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Kid Geniuses: Fame, Fortune, and Science Fairs

Posted on: Saturday, 18 September 2004, 06:00 CDT

INTRODUCTION

If there was ever an indicator that young Ryna Karnik was headed for a life of science, it had to be the wind tunnel she built in the family room in seventh grade. Or maybe the linear particle accelerator she constructed in the garage two years later.

Karnik, who just turned 18, is headed for Stanford University this fall with an extra $50,000 to spend after winning one of the top awards in a national science competition. Her project was a patent-pending technique for constructing microchips using a focused ion beam as a "molecular pencil."

Every year, high-school students are rewarded with substantial sums of money, media attention, and university recruiting usually reserved for athletes by participating in one of several U.S. science competitions. The students who succeed are diverse, so searching for the formula for creating a super-scientist is futile. These youths are rich and poor, male and female, attend private and public schools. Nationality and race do not matter. Nor do their parents' occupations. Their projects can cover any scientific specialty imaginable, except those where a fire extinguisher might not be sufficient to contain the damage. Think human cloning.

After nearly 20 years as a judge for one of the leading science competitions, Andrew Yeager, a Pittsburgh physician who specializes in stem-cell transplantation, remains confident about the talents of the next generation of scientists.

"What inspiration," Yeager said, "as we think about the future of this country and the future of this world in terms of leadership in science and technology, to have these people in the pipeline."

SCIENCE COMPETITIONS: THE BIG THREE

A few words to remember when considering the future of science: "Low-Cost Scanning Tunneling Microscope;""Simulation of the West Nile Virus Using STELLA 7.02;""An Efficient, Functional Telomerase Activity Assay." These are the words of high-school students. In particular, they are the titles of projects that won first place in U.S. science competitions in 2003 and 2004.

Motivated students can find a contest to exhibit their science skills at nearly every age level and in a variety of formats. Of all the U.S. competitions, though, the highest-profile, most financially rewarding are the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Figure 1) (see sidebar); the Intel Science Talent Search (STS); and the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

These contests offer students access to millions of dollars in scholarships. The largest awards go to the STS and Siemens Westinghouse winners, at $100,000. For the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the three top winners receive the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000.

Although the three contests reward similar work, there are a few basic differences: ISEF is open to students from around the world in grades 9 through 12, entering either as individuals or on teams; the Siemens competition is open to U.S. high school students as teams or U.S. seniors as individuals; and the STS is limited to U.S. seniors working on individual projects.

For Siemens Westinghouse and Intel, funding a science contest is one way to spur interest in fields where workers are needed. "We' re a technology company," said Marie Gentile, spokesperson for the Siemens Westinghouse Competition. "We have over 70,000 employees in the United States, and we will need a pool of workers. Eventually, we hope the students will come work for us."

GROWING UP WITH SCIENCE

Long before they write their first abstract, many students are being groomed for success in science-sometimes unknowingly-by parents, teachers, and schools. ISEF finalist Ryan Young's father taught him how to work on cars. Long before she entered her first science fair, Anna-Marie Gulotta's mother, an artist, encouraged creative thought by allowing her preschool daughter to help choose colors for her artwork. And Ryna Karnik's parents equipped her with tools for tinkering. "I was one of the girls who was always putting together model rockets and folding paper airplanes and taking things apart with a screwdriver," Karnik said. "That kind of progressed into a love of science and engineering."

"They put up with a lot," she said of her parents. "I think they (a) trusted me not to do anything silly and (b) they made sure there was always a fire extinguisher close by." Her mother, Parizad Karnik, remembers when Karnik built a wind tunnel in the family room as a seventh-grade science fair project. Her husband had to remove the hinges from the door so Karnik could take it to school. The linear particle accelerator left a tarlike vacuum wax on her new wooden kitchen floor. "It took me a very long time to scrape it off. I was not happy," Mrs. Karnik said. Yet the Karniks continued to supply their daughter with power tools, and, perhaps equally important, a first-rate education. Karnik's elementary years were spent at a Montessori school that encouraged her to focus on areas she loved-science, in particular-while giving her a well-rounded education, Mrs. Karnik said. Later, she was enrolled in a high school that emphasized science. "She's always had the very best education you can have," Mrs. Karnik said.

Karnik developed her STS-winning project with the help of her high-school physics teacher who became her mentor. The project involved building an N-type semiconductor transistor solely by using focused ion beam technology. The method is intended to reduce the time and cost of creating and testing individual prototype chips. Karnik, who won third place at the STS in 2004, never imagined she would do so well. "I was kind of crossing my fingers to make it into the top ten . . . but with these things you never know because everyone who makes it to the finalist level is absolutely amazing," she said.

In fact, Yeager likes to remind those 40 finalists that even if they do not win first prize, they are in good company. "Nobel laureates have come from said ranks," he said.

