The Space Telescope Science Institute's Youth for Astronomy & Engineering Program

There will also be two Women's Science Forums in the Spring: (Click on the link for a flyer or go to their website to register online)

• Middle School students - February 23, 2013

• High School students - March 16, 2013

Saturday Morning Science

The presentations are organized by the Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science Director Don Thomas. Dr. Thomas joined NASA in 1988 as a materials engineer for the Space Shuttle Program. He is a veteran of four space shuttle mission and has logged over 1,000 hours in space, completing nearly 700 orbits of the Earth and traveling nearly 20 million miles in the process. In his new role as director of the Hackerman Academy, Thomas has been visiting numerous schools in the Baltimore area and talking to students of all ages about his experiences in space.

Hereford High Team Wins Baltimore County Envirothon

Envirothon is the largest natural resources competition for high school students in North America, with students from eight Canadian provinces and more than 40 states participating every year. In Maryland, the Envirothon is sponsored by local soil conservation districts and the State Soil Conservation Committee.

The Baltimore County Envirothon was held on April 20th at Oregon Ridge Park. Twenty-five teams from sixteen Baltimore County High Schools and one private High School competed in five events. The events tested the teams knowledge of forestry, aquatics, soils, wildlife, and the 5th topic which changes each year (non-point pollution this year). The winners of this event advance on to the Maryland Envirothon Competition which will be held on June 20-21 at the St. James School in St. James, MD. The winner from the state competition goes on to the Canon Envirothon Competition at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania from July 22-July28.

Here were the top three teams in the Baltimore County Envirothon.

1st Place - Hereford HS Team #1
2nd Place - Perry Hall HS Team
3rd Place - Western School of Technology Team A

Congratulations!

Baltimore Science Fair Winners

The Baltimore Area Science Fair was held March 24 and 25, 2012 at Towson University. Several Baltimore County Public School students won honors at this event. You can go to their site for a complete listing of all winners.

Sponsor Award Winners:
In Division II (Middle School)
Honorable Mention in the Biological Science category - Jeremy Deinlein from Stemmers Run Middle

Professional Societies and Independent Groups Awards:
U.S. Army Certificate for Scientific and Engineering Excellence
Jeremy Deinlein from Stemmers Run Middle
Keenan Albee from Franklin High

National Society of Black Engineers Distinguished Project Award
Sam Billups from Ridley Middle

American Society for Quality Awards
Division II Teamwork Award - Sydney Thomas and Taylor Carlsen from Sparrows Point Middle
Division I 1st Place Award - Rebecca Gross from Franklin High

The American Meteorological Society Outstanding Achievement Award
Sydney Thomas and Taylor Carlsen from Sparrows Point Middle

The Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) Geoscience Excellence Award
Sydney Thomas and Taylor Carlsen from Sparrows Point Middle

National Space Society Award (Best space-related projects)
Rakha Wibisana and Yixuan Pei from Pine Grove Middle
James Brewer from Perry Hall Middle

Clean Air Partners Air Quality Award
Rebecca Gross from Franklin High

Office of Navel Research Award
Rebecca Gross from Franklin High

The AMS Materials Educational Foundation Award
Rebecca Gross from Franklin High

Davis Memorial Award
Sam Billups from Ridley Middle

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Awards
High School 1st Prize - Rebecca Gross from Franklin High
Middle School 3rd Place - Rakha Wibisana and Yixuan Pei from Pine Grove Middle
Middle School Honorable Mentio - James Brewer from Perry Hall Middle
Middle School Honorable Mention Sarah Levy from Pine Grove Middle

Congratulations to all of these students and their hard work!

BCPS Physics Olympics Winners

The 25th Baltimore County Public Schools' Physics Olympics was held on February 25th at Dulaney High School from 9-12pm. Physics students from twenty BCPS high schools participated in this event and won the following awards.

Overall Winners:
First Place: Perry Hall High School Team #1
Second Place: Eastern Technical High School Team #1
Third Place: Dulaney High School Team #1

There were six events that teams competed in and each event had a winner as well.
Clock Tower Desent - Perry Hall Team #2
Heat Shield - Eastern Tech Team #1
Rocket Launch - Dualney Team #2
Wits and Wager (Quiz Show) - Eastern Tech Team #1
Rubber Band Vehicle - Loch Raven High
Egg Drop - Catonsville High

Congratulations to all the physics students that participated at the Physics Olympics.

Hereford High Seniors Tackle Particle Physics

Hereford High Physics teacher Jeremy Smith has about 10 of his seniors delving into the world of particle physics, voluntarily venturing beyond typical classroom-physics fare to study particles that might have traveled from galaxies far, far away. Once they have successfully set up their particle detector to ensure it is truly documenting the occurrence of what are called "muons" - a by-product of the atmospheric collisions - the students will do various experiments to learn more about them.
 
The students are using a "simplified" version of a particle detector that scientists use for such study, which was acquired from QuarkNet, a national program connecting high school teachers with universities and particle physicists. Hereford High is one of five Maryland schools to have received the detectors. Read the complete article on the Baltimore Sun Web site.