MEDIA ADVISORY: Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition's Western regional finals 31 October 2001
Contact: By Robert Sanders
(510) 643-6998
rls@pa.urel.berkeley.edu
WHAT:
The annual Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition's Western regional finals at the University of California, Berkeley, where 12 high-achieving competitors will meet and mix this weekend with more than 80 high school students from around the Bay Area. WHEN:
Saturday, Nov. 3, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. WHERE:
Pauley Ballroom, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, intersection of Telegraph Ave. and Bancroft Way, UC Berkeley. WHO:
Local students are coming from the Berkeley Saturday Academy for Math, Science and Engineering Achievement (MESA) and Castlemont High in Oakland. The Western regional finalists hail from as far as Anchorage, Alaska, Phoenix, Ariz., and Fullerton, Calif., with the nearest coming from the York School in Monterey, Calif. Western Regional Finals for the Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Awards Individual Finalists: Anna Lonyai, Fullerton, Calif. Production of molecular halogen gases from sea salts Ryan Patterson, Grand Junction, Colo. The sign language translator Timothy Dong, Alhambra, Calif. Oxidation of substituted phosphines with singlet oxygen Theresa J.Berens, Phoenix, Ariz. Tumor necrosis factor receptor in tumorigenesis Yanjia (Jason) Zhang, Arcadia, Calif. Expression of human gene SCL Team Finalists: Heidi Eckman, Crystal Gefroh, Crystal Keaster, Delta Junction, Alaska The effect of cosmic radiation on lichens Heather Craig, Hanna Craig, Anchorage, Alaska Ice-Crawler: The rescue robot for snow, ice, and glaciers Gabe Klapman, Peter Lee, Monterey, Calif. New low cost technology for directional hearing aids BACKGROUND:
For the third year in a row, UC Berkeley hosts the competition's Western regional finals. This year, five individuals and three teams will compete to earn a place at the national competition, scheduled for Dec. 1-3 in Washington, D.C. The 12 "whiz kids" participating will show off their research projects, which include Ice-Crawler, a rescue robot for snow, ice, and glaciers, plus projects on cancer, chemistry and a new technology for hearing aids. UC Berkeley uses the occasion as an opportunity for local high school students with an interest in science to meet and talk with the regional finalists. They interact at a poster display following the competitors' oral presentations to the judges, many of them UC Berkeley professors. The Western regional competition is coordinated by the campus's Coalition for Excellence and Diversity in Math, Science and Engineering, which also sponsors the local high school students. Chaired by Caroline Kane, adjunct professor of molecular and cell biology, the coalition is a highly successful program to boost the success of women and minorities in science, math and engineering - fields in which they historically have been underrepresented. The competition is a national million-dollar scholarship and awards program developed by the Siemens Foundation to promote and advance math and science education in America. It is open to individuals and teams of high school students who develop independent research projects in the physical or biological sciences, or in mathematics. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UC Berkeley
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