June Bacon-Bercey1 special news feature AMS Board on Women and Minorities Summary of AMS Participation in the 1977 International Science and Engineering Affiliated Fairs The 28th International Science and Engineering Fair TABLE 1. Participation in 1977 ISEF fairs.* (ISEF), held in Cleveland, Ohio, came to an end in the twilight hours of Saturday, 14 May. The final judging Participation and award ceremony represented not only a culmination No. of of the efforts of the individual winners, but also, on a Invitations Through Without Fairs Received Chapters Chapters broader scale, a culmination of the efforts of scores of AMS Chapter members who represented the Society at ISEF Affiliated 201 (187) 132 (114) 69 (73) 137 city, county, and state school fairs. Unaffiliated 5 (3) 5 (3) This was the second year that AMS acted as a sponsor- Total 206 (190) 137 (117) 69 (73) ing society for the series of fairs affiliated with the ISEF, * The numbers in parentheses are for 1976. one of the many educational projects of Science Service, Inc. (See the August 1976 BULLETIN, pp. 992-995, for a summary of 1976 activities.) Increased AMS participa- tion in local science fairs began last year at the sugges- and numbers of women and minorities in the sciences tion of the AMS Board on Women and Minorities. One embraced by the Society. The science fairs were seen of the Board's objectives is to increase the participation as a method of making an initial contact with students at a crucial point in their education. Society participa- i Aviation Branch, National Weather Service, NOAA, Silver Spring, Md. 20910. tion in the 1977 ISEF-affiliated fairs netted a list of TABLE 2. AMS chapters that participated in the 1977 Science and Engineering Fairs affiliated with the 28th ISEF (alphabetically by state). No. of No. of Chapter Fairs Location Chapter Fairs Location North Alabama 2 Huntsville; Jacksonville Florida State Univ. Anchorage 1 Anchorage (Student) 1 Panama City Central Arizona 1 Tempe Greater Miami 1* South Florida* Southern Arizona 1 Tucson Palm Beach County 1 West Palm Beach Central Arkansas 2 Arkadelphia; State Metropolitan Atlanta 2 Athens (State Fair); University Atlanta California State Univ. Aloha 1 Honolulu San Jose (Student) 1 San Jose Chicago 3 Valparaiso, Ind.; Los Angeles 1 Orange Chicago; South Bend Northern California 1 San Francisco East Central Illinois 1 Jacksonville, 111. Sacramento 4 Sacramento; Chico; Indiana 8 Bloomington; Evans- Modesto; Fresno ville; Indianapolis ; Santa Barbara-Ventura 2* Santa Barbara*; Ventura Muncie; Terre Haute; Colorado State Univ. West Lafayette; Clarks- (Student) 1 Greeley ville; Hammond Denver 3 Brush; Golden ;Engle- Iowa State Univ. (Student) 1 Cedar Rapids wood (State Fair) Derby City 1 Louisville Pikes Peak 1 Colorado Springs New Orleans 6 Baton Rouge; New Connecticut Valley 1 West Hartford Orleans; Thibodaux; District of Columbia 6 Glen Burnie, Md.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Gaithersburg, Md.; University of Mississippi Manassas, Va.; College (State Fair) Park, Md.; Falls Church, Southeastern Michigan 10 Angola, Ind.; Ann Arbor; Detroit (East, Va.; Washington, D.C. West, Macomb County, Cape Canaveral 4 Melbourne (Central, Oakland County North, North, and South Oakland County South, Brevard); Ft. Pierce Wayne County) Flint; (State Fair) Ft. Wayne, Ind. * Fair not affiliated with ISEF. 1212 Vol. 58, No. 11, November 1977 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/07/21 01:49 PM UTC Bulletin American Meteorological Society 1213 nearly 100 names of female and minority students inter- measures have been taken to avoid this problem next ested in the atmospheric sciences. A resource packet has year.) Two Certificates of Recognition were alloted for since been developed and mailed to these students with each fair, to be awarded according to the AMS judges' the objective of further stimulating their interest. discretion. Every entrant in the ISEF is a winner—having already Chapter participation in science fair activities in- won in competition on the city, county, and/or state creased this year (see Table 2) with 59 chapters level. The Society's involvement requires hundreds of involved—3 more than last year. Two new chapters, hours of volunteer effort by our members, but the op- Central New York and Southern Arizona, were organized portunity given to budding scientists is a worthwhile en- in time to provide judges for fairs in their respective deavor. Winners of local fairs who earn finalist status for areas. The Panhandle Chapter in Texas quickly reacti- the ISEF have the opportunity to discuss their projects vated in time to provide judges for a fair in Vernon, with top scientists and engineers who attend the fair as Tex. Although we have excellent chapter participation, judges or observers. Contacts and friendships established there were still 69 fairs located in areas where no local may continue throughout a student's education. Sharing chapter is active. In these cases, individual volunteers experiences and ideas and the opportunity to travel are were