Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science recently announced Kate Gilchrist, 13, of Orefield, was named as one of the most promising middle school STEM students in the country.

Gilchrist, a seventh grader at Orefield Middle School, is one of 30 top finalist in the 11th annual Broadcom MASTERS®, the nation’s premier Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics middle school competition.

Gilchrist’s project title is “Dress for Success: Which Fabric Drapes Best?”

According to societyforscience.org, “Kate tested six types of fabric: cotton, tulle, twill, satin, flannel and fleece - all with very different weights and densities.

“How a fabric drapes can be important for many uses, such as foldable solar panels.”

“Kate hoped to find out if a draped piece of fabric would have a predictable area and number of folds as it increased in size.

“Kate correlated the number of folds with the density of the fabric and says her work provides a predictive tool for those making choices for clothing or other products that use fabrics, such as solar panels and parachutes.

“Kate’s love of fashion and fabrics inspired her research.”

Kate studies German, Spanish and French and plays piano, cello, saxophone and clarinet. She also enjoys robotics and the art club.

She would like to become a fashion designer.

Each of the 30 finalists will participate in team challenges in addition to being judged on their science research project during a virtual competition scheduled to take place from Oct. 22-28.

The challenges leverage Project-based Learning to test and demonstrate their mastery of 21st Century skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration in each of the STEM areas.

The finalists will be competing for more than $100,000 in awards.

This year’s top 30 finalists demonstrate incredible resilience and passion in the face of an unprecedented pandemic as they’ve continued to conduct STEM research in topics they are passionate about.

Broadcom MASTERS, a program founded and produced by the Society for Science, encourages middle school students to translate their interests into a passion for STEM.

This competition is part of a robust STEM pipeline that encourages students who show incredible promise to pursue STEM in high school, college and beyond.