IN SEARCH OF BROAD THINKERS

Sound science is important, but success for both the STS and the Siemens-Westinghouse competitions begins with surviving the entry process. For both contests, students must submit a technical paper that explains their research. And like true scientists, they must adhere to rigid rules and deadlines in addition to describing high- caliber science. In fact, before Marieangela Lisanti won the $100,000 prize in both the STS and Siemens Westinghouse competitions in 2001, she had only set her sights on entering. "When I first sent in the report for the Siemens competition, I remember putting it in the mailbox and thinking to myself 'I did it.' That's all I wanted to do was just send in the paper."

After a panel of judges reviews the papers, they select finalists who must prove themselves again. For both competitions, finalists must discuss their work with anyone from preschoolers to Nobel prizewinners. At the Siemens contest, students are questioned by judges who have expertise related to the projects. "The judges try to determine if this is your own work, how much you understand about what you did, how it fits into the field," said Gentile, the Siemens spokesperson. "They give the kids a pretty good grilling."

At the STS, finalists not only answer judges' questions, but they must display their projects to the public at the National Academy of Science in Washington D.C. "We like to see how these students think on their feet," Yeager said. "We're really looking for students who can think broadly, think creatively. While they may not be versed in every aspect of science and technology, they can be at least fairly conversant injust about anything."

Ryna Karnik prepared for the public display by explaining her project to two fifth-grade girls she tutors. The girls are Hispanic and are just beginning to learn English. "I told them, here's what I'm doing, tell me what you don't understand, tell me what I need to do better. They actually helped me." She felt prepared, when the time came, to discuss her work with a Nobel prizewinning chemist as well as a group of third-graders.

THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL

Much of what successful students must learn to compete for science prizes is not taught in high school. Marie Gentile remembers well Marieangela Lisanti's project, "Conductance Quantization in Au Nanocontacts.""She did Ph.D.-level work," Gentile said. "She taught herself quantum physics."

When Lisanti began working on her project, she was on her own, with few school resources available to her and few other students who were interested in science competitions. After her success, all that changed. "The school has developed a huge science research program and now there are a lot of students each year who actually participate in the competition," said Lisanti, a junior at Harvard University.

Anne Tweed, president of the National Science Teachers Association, said incorporating science fair projects and participation into school curricula makes sense for both teachers and students. "Certainly inquiry science education is something that is critical in science classrooms," she said. "Having students design their own experiment and then collecting data and analyzing and making sense of those results is an absolutely important part of science." By placing more emphasis on the project and less on the winning, teachers can help students develop a long-term int\erest in science.

At a minimum, she said, teachers should know about the competitions and encourage students to participate. She said issues such as school budget and setting have little impact on how well a student will compete. "Whether the teacher is from an affluent school district or an urban setting, we have found it really doesn't make any difference. The critical thing is making sure those teachers are providing the opportunities for kids, then making sure they have the mentors or the coaches they need to support their efforts."

MONEY IS NO OBJECT

With a cramped classroom in one of the poorest school districts in New Jersey, Michael Corcoran is proof that money does not buy science competition success. At William L. Dickinson High School in the Jersey City School District, Corcoran has developed a research- based curriculum with students who regularly take top honors at regional science fairs. Two of Corcoran's students won the $100,000 team prize in the 2002-03 Siemens Westinghouse Competition (Figure 2). One of those students now attends Harvard University, and the other, the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Both are on full scholarships.

In the Jersey City School District, Corcoran's success has earned him the school board's respect, a private office, and an offer of an administrative position-he accepted the office, but chose to keep on teaching. Students are eager to enroll in his classes. "We have such a legacy now, they want to be on this winning team." The legacy began about 12 years ago, when Corcoran helped develop a curriculum that focuses intensely on science fair participation. The program is available only to students who apply and who are approved by faculty. For three years, Corcoran teaches the same 50 students as they work their way through the program. For the students, the work begins each spring, when they select the next year's project. They spend their summer researching scientific literature, and in September present either an oral defense or a written summary to show they understand the material. Then work on their project begins. The class has no textbooks or tests. Instead, with Corcoran assisting, students must independently master their material. "The only person they can get help from is themselves," Corcoran said.

The program initially focused on winning at the Hudson County Science Fair, a local fair that feeds into the Intel ISEF. Although Dickinson students had previously been unsuccessful at the Hudson County event, over the years, Corcoran perfected his science-fair machine and now his students dominate. In 2004, Dickinson students took nine of the possible 14 gold medals. "It took a while but we went from being the underdog to being, I don't know what, the top of the pile," Corcoran said. Medals should not be an ultimate science goal, Corcoran knows, but they are proof to the school officials that the curriculum is working. To ensure success, Corcoran guides his students toward projects that interest them. Next, he makes sure all are skilled in a variety of areas required for science success- oral presentations, for example, and statistical evaluation. During the summer after their junior year, Corcoran helps students find placements in university research facilities where they can dedicate months to science. Corcoran's STS prize winners, Roshan Prabhu and Juliet Girard, launched their first-place team project during a summer they spent at Cornell University.

