More than 400 students competed at the 54th annual High Plains Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

Belle Fourche High School junior Nathan Willen won three awards, including a trip to the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair at Reno, Nev., May 10-15.

Willen's entry, "Assessing Bacterial Sensitivity to an Antimicrobial," was named the "most outstanding 11th grade project exhibiting in the areas of plant or animal in vitro biology or tissue culture" and won the honor from the Society for in Vitro Biology. It also won first in the senior biology division, earning him $100 and a medal.

Spearfish Middle School took home 17 top prizes, while Rapid City West Middle School won 10. Pine Ridge High School students won four prizes to lead the senior division.

Individual winners included:

American Meteorological Society - "For outstanding project(s) in the atmospheric, oceanic, and/or hydrologic sciences" - Alan Bonde, Spearfish Middle School

American Psychological Association - "Recognizing outstanding research in psychology under the category of behavioral and social sciences." - Jayme Rossow, Rapid City West Middle School.

ASM Materials Education Foundation - "For the most outstanding exhibit in materials science" - Daniel Frost and Christian Whitesell, West Middle School.

Association for Women Geoscientists - "Awarded to female student whose project exemplifies innovativeness and scientific excellence in the geosciences" - Astin Goff and Jayce Winsell, Sturgis Williams Middle School.

Intel Excellence in Computer Science Award - "For an outstanding senior division project involving Computer Science" - Cody Provost and Thorson Lammers, Rapid City Central High School.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - "Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award" - "For an individual project whose research emphasizes NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in Earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet out Nation's

economic, social, and environmental needs." - Ryan McNally, Belle Fourche Middle School.

National Society of Professional Engineers - " For Innovative Engineering" - Ryan Watson, Belle Fourche Middle School.

Ricoh Sustainable Development Award - "For a project whose principles and technical innovations offer the greatest potential for increasing our ability to grow environmentally friendly and socially responsible businesses." - David Strain, Sturgis Williams Middle School.

South Dakota Science Teachers - "For an outstanding junior division project" - Skylar Larson, West Middle School.

South Dakota Academy of Science - "Recognizing excellence in middle school science fair projects" - Lexy Rabenberg, Spearfish Middle School; Liz Day, Belle Fourche Middle School; Alyssa Mergey, Spearfish Middle School; Skylar Larson, West Middle School; Molly Hermann, Sturgis Williams Middle School; Amanda Reeves, Rapid City West Middle School; Collette Kok, Newell Middle School; Jameson Tebben, Spearfish Middle School.

South Dakota Society for Clinical Laboratory Scientists Award - Sidney Neiman, Sturgis Williams Middle School.

South Dakota Veterinary Medical Alliance - "For outstanding work in veterinary or biological sciences" - Miranda Mikkelson, Belle Fourche Middle School.

Stockholm Junior Water Prize - "For Excellent Water Related Science Fair Projects" - Sherman DeSersa and Thomas Rowland, Pine Ridge High School; Shontel Mousseau and Saadia Tasso, Pine Ridge High School.

U.S. Air Force Awards - "For Excellence In Math, Science, and Engineering" - Brandon Groseclose, Belle Fourche Middle School; Jameson Tebben, Spearfish Middle School; Michael Snyder, Sturgis Brown High School; Bradley Hawk and Roman Leftwich, Pine Ridge High School.

U.S. Metric Association - "For the best use of metric units." - Avery Mason and Mason Schultz, West Middle School.

Yale Science and Engineering Association - "For the most outstanding 11th grade student exhibiting in the areas of Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or Chemistry". - Cynthia Brown and Alyssa Cottier, Pine Ridge High School.

Sixth grade

Biology: 1. Phoebe Caldwell, Spearfish Middle School

Physical science: 1. Kassidy Durfee, Spearfish Middle School

Social Science: 1. Sadie Haivala, Spearfish Middle School.

Team Biology: 1. Joseph Barnes and Zac Deschamps, Spearfish Middle School

Team Physical Science: 1. Tanner Batka and Charles Sewell, Spearfish Middle School

Team Social Science: 1. Brynn Christensen and Madison Selk, Spearfish Middle School.

Seventh grade

Biology: 1. Liz Day, Belle Fourche Middle School

Physical: 1. Skylar Larson, Rapid City West Middle School

Social Science: 1. Anders Flagstad, Spearfish Middle School

Team Biology: 1. Briana Grout and Kaitlyn Hinch, Spearfish Middle School

Team Physical Science: 1. Steven Biza and Dusk Curington, West Middle School

Team Social Science: 1. Hunter Dean and Jacob Servaty, Spearfish Middle School

Eighth grade

Biology: 1. Amanda Reeves, West Middle School

Physical: 1. Jameson Tebben, Spearfish Middle School

Social Science: 1. Jayme Rossow, West Middle School

Team Biology: 1. Savanna Larson and Elise Reid, Spearfish Middle School

Team Physical Science: 1. Alexandra Doyle and Natalie Pope, Spearfish Middle School

Team Social Science: 1. Miranda Meeker and Brittney Thompson, Spearfish Middle School

Senior Division

Biology: 1. Nathan Willen, Belle Fourche High School

Senior Team: 1. Troy Guy and Joel Herman, Sturgis Brown High School