Science Fair inspires
isle students

The annual exhibit impresses
visitors with projects both
practical and arcane

Vaihi Kaonohi described what he was seeing at the 48th Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair with one word, "Amazing."

The Kahaluu Elementary School fifth-grader was among hundreds of public and private school students visiting the three-day fair yesterday at the Neal Blaisdell Center exhibition hall.

Most took notes to write reports for their classes. Some were inspired enough to say they might even tackle a science project next year.

A total of 427 students from sixth to 12th grades participated from 75 public and private schools statewide. They competed for awards with 346 projects covering all areas of science.

Fourteen winners of the state, Maui, Leeward and Windward District Science Fairs and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools will represent Hawaii at the International Science and Engineering Fair May 8-15 in Phoenix.

More than 250 judges from educational institutions, businesses and other organizations reviewed the projects this week.

"Without the judges it wouldn't work," said Rhoda Reinhold, of Hilo, whose daughter, Kimberly, is a four-time senior research winner. "They are really the unsung heroes in this. ... They provide a tremendous amount of incentive and encouragement for all the kids."

Some projects and displays dealt with practical issues:

Others were more complex:

Lucy Lurie, Kiane Lee and Debbi Yoshimoto, Pauoa Elementary sixth-graders, were impressed with all the research that went into the projects. "There are things you don't usually think about," Lurie said, "like the different growth of things."

"There are so many good minds around here," said Douglas Perry, a Blaisdell events-services technician who studied the exhibits. "I enjoy my work," he said, explaining he was learning new things.

For instance, he discovered from Shelby Ann Samori, a St. Patrick School fifth-grader, that frozen seeds will grow but at a slower rate. She grew seeds for her project that she froze in 2001.

A project on "Movement of Nitrates in Soil Profile" by Andrew Abe, a Pearl City senior, caught his eye, said Nestor Cardano, Aiea High School freshman. But he said all the exhibits were "very creative ideas" that presented a lot of information.

Amy Kimura, who has a background in social science, has been going to science fairs for 20 years and now is a judge for junior research and displays.

She said there were some excellent projects in behavioral and social sciences, but she would like to see science teachers giving more guidelines to students and "tests of significance" to ensure their results are not by chance.

Florence and Horace Bonner, annual science fair-goers, said the projects are much more sophisticated than they used to be because of new discoveries and materials.

But through research, the students must connect the past with the future, said Florence, a retired teacher.

"What's interesting is the students are energized about this," she said, referring to the hundreds of students swarming through the exhibition center examining and discussing the projects.

The State Science and Engineering Fair is organized by the Hawaii Academy of Science, headed by Michael Hadfield, director of the UH Kewalo Marine Laboratory.

Commenting on scientific discovery and challenges in a message in the program, he noted the impacts of global warming and resistance by the U.S. "political machinery" to controls on greenhouse gas emissions.

"The political responsibility to work toward reversing global climate change falls even on students who, in their training, come to understand what is happening to the world's atmosphere," he said.

"With the challenges, excitement and fun of scientific discovery comes a deep and important political responsibility to inform, one which I hope all of the young scientists participating in the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair will accept."

Major sponsors of the fair are the state Department of Education, UH-Manoa College of Education, McInerny Foundation, Tesoro Hawaii, G.N. Wilcox Trust, Verizon Foundation, Frear Eleemosynary Trust, Chevron Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaiian Cement and Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

---

BACK TO TOP
|

Tumor diagnosis project
wins top prize for
Hilo senior girl

For the fourth year, Kimberly Reinhold of St. Joseph Junior Senior High School in Hilo has won the top senior research award at the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair.

Kimberly Reinhold: The Hilo student is a four-time senior research winner

Reinhold, who will go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, developed and expanded a computer science project each year with her father, Charles, as her mentor. This year, it was titled "Artificial Cognition and Memory: Tissue Image Analysis for Tumor Diagnosis."

She won a $1,000 McInerny Foundation Scholarship Award, plus $1,000 for school supplies for her sponsoring teacher, Pat Lyman.

Other senior winners and their projects:

Lucia Mocz, a Mililani Middle School eighth-grader, won top honors in the Junior Research Division with a project, "The Fractal Model: A New Model to Analyze the Development of Fish Scales." (Her brother, Philip, won this award last year.) Mocz received the Chamberlin Trophy from the state Department of Education for the best public school junior research project.

Other junior division winners were Blake T. Tolentino, St. John Vianney School eighth-grader, second place, "Patterns of Succession"; and Aaron A. Rozon, Kapaa Middle School, Kauai, seventh-grader, third place, "Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go in the Water."

Receiving honorable mention for senior research projects were Genevieve C. Pang, Alayna R. Betsill and Taryn M. Takahashi, Baldwin High 11th-graders, for "Fish Mucus: Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth on the Hawaiian Goby"; Kawakahi Amina, Kamehameha High School senior, "Effect of Vitamin E on Ultra Violet Induced Mutagensis"; and Andrew Knutson, Kamehameha High School senior, "RAPD Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Hibiscus arnottianus."

Receiving honorable mention in the Junior Research Division were William L. Sims, eighth-grader, Kealakehe Intermediate School, "The Effect of Temperature on the Species of Opihi Cellana exarata"; Conrad C. Sanborn, eighth-grader, Kealakehe Intermediate School, "Can I Build a Homemade Seismograph that Collects Reliable Data?"; Naomi R. Perry, sixth-grader, St. Anthony Parish School, "Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere, How Long Will They Stay There?"

Junior Display Division winners were Scott A. Skirlo, eighth-grader, Damien Memorial High School, "What Is Light?"; Ashley L. Maginot and Natasha M. Oxe, Trinity Lutheran School sixth-graders, "The Brain"; and Harley Watanabe, St. Andrew's Priory seventh-grader, "Global Warming." Receiving honorable mention were Jaymee Kau, St. Andrew's Priory seventh-grader, "Formation of Coral Reefs"; Aaron T. Sewake, Waiakea Intermediate School seventh-grader, "Solar Furnaces: The Key to a Better Tomorrow"; and Alexander J. Mattes, Damien Memorial High eighth-grader, "Bridging the Gap."

Others winning $1,000 McInerny Foundation Scholarship awards were Kevin Luu and Vaseem Anwar, a team at Maryknoll High School, and teacher William McFeeley; Andrew Abe of Pearl City High and teacher Aaron Tominaga; and Andrew Knutson and Kawakahi Amina, both of Kamehameha High, and their teacher, Lawrence Mordan.

Other award winners were Brittany Johnston of Waiakea High School on the Big Island, $3,504 full-tuition scholarship for one year from University of Hawaii Foundation; Clifford A. Kapono and Haunani H. Kane, both of Kamehameha High School, $8,500 tuition scholarships from Chaminade University of Honolulu; Sasha K. Honeychurch of Kamehameha High, $11,550 tuition scholarship from Hawaii Pacific University; Melissa Anne McMurray of Leeward Adventist Mission School and Justin T. Bisel of Hilo Intermediate, $50 and astronomy calendars and certificates from the UH Institute for Astronomy; and Amber J. Brown of Kalaheo High, a trip to Mauna Kea and an evening at a telescope from the Institute for Astronomy.