Although most of Corcoran's students will not make it to the national science fair or STS, they have access to colleges and universities they would never have considered, he said. And the prestige that comes with being on the winning team in high school is a reward in itself. "The treatment they get from the rest of the faculty . . . they are given a tremendous deference, anything we want," Corcoran said.

Figure 1. More than 1,200 high-school students from 38 countries displayed their work at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Oregon in 2004.

Figure 2. Juliet Girard, left, and Roshan Prabhu were the pride of their William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, when they won the top prize for a team entry in the 2002-03 Siemens Westinghouse Competition.

CONCLUSION

In the Jersey City School District, science students are stars- the STS wi nners and their teacher were showered with gifts from school officials and even given jackets with school letters that are usually worn by athletes. Andrew Yeager, who is director of stem cell transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, would like to see similar attention showered on all scientists.

"When we think about how much professional sports figures make, I'm trying to figure out, are we a better country, a better world because of . . . people beating Babe Ruth's record? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching sports and going to games, but shouldn't we be identifying and shouldn't we be encouraging accomplishments in things that, maybe not immediately but over time are going to lead to a better world? Better health, better living conditions, newer materials, newer technologies. Isn't it right, isn't it appropriate that we should seek out, identify, reward, and encourage the passion for and accomplishment in science and technology?"

At least within the world of STS, Siemens Westinghouse, and ISEF, Yeager's dream is a reality.

Figure A. Anna-Marie Gulotta and her ISEF entry, a solar oven designed to pasteurize water in the winter in high-latitude climates.

Figure B. Elliott Belden, left, and Ryan Young test their electric-gas hybrid vehicle.

THE STORY OF ENGINEERING 47

In her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, she's always been known as Anna-Marie Gulotta. But at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Gulotta became Engineering 47. She was one of more than 1,200 students from 38 countries who gathered in Portland, Oregon, this year for the massive science competition. Each was assigned a number and a category into which their project was classified.

"It's really kind of bizarre," she said. "You don't really meet people as names. It's more like, 'Hi. I'm Engineering 47. You really start to identify with your number. But it's not dehumanizing, you and your project were one thing. It felt good in a lot of ways."

Gulotta's project was, in fact, a strong reflection of her personality and her general goal in life: "To change the world." She developed a solar oven to pasteurize water in the winter for people at high altitudes (Figure A). The idea came from friends who had done volunteer work with refugees. Solar ovens worked for purifying water in the summer near the equator, they told her, but not in colder climates. Because northern Virginia is in the same latitude as Afghanistan, and there was a refugee crisis in that section of Afghanistan at the time Gulotta was deciding on a project, she chose to build the oven.

She had several criteria to meet: to be practical for a refugee situation the oven had to be low cost, lightweight, and easy to transport. It had to have components so the job of carrying it could be shared by several people. And it had to be made of materials that could be easily scavenged. Gulotta tested a variety of materials, including cardboard. Lightweight and effective, yes, but "One rainstorm and the oven is mush," Gulotta said. Plexiglas, she found, was effective and strong. After she selected her materials, Gulotta had to test and adjust the oven to improve its performance. That meant spending long hours on the roof of her house in the winter time. There was little room in her schedule for typical teen-age activities.

"Sometimes you'd just want to go out with friends to a movie or to sleep in, and you'd have to drag yourself out of bed and go sit on the roof with the oven and test it," Gulotta said. Her parents made some sacrifices, too. "Usually at the beginning they kind of come up and make sure I'm not falling off the roof," she said. The effort paid off though, when her project won at the local and state science fairs, enabling her to attend the international fair.

Like Gulotta, anyone participating in ISEF had to earn the right to do so. Every year, students from around the world compete to attend ISEF, where $3 million in awards and scholarships are distributed. The three top winners receive $50,000 scholarships and the remainder of the prize money is awarded in smaller increments by businesses, colleges, and professional societies.

Even when participants win no money, they are rewarded with the opportunity to mingle with students and adults from a variety of backgrounds. If their project is eye-catching enough, they may find themselves on national television, as Ryan Young did. He and his partner Elliott Beiden won a spot at ISEF by building a hybrid vehicle powered by an electric motor supplemented by a gasoline engine (Figure B). The system is opposite of hybrid cars on the market today, which are fueled mainly by gasoline supplemented by electrical power.

The boys' unique display, which was simply the vehicle exhibited vertically, was singled out for visits to the Today Show on NBC and Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN. Young said he was not particularly nervous about the attention after spending days at ISEF explaining the project to visitors. He was relieved, however, that when the cameras were rolling the car performed as it should have. Young and Beiden began working on the car several years ago to meet a school science fair requirement. This year's project was done on their own time, squeezed in between other activities such as swim team and advanced placement courses.

Young plans to attend college to pursue a career in either automotive or aerospace engineering. Gulotta hopes to combine multicultural psychology with some kind of solar research or engineering. That way she can not only explore technology useful to other cultur\es but she can learn how to best apply Western-learned skills in other cultures.

Maureen Byko ix managing editor of JOM.

Copyright Minerals, Metals & Materials Society Sep 2004

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