To: Abeer, Adam, Adrian, Amy, Andrew, Andriana, Ayush, Benjamin, Daniel, Dillon, Emory, Erica, Greg, James, Jessica, Lucas, Nafisa, Omar, Patrick, Raashed, Rahi, Shannon, Shirley, and Zohaib: You’re all winners already… We’re so proud of what you’ve accomplished in Massachusetts. Now go show the world what you’ve got!
Good luck to each and every member of Massachusetts’ Intel ISEF crew!
Some of the world’s brightest high school students — including 24 from Massachusetts — have converged on Phoenix, Arizona this week to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). Their ultimate goal? Grab a piece of the more than $4 million in awards.
The students in the Massachusetts delegation have had a busy month. Just last week many of them competed in the 64th annual Massachusetts State High School Science & Engineering Fair at MIT (May 3rd and 4th). Most of them rose to the state fair level on the strength of their projects’ performance in their regional fairs — of which there are six in Massachusetts. The students’ regional fair standing also provided the basis for their selection for the international fair in Phoenix.
The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science & the Public, provides an opportunity for the best young scientists from countries all over the world to share ideas, showcase cutting-edge science projects, and compete for big money in awards and scholarships. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is the world’s largest pre-college science and engineering competition, drawing more than 1,500 student participants (referred to as “finalists”) from around the world each year.
While we don’t know who the winners are yet, congratulations are in order for all the members of the Massachusetts delegation for reaching Intel ISEF!
The projects of the six Massachusetts students representing the State Science earned the very top score in each of the six Regional Science Fairs across Massachusetts. The students are:
Shannon Boley – Westfield High School
Erica Budina – Medford High School
Andrew Doherty – Taunton High School
Jessica Morgan – Plymouth North High School
Rahi Punjabi – Advanced Math & Science Academy
Nafisa Wara – Boston Latin School
In addition, each of the regions in Massachusetts sent one or more students to compete at ISEF.
Region I – Western Massachusetts
• Patrick Monette & Dillon Sienko — Westfield High School
Region II – Central Massachusetts
• Gregory Konar – Massachusetts Academy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Adam Smith — Massachusetts Academy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Zohaib Moonis & Emory Payne — Bancroft School
• Ayush Kumar & Raashed Raziuddin — Advanced Math & Science Academy
Region III – Southwest Massachusetts
• Amy Santos — Taunton High School
• Daniel White — Somerset-Berkeley Regional High School
Region IV – Northeast Massachusetts
• Benjamin Brown — Lexington High School
Region V – Southeast Massachusetts
• James Roggeveen – Nantucket High School
• Lucas Repeta – Falmouth High School
Region VI – Boston
• Andriana Flores, Omar Janoudi and Abeer Shrari – East Boston High School
• Adrian Haber – Boston Latin School
• Shirley Fang – Boston Latin School
Good luck to them all!
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President Obama took a tour of more than 30 science, technology and engineering projects on Monday, April 22nd in his third White House Science Fair. Exhibits included a bicycle-pedal powered water filtration system created by Payton Karr and Kiona Elliot, classmates at Northeast High School of Oakland Park, Florida, that was tested by the commander-in-chief himself. Senior Administration officials and leading STEM communicators, advocates, and educators attended the White House Science Fair as well and met the students, encouraging further participation in both science fairs across the nation and STEM fields.
One projected was created by Boston, Massachusetts native Cassidy Wright through her school’s TechnoSWAG learning-apprenticeship program. Cassidy created an LED banner programmed to automatically flash the message “BE YOURSELF.” She built the banner in order to make a statement against bullying in middle schools and encourage diversity in the student body.
With that same spirit of individuality in mind, Cassidy declares a lesson learned from her mother. “I’m specially gifted in my own way and I don’t try to be like everybody else.”
~James Penna
Last week, thousands gathered to hear about the wonders of science and engineering from hundreds of Massachusetts organizations. Tables filled with activities lit up children’s faces and intrigued their parents. For four hours, these activities took over the Cambridge Public Library and the surrounding lawn and field house.
In addition to all of the hands-on activities, students of all ages also enjoyed a robot zoo featuring water robots, rolling robots, sniffing robots and every other kind of robot in between. Stage performances featuring fanciful chemistry demonstrations, science comedy, and much more entertained visitors throughout the event.
~Shannon Morey
After collecting ticks for her originally intended science fair project, Braintree High School sophomore Jacqueline Flynn decided to pursue a topic on ticks with a different spin (or rather, spin cycle).
Worried about keeping her clothing tick free after collecting the parasitic arachnids, Flynn researched methods of killing them in the laundry. She found a large lack of data on the subject, with recommendations while washing machines were ineffective, that a full hour in a dryer would kill them. However, after her own extensive testing, she found that five minutes on a low-heat cycle would be sufficient.
