March 12, 2010

Mary Illiff, an eighth grader from Shattuck, and Juliana Oliveira and Rebecca Hughen, seniors at Vici High School, were the top winners at the Regional Science Fair held at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. 

            Illiff’s project was “How safe is a little extra softness?” in the Physical Science category, and Oliveira and Hughen’s work was titled “Deliver the Enzymes,” also in the Physical Science category.  They won the Grand Champion awards in Division II (grades 7-9) and Division I (grades 10-12), respectively, each earning a trophy.

            The team of Kelton Nance and Nikki Morris, seventh graders from Vici, took home the honor of Reserve Champion for Division II with their project “Battle of the Lights,” while Julie Lobsinger, a Newkirk junior, was named Reserve Champion for Division I for her work on “With or without color.” 

            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-Willow Gahr (state), Aline-Cleo, “Are We Scared Yet?;” second-Daniela Galindo (state), Shattuck, “How do different types of fonts affect your reading?;” third-Robbie Burris, Shattuck, “Ant Habitats, Gel vs. Sand;” honorable mention- Ashlee Shryock, Shattuck, “Color My World.”

            BIOCHEMISTRY, MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCE

            First-Morgan Allen (state), Vici, “Suds vs. UV-C;” second-Raveena Bhakta, Shattuck, “Hand Sanitizing vs. Hand Washing;” third-Ciara Bland, Shattuck, “Bacteria on Tops of Cola Cans.”

            BOTANY

            First-Tina Wall, Aline-Cleo, “O2 4 U;” second-Karly Gillispie, Shattuck, “The Birth of a Plant;” third-Ariel Fitz, Shattuck, “Are Soil Microorganisms Important for Plant Growth?.”

            EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

            First-Ashley Sellers, Wakita, “Down and Dirty.”

            ENGINEERING

            First-Paden Salisbury, Vici, “Insulation Contemplation;” second-Quyntin Lord, Shattuck, “What Plane Design Flies the Farthest?”

            ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

            First- Emilie Salisbury (state), Vici, “Recycling or Just Trash Talk?”

            PHYSICAL SCIENCE

            First-Mary Illiff (state), Shattuck, “How Safe is a Little Extra Softness?;” second-Korey Floyd, Shattuck, “Does the Temperature of a Baseball Affect its Rebound Rating?;” third-Karrie Sipe, Shattuck, “Size of Bats.”

TEAM-Division II

            First-Kelton Nance and Nikki Morris (state), Vici, “Battle of the Lights;” second-Randall Castor and Javier Altamirano (state), Vici, “Where and When to Win With Wind;” third-Dakota Key and Jake Evans, Vici, “You Are What You Drink;” honorable mention-Taylor Flanagan and Madison Murlin, Vici, “What’s In Your Hay.”

            ZOOLOGY

            First-Lori Miller (state), Aline-Cleo, “How Well Do They See?”

            DIVISION I

            BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

            First-Jennifer George, Wakita, “Does Hand/Eye Dominance Effect Free Throw Shooting Percentages?;” Second-Kendra Trimble, Vici, “What’s So Funny?  A Study of Outside Influences on Personal Humor.”

            BIOCHEMISTRY, MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCE

            First-Katie Stephenson (state), Vici, “Pop Cultures!;” Second-Julie Lobsinger (state), Newkirk, “With or Without Color.”

            BOTANY

            First-Cristina Miramontes, Vici, “Impact of Fertilizers on Plant Growth.”

            ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

            First-Jenna Conrady, Wakita, “Acid Rain and Its Effects.”

            MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

            First-John Sluder (state), Vici, “Gates of Boolean.”

            PHYSICAL SCIENCE

            First-Mistye Barnett, Aline-Cleo, “Which Laundry Detergent Works Best?;” Second-Joseph Beckwith, Aline-Cleo, “The College Solution: Laundry;” Third-T.J. Elliott, Aline-Cleo, “Big Bore O Compress O.”

            TEAM-Division I

            First- Oliveira and Hughen (state), Vici, “Deliver the Enzymes;” Second-Lauren Griffin and Jonna Gregory (state), Vici, “What a Headache!;” Third-Jared Gregory and Dax Grunewald (state), Vici, “Rain for Fuel;” Honorable Mention-Susana Altamirano and Azucena Altamirano, Vici, “Soil as an Electrical System!”

            Qualifying for state competition in the Oklahoma Junior Academy of Science were Illiff, Galindo, J. Salisbury and P. Salisbury. 

            SPECIAL AWARDS

            AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY -Gregory and Grunewald.

            AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION –Galindo.

            ASM INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION -P. Salisbury.

            CORE BRIGHT IDEA AWARD -E. Salisbury.

            INTEL EXCELLENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE –Sluder.

            MU ALPHA THETA –Sluder.

            NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS, Innovative Engineering Award -Castor and Altamirano.

            NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION –Conrady.

            RICOH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AWARD -E. Salisbury.

            U.S. ARMY (ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE) –Conrady.

            U.S. ARMY (MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE) –Sluder.

            U.S. ARMY (LIFE SCIENCES) –Oliveira and Hughen.

            U.S. NAVY/MARINE CORPS –Illiff, Nance and Morris, Oliveira and Hughen, and Lobsinger.

            YALE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION –Sluder.

            Participants in this year’s science fair who plan to attend Northwestern were eligible for The Northwestern Senior Scholarship.  It was awarded to Jennifer George of Wakita, for $500; Lauren Griffin and Jonna Gregory of Vici, for $1,000; and Juliana Oliveira and Rebecca Hughen also of Vici, for $1,500. 

-NW-