students in grades four through 12 competed for awards on Saturday. Rekhraj's project tested the effect of an anti-cancer agent on another disease. HERALD-LEADER|BuyPhoto

About 685 public, private and home-school students in grades 4 through 12 participated Saturday in the 30th annual Kentucky American Water Science Fair at Bryan Station High School in Lexington. The event included 650 projects judged by about 160 professionals, the company said in a news release. A total of 131 student projects received awards. See a list of the winners (PDF).

Judges evaluated the student projects according to the following categories: animal sciences, behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and planetary science, engineering, energy and transportation, environmental sciences, medicine and health sciences, microbiology, physics and astronomy and plant sciences.

Kentucky American Water initiated the science fair for junior high school students in 1985 as part of the companys centennial celebration. The next year, the company joined with Fayette County Public Schools in coordinating the event. The fair has been expanded twice: first in 1989 to include elementary school science projects, and again in 1991 to include high school projects, according to the news release.

Students who received awards at Saturday's competition advance to the Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair to be held at the University of Kentucky on March 1.

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131 student projects win awards at Fayette County science fair