Soon Flynn’s project results garnered attention from the state parks and forestry services as well as officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said they were willing to help her expand on her research. “It just spread very fast,” Flynn told the School Committee.
Flynn has taken first place in the Braintree School Science fair for her work and is bound for the Massachusetts State High School Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held at MIT from May 2nd to the 4th.
Read more on Falmouth Patch.
~ James Penna
As a sixth grader, Nathan Han of Boston received first-place honors at MSSEF’s 2011 Middle School Science Fair for his project, “A Study of Somatic Sensory Receptive Fields in Human Skin.” From there, he went on to the Broadcom MASTERS — a prestigious national STEM competition for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
This spring, Nathan has another honor to add to the list. He has been named one of 30 semifinalists in Disney’s Iron Man 3 Inventor and Innovator Fair. Held in conjunction with the release of Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” starring Robert Downey Jr., the competition asked students from across the United States to produce innovative, inventive projects based on themes from the movie.
If he is selected as a finalist, Nathan will win a trip to California for the premiere of Iron Man 3, a visit to Disneyland, a trip to Broadcom Headquarters, the opportunity to share his research at the El Capitan Theatre and more! Good luck, Nathan!
Cora Beth Abel, Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair, recently shared her perspective on the value and challenges of science fairs with Heather Goldstone of WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station.
During the nearly half-hour-long interview, Abel emphasized the importance of mentors in the science fair process. “Scientists can really help a student experience and understand how ‘real’ science gets accomplished,” she said. “The student gets to ‘own’ the research project and will probably have to overcome some obstacles, which demands curiosity. Science fair projects are more relevant than ever before given our high-stakes innovation economy.” MSSEF’s Curious Minds initiative takes a multi-pronged approach to engaging every Massachusetts middle and high school student in inquiry-based learning, including professional development opportunities for teachers leading to the STEM Certificate in Inquiry.
Of her own science fair experiences, WCAI’s Goldstone says, “…science fair was clearly a memorable learning experience. Perhaps that’s what experts are talking about when they refer to the power of student-driven, inquiry-based learning.”
MSSEF board member and award-winning meteorologist Mish Michaels collaborated with Gerhard Sonnert and Philip Sadler, both of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, on an article that explores the relationship between gender and the science fair experience. Entitled, “Gender Aspects of Participation, Support, and Success in a State Science Fair,” the paper considers data from student participation in the 2009 Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair, investigating the role that gender played in students’ participation, choice of science field, award of prizes, and mentioning inspiring teachers.
Among the findings:
The article has been published in “School Science and Mathematics,” the international journal of the School Science and Mathematics Association.
The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair (MSSEF) provides middle and high school students with the opportunity to work on independent research projects in science and engineering. Now in its 64th year, the annual statewide fair will feature the highest quality projects of hundreds of students from across the Commonwealth. We will need more than 300 outstanding judges to donate their time to evaluate these students’ work. Some students invest more than 1,000 hours of research in their projects!
Volunteer to judge! Please consider being a member of the distinguished judging panel at the 2013 State Science & Engineering Fair. If you have received a four-year college degree in a science or technology subject, and work in a related field, you are eligible to judge and may register online.
You can make a difference! Just a few hours of your time will help to encourage these young people in their quest for excellence in science and technology. It’s an experience that lasts a lifetime!
Orientation for new and experienced former judges is held immediately prior to each judging session. Judges are typically assigned to projects within their respective area(s) of expertise. (Project categories include Behavioral Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computers, Earth & Space Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Mathematics and Physics & Electronics.)
2013 High School State Fair
Friday, May 3, 2013
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johnson Athletics Center
Judge Schedule
10:45am: Refreshments, orientation & judging assignments
11:30am – 5:30pm: Judging of projects
Refreshments and parking arrangements are provided at each location. Confirmation of volunteer service is provided, upon request, to employers.
Click here to register online!
INSTRUCTIONS
Judges from past years:
User ID: your email address
Password: your password
New judges:
User ID: will be your email address
Password: you choose
Registration Code: atmit
Registered Judges will receive a confirmation email with detailed information prior to May 3, 2013. For assistance, email judginginfo@scifair.com or call 617-491-1500.
President Obama can be assured that his wife is in good company tonight as he takes the stage for the State of the Union address.
Science fair superstar Jack Andraka, who took the grand prize at the 2012 Intel International Science Fair (ISEF) has been chosen by the White House to sit in the First Lady’s box during tonight’s address.
A Broadcom MASTERS semi-finalist in 2011, Jack — a Maryland resident — gained widespread acclaim following ISEF 2012 when news of his new method for detecting pancreatic cancer made international headlines.
The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair has sent numerous students to ISEF over the years, including top winners.
Read more on Forbes.com
The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair (MSSEF) is committed to increasing awareness of, exposure to, and participation in inquiry-based learning through the development of science and engineering projects by middle school and high school students, and to showcase and celebrate that learning.