ASNE Delaware Valley Section members Stephen Mastro and Kimberly Drake, Ph.D., attended the Delaware Valley Science Fair on Wednesday April 6, 2005. Delaware Valley Science Fairs, Inc. (DVSF) was founded in 1949 and incorporated in 1993, making it one of the oldest Fairs in the country. It is now also one of the largest. The Fairs were designed as a vehicle for stimulating interest in science and technology among students in middle and high schools in the tri-state area. The philosophy behind the Fairs is that students learn science by doing science. Their mission is to bring parents, teachers, and industry together to stimulate and nurture young people so that they grow and develop into contributing members of the community. They provide a forum for students to present their scientific work and interact with scientists in their field to receive feedback on their efforts. Students are awarded, scholarships, cash prizes, and other non-monetary recognition for outstanding work. They provide mentoring and teacher training to facilitate participation in this activity.

After reviewing over 1,000 projects, the following winners were chosen for the ASNE Delaware Valley Section Award:

10th-12th Grade Division:
Brian L.
Grade:11
Age:16
School: Charter School of WilmingtonBrian's project "A Finite Element Tsunami SImulation" employed a finite element model to predict the path and speed of waves eminating from a tsunami.

6th-9th Grade Division:
Manjima D.
Grade:8
Age:13
School: Masterman School, PhiladelphiaMajima's project, "Relation Between Density and Refractive Index" studied the change of index of refraction and light transmission through various solutions.
Both students were exceptionally bright and lucid in their discussion of their experimental methodolgy.

I will be printing up winner's certificates and send them directly to the students.
Congratulations to our 2005 winners!
~Steve Mastro