Great Mills High School February 6, 2010 Proud to support initiatives to grow our future workforce. The Patuxent Partnership www.paxpartnership.org ST. MARY'S COUNTY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR 2010 WELCOME AND GUIDE We welcome you to the 2010 St. Mary's County Science and Engineering Fair, our 50th annual fair. Students in public, nonpublic, and home schools in the county have submitted the science exhibits displayed here. The exhibits are the result of projects generated by the students' interest in science. These students have taken on the role of scientists through their research. The core of science is inquiry, research, and discovery. The students are offered a venue at the Science and Engineering Fair through which they may present their findings to their fellow students and to the public. The Science and Engineering Fair Board hopes that this experience is a stepping stone to even greater scientific endeavors. Exhibits are entered in two divisions: Junior (grades 6 through 8) and Senior (grades 9 through 12). In each division, exhibits are placed in one of 17 subject areas as listed in this program. Each exhibit is assigned a project number, which is listed in this program. Corresponding numbers are placed on the exhibits. All exhibits must adhere to the size and safety regulations specified by the Prince George's Science Fair Association and endorsed by the St. Mary's County Science and Engineering Fair Board. Selected exhibits from the St. Mary's County Science and Engineering Fair will be chosen to be entered in the Prince George's Area Science Fair which will be held March 27 - March 29, 2010, at the Largo Student Center, Prince George's Community College. Grand Prize winners at the Prince George’s Area Science Fair may have the opportunity to attend the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California on May 9 - May 14, 2010. The St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair Board would like to thank Ms. Tracey Heibel, Principal of Great Mills High School, for making the school facilities available for the 2010 St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair. Thank you to the parents, teachers, mentors, and others who have made the process of discovery real to these students. PROGRAM Friday, February 19, 2010 Registration and Safety Inspection of Projects 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 20, 2010 Judging of Projects (no exhibitors) 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Judging of Projects (with exhibitors) 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Lunch (exhibits closed) 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Display Area Open to Public 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Prince George's Registration 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Removal of Projects 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (Projects left after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday will be discarded.) ST. MARY'S COUNTY SCIENCE FAIR BOARD President Dr. Allan Hovland Secretary Ms. Sharon Mattingly Treasurer Mr. Joe Carbonaro Incorporation/Insurance Mr. Joe Carbonaro School Liason Mrs. Claudia Wortman Awards Mrs. Karine Ingersoll Dr. Allan Hovland Judging Dr. Larry Mertaugh Dr. Robert Goldsmith Mr. Joe Carbonaro Public Relations Mr. Joe Carbonaro Program Booklet Committee Mrs. Claudia Wortman Dr. Allan Hovland Ms. Cathy Kennedy Ms. Samantha Nelson Food Coordination Mrs. Anne Zabiegalski Facilities/Equipment Mr. Kevin Switick Mr. Bruce Young Mr. John Walker Certificates Mr. Bruce Young Ms. Haley Carter Mrs. Andrea Carbonaro IRB/SRC Committee Dr. Allan Hovland Dr. Neil Zabiegalski Mrs. Claudia Wortman Mr. Kurt Knower Webmaster/Photographer Mr. John Walker Fundraising Mr. Kevin Switick Ms. Sharon Mattingly Ms. Heidi Moore Registration & Education Ms. Heidi Moore Mentors Mrs. Kathy Glockner As our science fair grows, we are in need of additional members. If you are interested in serving with this committee in any capacity, we would be very happy to have you participate. Please see any board member to express your interest. St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair Sponsors We are listing our sponsors early in our program to illustrate their importance to the St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair. We could not hold this event without their support. Their contributions are used to set up and run the Fair, buy Fair supplies, and provide prizes and awards. These sponsors also support students who are selected to go on to the Prince George’s Area Science and Engineering Fair and to Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. We sincerely thank them and are indebted for their sponsorship. Platinum Sponsorship Gold Sponsorship College of Southern Maryland CPM Fastools The Patuxent Partnership Chesapeake Plastics Manufacturing Green Light Manufacturing