Science expo projects link real life, industry

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Apr 6, 2004 by Jessica Swanson

Sixth graders Nini Tran and Katherine Ham couldn't have predicted a major chemical spill into Southeast Portland's Johnson Creek when they tested the water's pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen levels last winter. Over two weekends in January, the Ventura Park Elementary School students used professional tests to discover that the urban creek is not nearly as polluted as they thought it might be and would, in fact, support a salmon run.

Sitting in front of their data on Friday at the Intel Northwest Science Expo at Portland State University's Stott Center, they are amazed that the subject of their wintertime experiment has come under such scrutiny due to a recent fire at an oil recycling plant east of Interstate 205. The girls heard on the news that while the fire was being put out, water treatment chemicals spilled into the creek, and thousands of fish were killed.

What would happen if they retested the water now?

I think if we did it right where the spill was, I think our results would definitely vary, said Ham.

Neither girl was too interested in heading back to the creek's hotspot, but the fact that their project is connected to the real world added a layer of excitement to their day at the expo.

With projects that sport such names as Greasy, Greasy Fries, Brain Splat, and The Role of Juniperalis Occidentalis in the Sequestration of Atmospheric Carbon, the 21st Annual Intel Northwest Science Expo was held for the 14th year at PSU April 2.

The expo showcases the projects of hundreds of middle and high school students in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The projects are submitted in such categories as behavioral and social sciences, botany, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, mathematics, and environmental sciences.

Top projects from the expo will go to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Scheduled for May 9 to 15 at the Oregon Convention Center, the fair will involve 1,200 students from 40 countries.

In many cases, students have not only received guidance from their teachers and peers, but from professionals in the field.

Gold Beach High School senior Melissa Giottonini's project, Mathematical Growth of the Biscuit Fire, secured her a spot at the expo, and also some contacts at the U.S. Forest Service.

Using data from the Forest Service about the devastating 2002 Oregon Biscuit Fire, Giottonini analyzed a map of the fire using total acreage consumed, the fire's lateral growth and its perimeter growth. She discovered that it would be possible to predict the way a fire would grow using mathematical formulas. She checked in regularly with staff at the Forest Service in Brookings to make sure she was on the right track.

I really wanted to see if you could use this information I found in future fires, she said. (It is possible to predict) where to put firefighters so they can contain it, and know how to pull them back as the fire spreads.

While some student projects are focused on saving lives, others are set up to save money or the environment.

Kaiser's McNary High School sophomore Kathryn King used her 2003 summer internship at the Oregon Department of Energy to learn everything she could about the construction of energy-efficient windows. Her project, Energy Efficiency and the Construction of Windows, earned her a place this year at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. King also won a $3,000 renewable scholarship to PSU.

The window industry knows what window components will meet code, but they don't know what window components are the most energy efficient (for a residential dwelling), said King, who met with window manufacturers. She also randomly surveyed new homeowners and found out many would pay more for energy efficient windows. With this data in hand, she tested window components' energy efficiency using a homemade heating and cooling device.

In the end, weighing the homeowner's cost up front against the savings over time through energy efficiency, she chose vinyl for the frame, low emissivity soft coat plate glass, polyurethane for the spacer and the more expensive crypton for the gas fill.

She hooked into the Department of Energy through the science- based, after-school program Saturday Academy, and the work fit her to a T.

I wanted to do some solid research and really enjoy it, she said.

Mike Ellison is the state expo director and a program director with PSU's Center for Science Education, which organizes the event. There are about 250 judges, he said, and a total of 400 volunteers help with the one-day event. Friday's two top students won full tuition scholarships to Portland State University, and other scholarships, trophies and cash prizes were awarded Friday night after the fair.

Awards aside, the former high school science teacher said education is at the heart of the event.

The purpose of the fair is to learn about science and to have professionals in the industry affirm the work of the students, said Ellison. The kids are already talking about what they are going to do next year.