FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        March 4, 2008

NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE REGIONAL SCIENCE  FAIR WINNERS ANNOUNCED

            Ganga Moorthy, a senior at Alva High School and Bolton Ferda, a seventh grader from Medford, were the greatest winners at the Regional Science Fair held at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

            Moorthy’s project was “Effects of Ferritin on Growth: A Study Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a Model for Tuberculosis” in the Biochemistry, Medicine and Health Sciences category and Ferda’s work was titled “Against the Wind—Aerodynamics of Aircraft Nose Cones in the Engineering category. They won the overall championships in Division I (grades 10-12) and Division II (grades 7-9), respectively.

Ganga Moorthy, daughter of Dr. Venkata Moorthy, professor of biology, receives the Division I championship trophy from Dr. Steve Maier, assistant professor of physics, and Dr. Steven Thompson, associate professor of biology, at the Regional Science Fair. She will now take her project, “Effects of Ferritin on Growth: A Study Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a Model for Tuberculosis,” to the state and international fairs.

            Both will take their projects to the Oklahoma State Science & Engineering Fair held March 27-29 at East Central University in Ada. Moorthy also was selected to compete at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair May 11-17 in Atlanta.

Also going to the international event will be Aline-Cleo freshman Sadie Woodall whose project, “Darn It! It Rained” was first place winner in the Division II Earth and Space Science category.

Only students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible for the International Fair.

            Jalen Gaines and Ryan Creed of Gage were the reserve champions in Division II with the team project “Tracking a Cold Front.” Briana LaBrier of Guymon was Division I reserve champion with “Is that Lemon or Coke on Your Enamel?” in the Biochemistry, Medicine and Health Sciences category.

            These projects also will advance to state competition.

            All winners listed by division, category, name, school and project are as follows, with advancement to state competition noted in parenthesis:

DIVISION II

            BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES: first—Rylie Minton, Waukomis, “Video Games vs. Blood Pressure;” second—Ehteena Stotts, Waukomis, “Rap vs. Classical;” third—Cheyenne Haag, Okeene, “Do the Eyes Have It?”

            BIOCHEMESTRY, MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES: first—Michelle Shaw, Shattuck, “Which Spice Kills More Bacteria?” (state); second—Marissa Owen, Shattuck, “Do Magnets Have an Effect on Algae?” Third place was not awarded.

            BOTANY: first—Ravena Bhakta, Shattuck, “Solid Plant Food vs. Liquid Plant Food;” second—Taylor Longhofer, Shattuck, “Do Tomato Plants Grow Better in Soil or Water?”; third—Chris Thompson, Waukomis, “Orange Juice.”

            EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE: first—Woodall; second—Sarah Brown, Shattuck, “Beach Bums” (state); third—Parker Stambaugh, Enid Emerson, “Slip Sliding Away” (state).

            ENGINEERING: first—Ferda; second—Jackson Cunningham, Vici, “Solar Power: It’s SUNbelievable” (state); third—Kaydyn Schick, Shattuck, “Which Bridge Will Hold the Most Weight?”

            ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: first—Madison Mittelstet, Waukomis, “Hot Peanuts.” Second and third places were not awarded.

            PHYSICAL SCIENCE: first—Jessie Salisbury, Vici, “Point of Impact” (state); second—Neil Salisbury, Vici, “How Thick Is Your Oil?” (state); third—Colby Iliff, “What Material Is the Best Insulator?”

            ZOOLOGY: first—Shayna Hamilton, Vici, “Old Dog, New Tricks” state; second—Levi Nichols, Waukomis, “Oh, Rats” (state); third—Shelby Waugh, Buffalo, “Better Weight for Horses.”

TEAM PROJECTS: first—Shane Moss and Luke Goodman, Vici, “Pump Up the Volume II” (state); second—Desiree Whitmarsh and Trisha Morris, Vici, “Mus musulus” (state); third—Kendra Trimble and Kelsie Kennedy, Vici, “Feeling the Beat.”

            There were no entries in the Division II Earth and Space Science and Mathematics & Computer Science categories.

DIVISION I

            BIOCHEMISTRY, MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES: first—Moorthy; second—LaBrier; third—Reanna Melton, Vici, “Soaps and Antiseptics.”

            BOTANY: first—Shelby Weber, Waukomis, “Organic vs. Inorganic.” Second and third places were not awarded.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: first—Lance Harland, Guymon, “Effectiveness of Various Turkey Loads in a Mossberg 500” (state); second—Henry Wall, Aline-Cleo, “Motor Oil?”; third—Josh Irwin, Aline-Cleo, “PoP PoP Fizz Fizz.”

ZOOLOGY: first—Paxton Maddox, Guymon, “The Biggest Gainer.” Second and third places were not awarded.

TEAM PROJECTS: first—Brittany Smith and Jonna Gregory, Vici, “Mucus” (state); second—Taylor Salisbury and Anna Hutchison, Vici, “Heart Throb” (state); third—Alexis Inderlied, Cody Bryer and Tia Jackson, Buffalo, “Aqua Brain Buster.”

There were no entries in the Division I Behavioral and Social Science, Engineering, Environmental Science and Mathematics and Computer Science categories.

Qualifying for state competition in the Oklahoma Junior Academy of Science were Moorthy and Ferda.

SPECIAL AWARDS

AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY—Stamford.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION—Trimble and Kennedy.

ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN GEOSCIENTISTS—Woodall.

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MATERIALS (ASM) Materials Education Foundation—Iliff.

HERBERT HOOVER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION—Ferda.

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS, Innovative Engineering Award— Ferda.

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, 2008 Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award—Brown.

RICOH Sustainable Development Award—Cunningham.

SOCIETY FOR IN VITRO BIOLOGY—LaBrier.

STOCKHOLM JUNIOR WATER PRIZE—Woodall.

U.S. AIR FORCE—Moorthy, LaBrier, Ferda, Jessie Salisbury.

U.S. ARMY—Ferda, Woodall, Stambaugh, Moorthy, Jessie Salisbury.

U.S. METRIC ASSOCIATION—Woodall.

U.S. NAVY—Harland, Moorthy, Woodall, Cunningham.

-NW-

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