Science Fair News 2006

October 27, 2004

"America's Top Young Scientist" Chosen at 6th Annual Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge

$100,000 in college scholarships and prizes awarded

Silver Spring, Md.—Out of an original field of thousands of middle-school students across the United States, 14-year-old Shannon McClintock was chosen today as "America's Top Young Scientist of the Year" by a panel of judges at the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC). Shannon, a student at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, Calif., was selected as the grand prize winner from an elite group of 40 of the top young scientists in the nation. She won a $15,000 scholarship award.

The naming of the winner took place on Oct. 27, 2004, at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Md. The awards ceremony was emceed by the Discovery Channel's MythBusters, and the finalists were treated to an inspirational speech about the values of perseverance and teamwork by Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Michael Phelps.

The second-place winner in the competition was 12-year-old Blake Thompson of Gainesville, Fla., and third place was awarded to 14-year-old David Westrich of Cape Girardeau, Mo. The best team in the competition won the National Park Service Explorer Team Award (Julia Fanning, San Antonio, Texas; Sravya Keremane, Gainesville, Fla.; David Marash-Whitman, Saratoga, Calif.; Celine Saucier, Midland, Mich.; David Westrich, Cape Girardeau, Mo.). Other prizes included:

The winners were judged based on a composite of scores earned from oral presentations of their individual science projects, which they presented at the National Academy of Sciences and their participation in two days of "Extreme Einstein Challenges" that took place at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.

To commemorate 100 years of Einstein's physics, the team-based, interactive challenges involved all aspects of physics—from relativity and molecular motion to gravity and the photoelectric effect. The students used radar gun luges, skateboards, and lasers to complete the challenges.

"Albert Einstein was a young man when he made some of his most important scientific discoveries and observations. One hundred years later, the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge celebrates the pursuit of excellence and scientific inquiry of the next generation of great scientific leaders. This week, we have watched the 40 finalists tackle extreme Einstein experiments and demonstrate that they are all winners and have bright futures ahead of them. We look forward to their many achievements in the years to come," said Judith A. McHale, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, Inc.

The Students

This year, 7,500 students were nominated to participate in the competition; 400 of these were chosen as semifinalists in the competition. The 40 finalists hailed from 16 states: Arizona (1), California (6), Connecticut (3), Florida (6), Georgia (2), Illinois (2), Indiana (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Mississippi (1), New Jersey (1), New Mexico (1), Ohio (2), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (3), and Texas (5). Descriptions of the finalists' projects are available at school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/dysc/.

"This year's finalists tested their scientific mettle over three days, in six different challenges. Most importantly, they learned the importance of teamwork and will go home to share the promise and wonder of science with others," said DCYSC Program Director Kyle O'Connor.

The DCYSC will be broadcast on The Discovery Channel December 19th at 10 a.m.

September 20, 2004

Countdown Continues: Final Forty Chosen in National Challenge to Name the U.S. "Top Young Scientist of the Year"

The countdown to choosing the nation's top young scientist enters its final phase as Discovery Communications announces the 40 middle school students from around the country selected as finalists in the 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC). The DCYSC is the nation's premier science competition for students in grades 5 to 8. The finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., next month to compete for the title of "Top Young Scientist of the Year."

Discovery Communications launched the competition in partnership with Science Service to nurture the next generation of U.S. scientists at a critical age when interest in science begins to decline. Now in its sixth year, the DCYSC recognizes the children who demonstrate the best leadership, teamwork, communication, and scientific problem solving skills.

"This year's competition continues the tradition Discovery has established of making science fun for middle school students while cultivating the next generation of American scientists," said Judith A. McHale, President and CEO, Discovery Communications. "Discovery is teaching these future leaders not only the value of science but also the importance of effectively communicating their knowledge to others."

For further information about these finalists and their projects, please visit school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/dysc/finalists/finalists2.html. Additional information about DCYSC is available at www.sciserv.org/dysc.

An Einstein-inspired competition for the 21st century

The 40 finalists will come to Washington, D.C., Oct. 23-27, where they will take part in the DCYSC finalist competition at the Cole Field House at the University of Maryland. They will compete in team-based, interactive challenges celebrating 100 years of Albert Einstein's physics. The year 2005 marks the centennial of Einstein's relativity theories, and the DCYSC will help to kick off the anniversary.

The challenges this year are inspired by Einstein's physics— from relative and molecular motion to gravity and acceleration. Skateboards and a half-pipe, a radar-gun luge, and a laser obstacle course will be used to help define Einstein's theories for a new generation. These action-packed activities will be taped for broadcast on the Discovery Channel and emceed by its popular duo, the MythBusters.

