State Science and Engineering Fair of North Carolina

Over 260 students presented their research at the State Science and Engineering Fair of NC (SSEFNC) on March 15, 2008 at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Students at SSEFNC were selected to represent their regional science and engineering fair and came from across North Carolina in grades 3 through 12. Over $7,000 in trophies and awards were given to outstanding projects. In addition to multiple special awards, scholarships for high school students were given by Meredith College, NC State University College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and Ohio Wesleyan University. This year special awards for grades 3-5 were given by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Research Triangle Park, the NC Museum of Natural History, and the North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center. A detailed listing of students receiving awards is online.

Seventeen 5th-8th grade students with outstanding projects were nominated for the Society for Science and the Public Middle School Program and the Discovery Education Young Scientist Challenge. Only students nominated from an affiliated fair can participate in the SSP Middle School Program. In the Discovery Education YSC Program, students nominated from our fair that submit the required video will automatically advance to the quarter-finalist round of reviews.

The State Science and Engineering Fair of NC was represented at the First International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environmental Project Olympiad, I-SWEEP, in Houston Texas by five students with four projects on May 1 - 5, 2008. The SSEFNC students did fantastic with everyone receiving an award. Over 800 students from 52 countries and 38 states participated in this new international research competition.
Gold - Corey Li and Lisa Zhang
Bronze - Martha Hall
Bronze - Taylor Courier
Special Award for - Environmental Friendly Engineering Design - Andrew Lomax
The competition was attended by students from 52 countries and 38 states.

Eight students were selected by Fair judges to present their six projects from SSEFNC at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Atlanta, GA on May 11-16, 2008. More than 1,550 young scientists from 51 countries, regions and territories selected for projects demonstrating their commitment to innovation and science attended ISEF. Selected students from SSEFNC included Shivani Sud from Jordan High School in Durham, Rebecca Gregory from Camden Co. High School, Alexander Amaya from Hoggard High School, Andrew Miller from Western Alamance High School, and Corey Li, Lisa Zhang, Lucy Yao, and Sajith Wickramasekara from the NC School of Science and Math.
Awards won by these students at ISEF include the following:

Grand Awards:
Andrew Miller - 3rd Award in Energy and Transportation, $1,000
Shivani Sud - 1st Place Medicine and Health Services, $3,000
Corey Li and Lisa Zhang - 3rd Place Team Awards, $1,000 to share

Special Awards:
Andrew Miller - US Air Force - 1st Award for $3,000; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - 2nd Award of $200; Drexel University - Full tuition scholarship;
Shivani Sud - American Association For Clinical Chemistry - 2nd Award of $1,000; Ashtavadhani Vidwan Ambati Subbaraya Chetty (AVASC) Foundation - 1st Award of $1,000; National Anti-Vivisection Society - 1st Award of $5,000

Two teachers of these students, Karen Sawyer from Camden Co. High School and David Vernon from Western Alamance High School, attended ISEF with expenses paid by the State Fair with assistance for their substitutes by the NC Department of Public Instruction. The teachers attended professional development provided at ISEF and will share their experience and information at workshops for teachers in North Carolina.

Workshops on "Incorporating Research in the Classroom" will be offered this summer by Fair personnel on July 21 and 22 at The Science House. Workshops will be matched to the NC Standard Course of Study and provide six contact hours. July 21 will target research in the elementary and middle school classes and July 22 will target high schools. Please contact Judy Day, Fair Director, at Judy_Day@ncsu.edu or 919-513-0848 for additional information and registration. Information will also be available on the web site at www.ncsta.org/sciencefair.

Science Olympiad

This year, the winners for the Middle School Division are:
1st Place JM Robinson Middle School
2nd Place Davidson IB

High School winners are:
1st Place NC School of Science & Math
2nd Place Raleigh Charter High School

All four school will be representing North Carolina at the National Science Olympiad
at George Washington University on May 30-31, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Summer Workshops for science teachers who want to start Science Olympiad at their
school will be held:
in Fayetteville on June 23-24th or in Wilson on June 30-July 1st
Learn more and sign up!

Summer Science Olympiad Camp for Middle School Students will be held at three
sites across the state:
Wilson - June 16-21
Elizabeth City - July 14-19
McDowell Co.- July 28-Aug. 2
Learn more and sign up!

NC Student Academy of Science

Participation in the NC Student Academy of Science competitions expanded for the second year. We again invited over 7,000 student participants in summer programs with a scientific research component (Governor’s School, Summer Ventures, Duke’s Talent Identification Program or T.I.P.) to submit a paper. We also contacted representatives of the Future Farmers of America and the NC Home Educators association informing them about the opportunity to participate. We held competitions in all ten Districts as opposed to five in 2007. There were 135 papers presented in those meetings, compared to 60 in 2007.

As a result of these efforts, the number of papers and presenters at the 2008 State Competition showed another substantial increase, as reflected in the table below. Students received awards including plaques, gift subscriptions, books, expense-paid trips, and a college scholarship. The Middle School Symposium papers were presented in a non-competitive format that we may want to expand in 2009.


NCSAS State Competition

Year	# High School Papers	# Middle School Papers
2004	33	26
2005	24	17
2006	27	32
2007	50	41
2008	74	76 incl. 19 Symposium papers

Congratulations NCSAS Winners!

Victoria Triana, Middle School Behavioral Science
Eve Savage, High School Behavioral Science - Advanced
Aakash Gandhi, Middle School Biological Science
Kara Tinker, High School Biological Science
Charnelle Wilson, High School Biological Science – Advanced
Shivani Sud, High School Biotechnology – Advanced
Adib Najafian, Middle School Chemistry
Elizabeth Deerhake, High School Chemistry
Soyeon Kim, High School Chemistry - Advanced
Austin Garrido, High School Computer Science/Mathematics
Jialiya Huang, High School Computer Science/Mathematics
Kavi Jain, Middle School Earth/Space/Environmental Science
Deepak Ravindranathan, High School Earth/Space/Environmental Science
Camille McGirt, High School Earth/Space/Environmental Science - Advanced
Aakash Indurkhya, Middle School Engineering/Technology
Nick Watkins, Middle School Physical Science
Alexander Amaya, High School Physics/Engineering/Technology
Amanda Reams, High School Physics/Engineering/Technology - Advanced