Science Star

Cloquet High School student Abigail Smith has been dazzling judges at science fair competitions since she was in middle school, and that hasn't stopped now that she's a senior. PolyMet Mining officials awarded Smith its top scholarship of $5,000 at the boys state hockey tournament in early March. The photo above is from the on-air presentation of the award by Ch. 45 sportscaster Joe Schmit.

In the presentation, PolyMet president and CEO Jon Cherry said the company likes to support students heading into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Smith credited her seventh-grade life science teacher and the science fair mentor at CHS, Cynthia Welsh, for sparking her interest in science.

Smith has done a series of projects around acoustic issues at the new Cloquet Middle School. This year, Smith worked on applying a sound-dampening tape to the ductwork in the art room with the goal of making the room quieter. She also hung acoustical panels left over from the gymnasium renovation. Smith used 3D software to model how sound traveled in the art room at different frequencies, then created a spectral analysis to show the ideal for each frequency.

At the virtual Minnesota Science & Engineering Fair March 30-31, Smith won an Acoustical Society of America award and a 3M

Innovation Award honorable mention. Her paper won a president-

ial award in the engineering and technology category. At the regional science fair, Smith was selected to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair for the fourth time, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

­- Pine Knot News