"Albert Einstein was just a young man himself—in his early twenties—when he made some of the greatest contributions in the history of science," said program director Kyle O'Connor. "Our 40 finalists represent the best and the brightest in science in their age group and will test Einstein's theories directly in these exciting challenges."

The students will compete for more than $100,000 worth of scholarships and special prizes, as well as the title of "Top Young Scientist of the Year."

Olympic gold medalist and Maryland native Michael Phelps will be on hand at the awards ceremony on Oct. 27 to deliver an inspirational speech and help celebrate with the student scientists.

The finalists

The "final forty" hail from 16 states: Arizona (1), California (6), Connecticut (3), Florida (6), Georgia (2), Illinois (2), Indiana (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Mississippi (1), New Jersey (1), New Mexico (1), Ohio (2), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (3), and Texas (5).

The finalists were chosen based upon the excellence of their projects presented at local Science Service-affiliated science fairs across the country. During the DCYSC finals, the finalists will present their research projects to judges to demonstrate their communication skills and creative thinking.

August 30, 2004

Top Middle School Scientists Advance to Semifinals of 6th Annual Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge

Four hundred of the nation's brightest middle school students today were named semifinalists in the 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC).

In the sixth year of the DCYSC, more than 7,500 students won a DCYSC nomination at their local, regional, or state fair. Each nominee received a lapel pin, a certificate, and a chance to enter the national competition by completing a written entry form. The competition received 1,795 entries from 259 affiliated fairs representing 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Each entrant received a 2004 DCYSC T-shirt for sending in completed forms.

DCYSC evaluators and judges spent the summer reading and reviewing the entries looking for those students with projects that demonstrated scientific merit and originality and who were able to communicate this process clearly and creatively to the judges via the entry form. They chose the top 400 students, who become this year's semifinalists.

These talented students represent 321 schools from 42 states and Puerto Rico. The semifinalists include 197 males and 203 females. Grades are represented as follows: 26 from 5th grade, 73 from 6th grade, 127 from 7th grade and 174 from 8th grade. (The grade listed for each student is for the 2003-2004 school year. By the time of this announcement, these students will have advanced to the next grade level.)

For a listing of the students and their projects, visit http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/dysc/finalists/semi.html.

From this group of 400 semifinalists, 40 finalists will be chosen to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., October 22–27, 2004, to compete in science challenges. The 40 finalists will vie for more than $100,000 in scholarships and special prizes. Finalists will be announced on Sept. 20, 2004.

Additional information about DCYSC is available at http://www.sciserv.org/dysc/.

June 29, 2004

Congratulations to DCYSC Entrants!

The deadline, June 9, 2004, for entering the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC) has come and gone, and judging has begun.

More than 1,700 middle-school students sent in 2004 DCYSC entries. The entries came from more than 1,200 schools and represent 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The five states with the largest number of entries were Florida, Missouri, Ohio, California, and Texas. Each student who entered received a T-shirt and the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a difficult assignment.

DCYSC evaluators are scoring the entries on their scientific merit, communication skill, and originality. The top 400 students will be selected and named as semifinalists. The names of the semifinalists will be announced in mid-August. The names of the top 40 finalists will be announced in September. Finalists win an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they will compete in scientific challenges and have the opportunity to win awards, including trips and scholarships.

Congratulations to all 7,500 students who were nominated and given the chance to enter the 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Channel. We hope that the experience has inspired you to continue with your scientific pursuits.

Additional information about DCYSC is available at http://www.sciserv.org/dysc/.

January 28, 2004

Intel Honors 40 of America's Future Scientists

Intel Corp. has announced the 40 finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS). The finalists will be in Washington, D.C., in mid-March to compete for $530,000 in scholarships. Often considered the "Junior Nobel Prize," the Intel STS challenges young scientists to look beyond the classroom and begin harnessing their true passion for science, often leading to ground-breaking research.

The Intel STS is open to high school seniors in the United States and territories, and American students attending school abroad. The competition encourages and rewards excellence in science and math and inspires young people to pursue science in their secondary education and careers.

The Intel STS finalists hail from 14 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to a pursuit of scientific excellence, 80 percent play a musical instrument, 70 percent are fluent in a language other than English, and 47 percent volunteer in their community.

This year's diverse group of Intel STS finalists includes a critically acclaimed classical Indian dancer, a published poet, a storytelling champion, and a competitive rock climber.

Additional information about the Intel STS is available at http://www.sciserv.org/sts/.