2008 Woodie Awards
Science symposium shows smart students
By: Kristen Zenz
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: State
At some high school science fairs students discuss moldy bread and wilted plants. But at today's state-wide science symposium, held for the first time at the University, students will talk about more complex topics like "the creation of an EDTA-encapsulated nanofiber filtration device for eliminating divalent heavy metals from water."
The Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is an annual three-day event that has been bringing the brightest and most ambitious science students in Ohio together for the past 45 years.
Participation in the symposium is offered by invitation only and is the most prestigious event for science students in the state of Ohio, said Emilio Duran, who is responsible for bringing the symposium to the University.
"Symposium is a great opportunity for high school students to present their research in a unique and more professional format," said Blythe Tipping, science teacher at Southview High School.
During the symposium, students will present poster projects or research papers to a panel of judges. While this symposium will have a panel of five paper judges who have their Ph.D, most science fairs have only two judges.
"It's a really unique opportunity to present work to be heard by professors across the state," said Peggy Cobau, science teacher at Southview High School.
Mandy Heddle, a graduate student in biology, has judged the competition for the past three years and said students tend to base their research on environmental issues.
"Student's seem really motivated to solve the world's problems," Heddle said.
Some projects presented in the past have tackled topics like renewable energy, reducing pollution and how to store hydrogen as a fuel. Ambitious topics have looked at the effect garlic has on the natural microbiota of ground beef.
Because some things are so complex, Heddle said she sometimes doesn't even try to understand.
"I'm not a physicist," she said. "I don't know."
The Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is an annual three-day event that has been bringing the brightest and most ambitious science students in Ohio together for the past 45 years.
Participation in the symposium is offered by invitation only and is the most prestigious event for science students in the state of Ohio, said Emilio Duran, who is responsible for bringing the symposium to the University.
"Symposium is a great opportunity for high school students to present their research in a unique and more professional format," said Blythe Tipping, science teacher at Southview High School.
During the symposium, students will present poster projects or research papers to a panel of judges. While this symposium will have a panel of five paper judges who have their Ph.D, most science fairs have only two judges.
"It's a really unique opportunity to present work to be heard by professors across the state," said Peggy Cobau, science teacher at Southview High School.
Mandy Heddle, a graduate student in biology, has judged the competition for the past three years and said students tend to base their research on environmental issues.
"Student's seem really motivated to solve the world's problems," Heddle said.
Some projects presented in the past have tackled topics like renewable energy, reducing pollution and how to store hydrogen as a fuel. Ambitious topics have looked at the effect garlic has on the natural microbiota of ground beef.
Because some things are so complex, Heddle said she sometimes doesn't even try to understand.
"I'm not a physicist," she said. "I don't know."
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