Bronze Sponsorship CPM Film Tools Wyle Laboratories Titanium Sponsorship Aluminum Sponsorship AVIAN Engineering US Naval Test Pilot School Alumni Association Educational Systems Federal Credit Union Corporate and Community Sponsors BJ’s Wholesale Club J. F. Taylor, Inc. St. Mary’s County Giant Foods Store John Herbig Public Schools McKay’s Food Store John and Judy Walker St. Mary’s College of Maryland Chesapeake Oral and Ann and Neal Zabiegalski St. Mary’s Hospital Maxillofacial Surgicenter Sharon Mattingly St. Mary’s Soil The American Helicopter Research and Engineering Conservation District Society, Patuxent River Chapter Development, Inc. Patuxent River Naval Air Station Southern Maryland Jahn Corporation Town Creek Garden Club Audubon Society Lockheed Martin Smartronix SMECO Kevin and Judy Switick William W. Winpisinger St. Mary’s Hospital Southern Maryland Education and Women’s Club of Resource Conservation and Technology Center St. Mary’s County Development Board Unitarian Universalist International Council on Southern Maryland Fellowship of Systems Engineering Association of Realtors Southern Maryland Special thanks are given to the following: Great Mills High School for hosting this year’s Science Fair; Mr. Junior Armstrong, Building Service Manager, Great Mills High School, and building service workers for helping to coordinate facilities for the Science Fair and for lighting and sound during the awards ceremony. Great Mills High School Media Specialists for use of the audio/visual equipment. The young men and women of the St. Mary’s Composite Squadron - Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol for acting as marshals during the registration and judging periods. Mrs. Samantha Nelson for management of all aspects of the database. Many Teachers and Volunteers who assisted throughout the Science Fair event. St. Mary’s County Teachers and School Science Fair Coordinators for encouraging Science Fair participation. Mentors of Participants for advice and expertise provided to students. Parents/Guardians of Participants for encouragement and support throughout the Science Fair process. Student Participants for having questioning minds and seeking to solve real problems in science, mathematics, and engineering. Recognitions There have been many grand award winners over the past 50 years of the St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair. We would like to recognize those past award winners who are here celebrating the fair with us today: Robert Blevins Preston Wood Jennifer Dowdell Nicole Carbonaro Elise Carbonaro Julie Walker Nicholas Bruno Courtney Bartels Bethany Schaeffer Kelly Gatton Alex Ragland Hailey Dodges Mark Ragland Shefali Shah Sarah Moore The St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair Board would like to thank Mr. Andrew Ridenour, a junior at Leonardtown High School, for designing the 50th Annual St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair Program Cover. Thank you for sharing your talent and know that we appreciate all of the hard work that went into designing the cover. Awards Ceremony Welcome and Introductions…………………………………………………..… Dr. Allan Hovland Recognition of the 50th Annual St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair Mr. Bill Mattingly, Chairman Board of Education of St. Mary’s County Recognition of Past Award Winners…………………………………….….….. Dr. Allan Hovland Keynote Address………………………………………………………..…….. Mr. Edward Tunstel Category Award Winners (both Junior and Senior Division)………….………. Dr. Allan Hovland Enrichment Awards (both Junior and Senior Division)…………….….………. Dr. Allan Hovland Special Merit Awards…………………………………………..…..Various Special Award Judges Sparkle Awards (both Junior and Senior Division)…..………………..….……..Dr. Allan Hovland Grand Award Winners (both Junior and Senior Division)……...……….………Dr. Allan Hovland . **IMPORTANT NOTE** All students who have been invited to participate in the Prince George’s Area Science Fair must meet in the media center immediately following the awards ceremony. Edward Tunstel Group Leader Senior Robotics Engineer Dr. Tunstel received the B.S. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in robotics, from Howard University. His thesis addressed the use of symbolic computation for automated modeling of robotic manipulators / arms. In 1989 he joined the Robotic Intelligence Group at JPL supporting research and development activities on NASA planetary rover projects. As a JPL Fellow he received the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he became affiliated with the NASA Center for Autonomous Control Engineering (ACE). His dissertation addresses distributed fuzzy control of adaptive hierarchical behavior-based systems and its application to mobile robot navigation. In his current capacity as a Senior Robotics Engineer, he directs engineering activities for robotics technology development. He also develops