Four Amity Students Make Science Fair Finals

Four Amity High School students are among nearly 150 finalists competing for more than $100,000 in prizes in the annual Connecticut Science Fair.

In what show organizers call a 'nod to St. Patrick’s Day,' this year's fair has a record number of 'green technology' entries and prizes. The fair announced its finalists today. They were selected from approximately 500 middle and high school entrants.

Finalists--including Joan Kim (Bethany), Jenny J. Liu (Orange), Zelun Wang (Orange) and Danielle Eldracher (Woodbridge)--will present the results of their research to nearly 150 judges from government, professional societies, academia and industry from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow, in the Gymnasium at Quinnipiac University.

This year’s fair saw a record 70 energy-related project entries. Some investigated revolutionary concepts. One student built a wind turbine that does not have blades; instead, it uses a turbine invented 100 years ago by the great genius Nikola Tesla.

Another used algae to create bio-fuels. Yet another used a kite that flies autonomously at high altitudes and acts as a windpower generator, a theory that could one-day to replace ground-based wind turbines. Clearly, an energy-efficient future is on the minds of Connecticut’s science- and technology-minded youths.

All finalists will be honored and award winners will be announced at separate award ceremonies in the gymnasium on Saturday, March 19. From 10–11:30 a.m., a Special Awards Ceremony with awards from industry, educational institutions and professional societies will be held and from 1:30–3:30 p.m., a Finalist Awards Ceremony with overall winners in each CSF category will take place.

In a break from the traditional media announcements of Overall Fair Winners on Thursday and Special Award Winners on Saturday, this year (for the first time) all winners will be annouced to the media in one press release to be issued on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

Six top winners from the Connecticut Science Fair will vie for $5 million in cash and scholarships at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, the world’s largest pre-college science fair, May 8-13 in Los Angeles, Calif., and the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering & Environment Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP), May 4-9 in Houston, Texas. This year, for the first time, a top high school winner in the Alternative/Renewable Energy category will receive an expense-paid trip to compete in the GENIUS Olympiad, a new international science competition focusing on global environmental issues that will be held at the State University of New York in Oswego, New York, June 26-30.

In addition, at least one CSF high school project, either team or individual, will be invited to compete at the U.S. National Competition for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) in Chicago, June 23-25. Middle school winners will receive invitations to submit their work to compete in the nationwide Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars) Competition, a program of Society for Science & the Public.