Science Day News

Congratulations to the six hundred eighty-nine students participating in the 48th annual Southwest Ohio District Science Day on April 1, 1995 at Miami University. The students represented sixty-eight middle and high schools.

Thank you to the many Cincinnati Section American Chemical Society members who judged at Science Day as well as the many school-level Science Fairs held prior to the Southwest District Fair.

The Cincinnati Section supported Science Day in several important ways. The Section is a sponsor, helping to provide judges to the general judging staff as well as special award judges for our ACS sponsored awards. Most visible are the outstanding projects in chemistry recognized with framed certificates, savings bonds, and subscriptions to the American Chemical Society publication, Chem Matters. This year the following projects stood out.

Outstanding Achievement (Divisions II & III; 9-12)

Rachel Rene Smith, 10th grade from Fairfield High School, $100 savings bond, certificate and subscription for "Essential Oils as Alternative Pesticides."

First Place (Divisions II & III; 9-12)

Elizabeth Y. Auyang, 10th grade from Sycamore High School, $75 savings bond, certificate and subscription for "Double 'O' Carbon: The CO2 You Exhale."

Honorable Mention (Divisions II & III; 9-12)

Janelle Lynn Flora and Karat Sue Woesner, 10th graders from Eaton High School, certificates and subscriptions for "Emulsion Stability of Lotions."

First Place (Division I; grades 7-8)

Andrew J. Sauer, 8th grade from Fairfield Middle School, $75 savings bond, certificate and subscription for "Electrophoresis."

Second Place (Division I; grades 7-8)

Erika Denise Windisch, 8th grade from St. Margaret Mary School, $50 savings bond, certificate and subscription for "Testing the Colorfastness of Natural Dyes."

Honorable Mention (Division I; grades 7-8)

Mark Edward Konerman, 7th grade from St. John the Baptist School, a certificate and subscription for "Does Temperature Affect Formation of Crystals?"

Julie Marie Schumacher and Kate Ungrund 8th graders from St. Catharine of Siena School, certificates and subscriptions for "Genetics."

While choosing award recipients can be difficult, speaking with young scientists is fun and certainly the best part of Science Day. "Chemistry Solutions" pins were presented to participants by judges. Other American Chemical Society "stuff" sent to us by national ACS was displayed and distributed. An outstanding chemistry project like Rachel Smith's "Essential Oils as Pesticides" excited the entire judging staff.

One aspect of Science Day where the Section is less visibly active is providing resources to teachers and participants prior to Science Day. (In one judged project, a flammable organic solvent was heated but the participant was unaware of its flammability. Luckily, no fire occurred.) As the Section's outdated judges list is revised in the fall of 1995, the Section's role in advising science fair participants and teachers might also be considered. The input of members as well as continued judging support made the job of organizing the Cincinnati Section's work for Science Day 1995 easier. Thank you.

Finally, a special thank you to Mary Noon Doyle and John L. Martin, who capably handled this task in past years, kept good records and lists, and ordered the ACS display materials this year.

Susan Hershberger
Cincinnati Section ACS
Science Fair Judge Coordinator

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