History
2008 Annual State Meeting/Competition
The 2008 NC Student Academy of Science Annual Meeting and State Competitions was held on Friday, March 14th. The keynote presentation was by Dr. Mary Schweizer, Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, NC State University, and NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Her presentation dealt with her paleontological discoveries on the phylogentic relationships and probable life history characteristics of dinosaurs.
There were approximately 170 middle school and high school student participants. They made 150 presentations describing the results of their scientific investigations. First place in each category was awarded a handsome plaque from Sigma Xi The Scientific Research Society, a CD on how to prepare a poster for a science competition, and an invitation to participate in a poster presentation and recognition event at the NC Academy of Science meeting, UNC-Greensboro, on March 29, 2008. Second place winners received a trophy and a gift subscription to a science magazine. Third place winners received a trophy and a science book. All students received a the new conference tee shirt, designed by Mr. Juan Scivally, Art Instructor at NCSSM.
The competition was judged by approximately 50 professionals from state agencies, educational institutions, and businesses in the Triangle. Students were given the chance to meet with the judges over dinner after the competition to get additional feedback about their projects and learn about the science interests of the judges. In addition to the category awards, the following students were awarded expense-paid trips to Chicago for the 2009 American Junior Academy of Science and American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings: Amy Kim, Eric Li, Camille McGirt, Shivani Sud and Charnelle Wilson. Named as alternates for this award were Nancy Yang (1st alternate), Eve Savage (2nd alternate), Amanda Reams (3rd alternate) and Austin Garrido and Jialiya Huang (4th alternates). Bradley Howard was nominated to receive the annual $1,000.00 Charles Lytle College Scholarship. Two teachers were recognized with NCSAS Teacher Recognition Awards, Heather Turano of Metrolina Scholars Academy and Sue Purser of D.H. Conley High School. Finally, a Special Recognition Award for Contributions to Student Scientific Research was given to Dr. Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom and Dr. Suzanne Sikes of Duke University
Several students were nominated for officer positions at the meeting. The election will be by email ballot and the results announced later.
2007 Annual State Meeting/Competition
The 2007 NC Student Academy of Science Annual Meeting and State Competitions was held on Friday, March 23rd. The agenda included registration and the annual business meeting as well as paper presentations, keynote address, and awards ceremony, all on Friday. The event was structured to allow students to participate in the Student Academy Competition on Friday and the State Science Fair at Meredith College in Raleigh on Saturday. The keynote presentation was by Dr. JoAnn Burkholder,Associate Professor of Aquatic Botany and Marine Sciences, NC State University. Her presentation dealt with how scientists design experiments to learn the secrets of the natural world and many of the remarkable things they have learned.
There were 105 middle school and high school student participants. They made 90 presentations in 16 different categories describing the results of their scientific investigations. First place in each category was awarded a handsome plaque, a science magazine subscription and a CD on how to prepare a poster for a science competition. Second and third place winners received a medal and a gift card or a science book. Honorable Mention projects were recognized with a ribbon. All students received a certificate and the new conference tee shirt, an especially popular original design by Mr. Juan Scivally, Art Instructor at NCSSM.
The competition was judged by 35 professionals from state agencies, educational institutions, and businesses in the Triangle. Many of the judges returned from the 2006 competition and have expressed interest in judging again in 2008. Students were given the chance to meet with the judges over dinner after the competition to get additional feedback about their projects and learn about the science interests of the judges.
In addition to the category awards, the following students were awarded expense-paid trips to Boston for the 2008 American Junior Academy of Science and American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings: Lena Alston, Kelly Bleaking, Abhiram Chivukula, Elizabeth Deerhake, Alisha Lee, Mike Mian, Anna Parker, Thomas Shanklin, Shivani Sud, and Liyuan Yang. Thomas Shanklin received the annual $1,000.00 Charles Lytle College Scholarship. Finally, two teachers were recognized with NCSAS Teacher Recognition Awards, Samantha Barlow of The Oakwood School in Greenville and Brian Wood of Raleigh Enloe High School.
The following officers were nominated at the meeting and elected by email ballot afterward: President Eli Hornstein, President Elect Ford Moore, and Secretary Aakash Indurkhya.
2006 Annual State Meeting/Competition
The 2006 NC Student Academy of Science Annual Meeting and State Competition was held on Friday, March 24th. The agenda included registration and the annual business meeting as well as paper presentations, keynote address, and awards ceremony, all on Friday. The event was structured to allow students to participate in the Student Academy Competition on Friday and the State Science Fair at Meredith College in Raleigh on Saturday.
The keynote presentation was by Dr. Peter Agre, M.D., Nobel Laureate, Vice Chancellor for Science and Technology, Professor of Cell Biology, and Professor of Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine. In “Cellular Plumbing Systems and the Nobel Prize,” he described the process by which he and a global network of top scientists have elucidated the function of aquaporin, a series of proteins that regulate the movement of water into and out of cells.
There were 70 middle school and high school student participants. They made 55 presentations in 17 different categories describing the results of their scientific investigations. First place in each category was awarded a handsome plaque and a gift certificate. Second and third place winners received a science magazine subscription and/or a science book. All students received a certificate and the new conference tee shirt, an especially popular item designed by Mr. Juan Scivally, Art Instructor at NCSSM.
The competition was judged by almost 50 professionals from state agencies, educational institutions, and businesses in the Triangle. Many of the judges returned from the 2005 competition and have expressed interest in judging again in 2007. Students were given the chance to meet with the judges over dinner after the competition to get additional feedback about their projects and learn about the science interests of the judges.
In addition to the category awards, students were recognized with cash awards from the 2007 NC Academy of Science meeting. Eli Hornstein, Elizabeth Liles and Sagar Indurkhya were awarded expense-paid trips to San Francisco for the 2007 the U.S. Navy and invitations to attend American Junior Academy of Science and American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings. Kimberly Dixon received the annual $1,000.00 Charles Lytle College Scholarship. Finally, two teachers were recognized with NCSAS Teacher Recognition Awards, Rob Halpern of Piney Grove Middle School and Myra Halpin of the NC School of Science and Mathematics.