Young scientists win big in Birmingham.What do plantain plantain (plăn`tĭn), any plant of the genus Plantago, chiefly annual or perennial weeds of wide distribution. Many species are lawn pests and the pollen is often a hay fever irritant. P. extracts and optical fibers have in common? Both proved an important ingredient in an award-winning science project presented at the 45th International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held May 8 to 14 in Birmingham, Ala. More than 290 students received awards at a banquet May 13. Over 1,000 judges selected the winners from among 929 participants representing 30 countries. First-place through fourth-place winners in 14 project categories received $500 to $100. The top prizes include overseas travel. The annual ISEF is a program of Science Service, which publishes SCIENCE NEWS. The Glenn T. Seaborg Noun 1. Glenn T. Seaborg - United States chemist who was one of the discoverers of plutonium (1912-1999) Glenn Theodore Seaborg, Seaborg Nobel Prize Visit Award enables students to attend the Nobel ceremony in Stockholm in December. This year, the award went to Sarita Maria James, 17, of Homestead H.S. in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Fred M. Niell III, 17, of Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tenn. James designed an automatic speech recognition system using signal processing, which helps characterize data, and neural networks, an information-processing system that helps find patterns. Niell built a cyclotron to find out whether particle mass resonance is demonstrated with a variable frequency cyclotron. He found "what seems to be a resonance point or narrow range of resonance," he reports. Three students won trips to the Ninth International Science and Technology Fair in Mendoza, Argentina, in November. Daniel Alfonso Colon and Jason Robert Sanchez-Gil, both 18-year-old students at Colegio San Ignacio De Loyola Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola is a middle school and high school founded by the Society of Jesus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1952. The school was originally located in Santurce, but was moved to its current location by the Jesuit fathers in 1956. in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, won for their work showing that plantain extracts may slow the growth of tuberculosis bacteria. David Alec Bray, 16, from T.C. Williams H.S. in Alexandria, Va., developed an award-winning computer model that predicts how an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would disperse. Alexandria, Va., produced other winners as well: Diego Francisco Figueroa, 17, and Kenna Rael Mills, 17, from Thomas A. Edison H.S. won a trip to the Sixth European Union Contest for Young Scientists The European Union (EU) Contest for Young Scientists is a science fair, initiated by the European Commission. It is a part of the European Union Framework Programmes on Research, and is managed by the Directorate General for Research in the European Commission. , to be held in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Noun 1. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - a grand duchy (a constitutional monarchy) landlocked in northwestern Europe between France and Belgium and Germany; an international financial center Luxembourg, Luxemburg in September. The team created a waste-water treatment system using duckweed duckweed, any plant of the genus Lemna and sometimes of related genera. Duckweeds are tiny floating or submerged aquatic plants with reduced or obsolete roots. They flower only rarely, and their flowers are small and inconspicuous. that significantly reduces certain pollutants. They also analyzed how to compost the duckweed. Water treatment also garnered a travel award for Ben Venable, 17, of Tallassee (Ala.) H.S. He won a scholarship to study at the Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science (מכון ויצמן למדע) is a world-renowned institute of higher learning and research in Rehovot, Israel. in Rehovot, Israel. Venable developed a device that uses hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light transmitted by optical fibers to detoxify de·tox·i·fy v. 1. To counteract or destroy the toxic properties of a substance. 2. To remove the effects of poison from something, such as the blood. 3. pollutants in aquifers. Three additional students won Explorers Club travel awards for study with specific scientists. About 400 ISEF participants received prizes from professional science societies or federal and industrial organizations. |
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