Loudoun Students Compete at Annual Science Fair

Stone Bridge Freshman, Dominion Senior Win Big

By Kevin Myrick

Friday, March 14, 2008

Projects on exotic plants and a butter-flavored chemical used in microwavable popcorn took top honors Thursday night during the 27th annual Loudoun County Public Schools Science and Engineering Fair.

Erica Gouse, a senior at Dominion High School, and Jun Hong Kim, a freshman at Stone Bridge, each garnered "Best of Fair" awards. The wins earned them a chance to compete in May at the International Science Fair in Atlanta.

When Gouse's project was announced as one of the two top winners, she said she was flabbergasted.

"I was so shocked and I was bursting out in tears," she said. "When they said my title I was overjoyed. My hard work really paid off."

The winner of several awards during the evening, Gouse said she spent weeks researching before coming up with the idea to study a chemical suspected of causing a disease called "popcorn lung" that turned up in workers at microwave-popcorn factories.

"I did lots of research online and read science articles and tried to find something that interested me," she said. In 2007 an instance of the disease was reported by a non-factory worker.

Before announcing the winners, Dominion High School Principal John Brewer said they competed with "the incredible, mind-boggling work of (all) the participants."

Judges looked at scientific creativity, basic knowledge and also the presentation of the project, he said.

Kim calmly shared the stage with Gouse as his final award of the evening was announced. His project on exotic plants and the negative impact they can have on a local ecosystem had already earned him several awards earlier in the evening.

"A lot of people know about animals becoming extinct, but not about how plants become extinct," Kim said. "I wanted to see if I can restore the native plants." He said he plans to continue working on the project during his remaining three years of high school.

Kim and Gouse beat out Michael Fowler, whose project on the correlation of carbon dioxide levels and hurricanes took several prizes--including an award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fowler, who was recently accepted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his project was inspired by the search a middle ground in the debate over global warming.

"In scientific debate, you have scientists who are getting shunned out of the debate because of what they think," Fowler said. "It needs to be a debate where the science can be open."

He said his data, neatly organized in thick, three-ring NOAA binders, showed a slight correlation between carbon dioxide and the strength of hurricanes.

"(I found a) modest correlation. It's not a definite yes and not a definite no," Fowler said. "It's definitely something that needs to be studied further because it could have an impact."

Fowler said he plans to study earth and atmospheric sciences in college.

"I want to do research," he said. "I want to fly into hurricanes or chase tornadoes, something exciting."

Tonight's competition was the culmination of months of hard work that started in September, said Odette Scovel, director of the fair. Students in Thursday's competition earned their chance after winning the science fair at their school. The 17 students who placed No. 1 in each category Thursday will go on to compete with students from other parts of Virginia at the state science fair, which will be held in April at George Mason University.

One requirement of the project was to come up with a practical application, Scovel said.

"If it were an engineering project, and a student were developing a better wheelchair, then it would be for a specific reason," she said. "For instance, it would have to work better on the beach. They would have to come up with some solutions that make it practical or explain why they're studying it."

Although not every winner earned a trip to the competition in Atlanta, other prizes were awarded.

Stephanie Fedor, a sophomore at Loudoun Valley High School, studied a myth among flute players. She said that many players believe that flutes made of different metals sound different from one another.

"There was not any huge difference," Fedor said. "I originally thought there would be a difference. Everyone who has ever played the flute said that, but I was proved wrong."

Other prizes included a laptop and a week at space camp.

Judges ended the evening by encouraging students to participate again next year and by saying that each student had won something by participating in the scientific method.

Tagged: Dominion High School, high schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, schools, science, Science and Engineering Fair

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