young scientists
this week i spent just a bit less than 18 hours straight doing production work for the discovery channel young scientists challenge award ceremony.
this is apparently the 5th year for the event, which brought 40 talented young (middle-school-aged) scientists together and awards something like $25, 000 in scholarships.
these kinds of corporate events are usually pretty tedious – uninspiring and i’m not big on award ceremonies either. they’re annoying. and this one had its annoying moments (they’re not “all winners” if you give one of them a “first prize” – even kids this young can see through that kind of contrived crap and there was absolutely nothing in the ceremony about what these kids actually DID to get there)…. but….
seeing a group of 40 really young people celebrated for their brains was inspirational.
i want to take some space here to name names and give these kids a nod of encouragement.
Samantha Bates (13) – Do Mutations in the Gag Gene Impact the Ability of HIV-I to Kill T-Cells?
Peter Borden (13) – The Effect of Neem Oil on the Ochlerotatus taeniorhychus Mosquito: An Effective and Environmentally-sound Approach to Mosquito Control
Bogna Brzezinska (14) – Robocrops: Precision Agriculture
Anthony Burnetti (14) – Effects of Multi-tasking and Aging on Driving Ability: How Should Drivers Be Screened?
Rachel Clements (14) – The Effect of Bosque Fires on Saltcedar Growth
Leah Crowder (14) – The Effect of Bosque Fires on Saltcedar Growth
Ian Cummings (15) – Who Penned the Bard?
Erica David (13) – Get the Drift! Year Two: The Effect of Snow Fence Variables on Wind Pattern and Speed, and Snow Drift Geometry and Volume
David Edwards V (15) – Which Enzyme Works Best to Reduce Grease in a Grease Trap: Liquid or Solid?
Dana Feeny (12) – The Receding Night: The Effect of Artificial Light on the Migration Pattern of Daphnia
Bobby Fisher (10) – The Effect of Water Temperature on the Color of Fish
Sarah Gerin (14) – The Impact of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Orb Weaving Spiders
Jennifer Gutman (14) – A Study of Arsenic Levels in Plants in Contaminated Soil
Zachary Hopkins (14) – Nuts and the Dark Side of Oxygen
Sravya Keremane (13) – Cloning a Cold Tolerance Gene in Agrobacterium for Citrus Transformation
Lorren J. Kezmoh (13) – Frog Formation Station
Tyler Kirkland (14) – Which Enzyme Works Best to Reduce Grease in a Grease Trap: Liquid or Solid?
Michael Klein (13) – A Study of the Effects of Object Recognition on Vision Testing Results
Justin Koh (13) – Aspirin: How Much is Too Much? Creating an In-vitro Model to Determine Minimum Daily Aspirin Dosage (MDAD) for Anticoagulation Purposes
Luis Lafer-Sousa (14)- The Effect of Active Metals in Cosmetic Products on Protein Aggregation: Implications for Human Disease
Spencer Larson (12) – Stomata Count Differences of Selected Coniferous Trees
Ryan Lee (13) – How Does the Angle of Attack Affect Lift?
Jeffrey Luttrell (15) – Do Dogs Make a Difference?
Bryce Melton (14) – SPF: Some is Good, But More is Better
Austin Minor (12) – A Colorful Solution to Paint Recycling
Elizabeth Monier (15) – A Comparison of the Antimicrobial Capabilities of Raw Honey with Raw Honey Treated with Heat, Ethanol or Ultraviolet Radiation
Michael Montelongo (14) – Recycling Dryer Lint: Effects on Plant Growth and Soil
Elena Ovaitt (14) – Purification by Ozonation: The Effects of Ozonation on Ascorbic Acid and Bacteria Colonies in Unpasteurized Apple Cider
Scott Presbrey (14) – The Response of Gerontology and Non-Gerontology Populations to Caffeinated Coffee
John Reid (12) – The Effect of Biuret and Urea Fertilizer on Citrus Leaf Necrosis and Growth
Ethan Roth (11) – Up with Math: Direction Matters
Jacob Rucker (13) – Quantifying the Effect of Skyglow on the Visibility of Stars
Patrick Saris (14) – Positive Effects of Turbulence on Wind Turbines
Taylor Simpkins (13) – Industries’ Foul Little Secret: Pre-Production Plastics Found on Beaches Come Directly from Industrial Sources
Katharine Sloop (13) – A Honey of a Question: Fall Nectar Sources in East Tennessee
Daniel Steck (14) – Wind Power
Joseph Stunzi (13) – The Effects of Cell Phones on Pacemaker Patient’s Hearts
Aron Trevino (13) – Could Soap Companies’ Advertising Be Making You Sick? Year Two
Ryker Watts (14) – Nuts and the Dark Side of Oxygen
Bryan Yancey (15) – The Effectiveness of Caffeine as a Pesticide Against South Florida Snails, Bulimulus guadalupensis
do amazing things, all of you. i’m not picking winners. you all rock.