tapped directly by the AMS science fair coordinator all part of the award to those winners of local fairs who to act as Society representatives. In all cases, judges spent are designated participants in the ISEF. a great deal of time and effort, sometimes traveling long As has become customary, local chapters were tapped distances, to give young atmospheric scientists the kind this year to provide volunteer judges for fairs within of professional contact that is so encouraging to a stu- their geographic area. For fairs where no chapter exists, dent. In addition, increased participation by the AMS individuals in the meteorological community were asked on a nationwide basis will insure continued rapport be- to represent the Society as judges. On the local level, tween the Society, schools, and the general public. the Society was invited to participate in 206 fairs (see Table 1). Members who volunteered their services were Acknowledgments. The author and the Society are grateful asked to judge exhibits in the atmospheric and hydro- to the Aviation Branch of the NWS for providing employee spheric sciences. (In a few cases, AMS representatives time for the coordination of the science fair activity. Special were asked to judge exhibits outside the specified fields; thanks to Thelma Fricks. TABLE 2. Continued No. of No. of Chapter Fairs Location Chapter Fairs Location Twin Cities 3 St. Paul; Mankato; Greater Pittsburgh 3 West Liberty, W.Va.; Winona Buckhannon, W.Va; Greater St. Louis 3 + 1* Rolla; St. Louis; Parkersburg, W.Va. Belleville, 111.*; Jackson- Univ. of Rhode Island ville, 111. (Student) 1 Providence (jointly with Kansas City 3 Lawrence, Kans.; Kansas Rhode Island) City, Mo.; Wichita, Central South Carolina 5 Augusta, Ga.; Columbia; Kans. Florence; Greenville; Omaha-Offutt 1 Nebraska City Spartanburg Northern Nevada 1 Reno Black Hills 1 Rapid City, S.Dak. Southern Nevada 1 Las Vegas Sioux Valley 2 Brookings; Lake Field, New Jersey 1 + 1* Trenton; Neptune* Minn. Rutgers Univ. (Student) 1 Bayonne Memphis 2 University, Miss.; Albuquerque 3 Albuquerque; Las Vegas Memphis N. Mex.; Socorro Central Texas 2 Austin; San Antonio (State Fair) El Paso-Las Cruces 2 El Paso, Tex.; Las Central New York 1 Fredonia Cruces, N.Mex. New York City 1 Poughkeepsie Houston 2 El Campo; Houston Wright Memorial 1 Westerville, Ohio North Texas 2 Dallas; Kilgore 5 Ardmore; Edmund; Panhandle 1 Vernon Central Oklahoma Lubbock Seminole; Tulsa; Texas Plains 1 Utah 6 Ogden (Weber Regional); Oklahoma City Ogden (South Weber); Southwest Oklahoma 3 Lawton; Alva; Ardmore Salt Lake City; Clear- Univ. of Oklahoma field; Cedar City (Student) 4 Ada; Wilburton; (Central); Cedar City Seminole; Muskogee (Southwest) Delaware Valley 3 Lancaster; Philadelphia; Hampton Roads 1 Chesapeake Reading Greater Milwaukee 1 Milwaukee Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/07/21 01:49 PM UTC 1214 Vol. 58,, No. 11, November 1977 State by State Summary of Science Fair Activities The following is a synopsis of science fair involvement annual banquet where the award was presented (see reported by chapter representatives. photo).—Ronald L. Holle, Secy-Treas. Arkansas Newton Skiles and Richard Kale, representing the CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHAPTER, judged fairs in Arkadelphia and Jonesboro in late March. California Members of the SACRAMENTO CHAPTER volunteered to judge fairs in Chico, Sacramento, and Modesto. Colorado The DENVER CHAPTER provided judges for the science fair in their city, awarding an AMS certificate to Lyn Wilson for her exhibit, "The Big Thompson Flood." Members of the PIKES PEAK CHAPTER judged the 20th Annual Pikes Peak Regional Science Fair, held in mid- March 1977 at Colorado College, Colorado Springs. Of Joe Pelissier, Jr. (center), South Florida Science and En- gineering Fair, and Betty and Charles Neumann, Greater the over 90 entries, eight were judged to have enough Miami Chapter. applicability to merit special AMS judging attention. Final judging resulted in selection of James Martin's Georgia entry, "Compatability of Wind and Sun as Energy The METROPOLITAN ATLANTA CHAPTER provided two Sources," for our first prize and Rick Ellis's "Geoclimatic judges, Jim Metcalf, of Georgia Tech's Engineering Ex- Influences on Culture," for second prize. Both projects periment Station, and Nancy Wright, of Van Winkle 8c were worthy entries. Martin's project was awarded Co., Inc., for the Atlanta Public Schools' Science Con- Honorable Mention in the Physical Sciences category, gress held 17 and 18 February. Seven meteorology entries and Ellis's project was selected for entry in state com- were judged, and the entries that received the AMS petition. AMS certificates were presented to the winners Certificate of Recognition were "How Is Water Recycled by Lt. Col. Eugene Harsh at the awards ceremony held Naturally?" by Darrell Hayes of Brown High (see photo) on 19 March. Each of the winners was also presented a and "Nitric Acid in Rainwater" by Andre Jarboe of barometer by the chapter. We were pleased this year Northside High.