Local student lands fourth in international competition

Jade Samanta made science spicy.

The Saxony Lutheran High School senior took fourth place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, after advancing out of the fair in Cape Girardeau. He was one of more than 1,700 students from 80 countries who competed in the fair.

His project sought to determine whether certain household spices have antimicrobial properties; in other words, if spices can help ward off food-borne pathogens.

Samanta took a personal curiosity about something his mother had told him since childhood and applied it to a project. According to a recent story by Marybeth Niederkorn, Samanta tested four varieties of essential oil against two food-borne pathogens to see whether the oils would inhibit bacterial growth or kill existing bacteria.

These household spices — thyme, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric — were common in dishes his mother, who is of Indian descent, often prepared and said they were good for the immune system, Niederkorn reported.

“I decided to see if she was right. As it turns out, she was,” Samanta said.

Samanta found conclusive results and enough promise in the project to hope to expand it when in college.

Samanta plans to attend medical school.

Congratulations to Jade for his exceptional work. His finish among thousands of projects is astounding and speaks to his knowledge and methods. Well done.