Cleveland High School senior, Chandler Nichols, won the sweepstakes grand prize at the 63rd Annual Chattanooga Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday, March 12. Her engineering project titled Diamagnetic Astronautical Training Facility earned First Place Senior Division Mechanical Engineering. Chandler also won the Mu Alpha Theta Award which recognizes innovation, engineering, and mathematics and placed in the top five overall. Chandler was awarded a trip to Pittsburg, PA this May to compete in the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition.
In 2014 Chandler won third place at the International Sustainable World Project Olympiad in Houston, Texas. After high school, she plans to earn a Doctorate of Science in Aerospace Engineering and Physics with ambitions to become an astronaut serving as a flight engineer for the upcoming missions to Mars and beyond. Ms.
Erin Hattabaugh, CHS science teacher, said, “Chandler always performs above expectations and researches every aspect of her work. She is never satisfied until she understands the rationale behind each concept. Chandler applies her academic knowledge to real world situations. Her creativity is exemplary!”
Chandler will graduate from Cleveland High School with highest honors, 4.0 GPA. She was the CHS Swim Team Captain, Beta Club member, and served on the High School Engineering Advisory Committee. Chandler is the daughter of Larry and Lorye Nichols of Cleveland.