Poudre High School From Fort Collins, Colorado Wins U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl
WASHINGTON, DC – Poudre High School from Fort Collins, Colorado won the 2007 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl for high school students today at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. Poudre High School beat State College Area High School from State College, Pennsylvania in the national championship match. Teams representing 64 high schools from across the United States competed in the National Finals.
Members of the winning team include Patrick Chaffey, Sam Elder, Winston Gao, Sam Sun, Logan Wright and coach Jack Lundt. The team won a science research trip to Australia. The answer that clinched the championship was in response to a chemistry question about reaction order and rates.
“I congratulate Poudre High School for their victory in the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl,” Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. “These students displayed an acute knowledge of science and mathematics in many disciplines. It is this level of knowledge, excitement and teamwork that will keep America at the forefront of innovation. With these students as our country’s next generation of scientists and engineers, I am confident the U.S. will remain the world’s leader in science, engineering, and innovation.”
To ensure that today’s brightest students become tomorrow’s scientific leaders, President Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) in 2006. This initiative increases investment in research and development, strengthens science and math education, and encourages entrepreneurship and technology discovery. DOE’s National Science Bowl exemplifies how children who are engaged, encouraged, and equipped with proper resources can succeed academically. The goal of the ACI – and the National Science Bowl – is to invest in our next generation of scientists, engineers and educators so America can continue to successfully compete in the 21st century global marketplace.
The ACI supports educational activities, such as the DOE National Science Bowl, in an effort to excite more middle and high school students to take mathematics and science classes.
More than 300 high school students competed in this weekend’s National Finals of the 17th annual DOE National Science Bowl. Earlier this spring, more than 12,000 students from across the country participated in regional Science Bowls for high school students. The winners of the regional high school Science Bowls received all-expense paid trips to compete in the National Finals in Washington, DC. DOE recognizes all the students who competed as true mathematics and science stars, representing the nation’s next generation of scientists and engineers.
DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. DOE supports mathematics and science education to help provide a technically trained and diverse workforce for the nation. More than 100,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 17 year history.
Placing second in the DOE National Science Bowl was the defending champion, State College Area High School from State College, Pennsylvania. Team members are Laura Gabrovsek, Francois Greer, Barry Liu, Kunal Vakharia, Jinhui (Elizabeth) Zhao and coach Julie Gittings. This team won a science research trip to France.
The third place team was East Chapel Hill High School from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, including Jerry Feng, Meng Xiao He, Varun Puvanesarajah, Arnav Tripathy, Pengcheng (Jack) Wang and coach Dr. Robert Purdy. This team won a science research trip to Newport News, Virginia.
The fourth place team was Miami Palmetto Senior High School from Miami, Florida, including Steven Bronson, Yunxin (Joy) Jiao, Jason LaRue, Alexander Li, Phillippe Siclait and coach Dr. Susie Kamons.
Liberty High School from Liberty, Missouri won the Civility Award for outstanding sportsmanship. Team members are John Ahlfield, Shane Daniel, Stephanie Hull, David Klco, Ammon Sarver and coaches Rosemary Camp and Mary Coogan. They won a trip to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado.
The top 16 teams received $1,000 for their schools’ science departments. The other 12 teams winning this cash prize included:
- Albany High School, Albany, California
- Chaparral High School, Scottsdale, Arizona
- East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, New Jersey
- Edwin O. Smith High School, Storrs, Connecticut
- Homestead High School, Cupertino, California
- Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, California
- Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, California
- Parkview High School, Lilburn, Georgia
- Red River High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Southside High School, Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, Texas
- Westford Academy, Westford, Massachusetts
This year’s corporate sponsors were AREVA, Inc, Bechtel, General Motors, IBM and Texas Instruments.
On Saturday, April 28, two teams won in separate competitions of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge. Edwin O. Smith High School of Storrs, Connecticut won first place in the speed competition and Bridgeport High School of Bridgeport, West Virginia won the inclined track competition.
The DOE Office of Science manages the DOE National Science Bowl. The Office of Science is the principal supporter of DOE’s world-class national laboratory system that will lead the way in innovations including high-end computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy sources, and other material science research.
A photo of the winning team and more information about the DOE National Science Bowl are available at The National Science Bowl website.
Media contact(s):
Ed Greenberger: (703) 894-7933
Jeff Sherwood: (202) 586-4826
Science Bowl Press Room: (301) 961-2854
