TOUGH CHOICES FOR THE JUDGES: WINNERS OF FIRST NATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR ANNOUNCED

An experiment about the effect of video games on heart rate took the top $500 prize at Rochester Institute of Technology’s first annual National Science Fair for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Amy Ann Lucero, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, earned first place in the High School Division for comparing heart rates of video-game rookies and experts of both genders before, during, and after they played an Xbox video game. Lucero is an 11th grader at New Mexico School for the Deaf in Sante Fe.

Eighth-grader Adam Richard from the Rhode Island School for the Deaf in Providence, won the $500 first-place prize in the Middle School Division for his project, “Characteristics of Environmentally Safe Natural Plastics,” which compared the rate of decay and characteristics of plant- and animal-based plastics.

Sixth-grader Mark Demarest, representing Boynton Middle School in Ithaca, New York, took second place—a $300 prize—for his project, “The Material Science of Soccer Goalie Gloves.” Demarest studied why certain materials are chosen above others for use in goalie gloves, designed to protect the goalie’s hands and to enhance the ability to catch a soccer ball.

Scott Matchett, of Twelve Corners Middle School in Brighton, New York, took home the $200 third-place prize in the Middle School Division for his project, a three-dimensional model of an atom.

The first-place team entry went to 12th-grader Luis Fenandez and 9th-grader Antonio Gomez, both of the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, for their project exploring the relationship between a golf club and a golf ball, using height and mass as test factors.

“We spent a great deal of time with each participant and evaluating each project,” said Vince Daniele, chair of NTID’s Science 7 Mathematics Department and one of the judges. “Everyone had exceptional projects, and we congratulate them all!”

RIT is widely know for its lab sciences technology, biotechnology, bioinformatics, chemistry, physics, and imaging and environmental-sciences programs, and the support services the university provides for students with hearing loss. It’s home to the IT collaboratory, an RIT-led research collaboration in nano-material, science, microsystems, photonics, remote-sensing systems, and other technologies with University at Buffalo’s Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics and the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Posted on July 10, 2006