Middle and High Schoolers to Visit Campus for Science Competition
Hundreds of middle- and high-school students from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will gather on campus this weekend to present work they’ve conducted since the beginning of the school year at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Region 7 competition.
The event, again hosted by the University and its Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, will bring 800 7th– through 12th-graders to Duquesne, where a battery of 300 judges and volunteers, as well as participating students’ family members, will gather from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6.
The mammoth event introduces students from more than 85 private and public schools to the excitement of discovery and the possibility of scholarships and careers in science-related fields, said Dr. Jeffrey Evanseck, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who is the coordinator for the competition.
Students had the opportunity to work in the categories of behavioral psychology, biology, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, computer science, Earth and space, ecology, engineering, mathematics, microbiology and physics.
“Everyone around the world can and will benefit from the new innovations these students are currently working on,” said Susan Morgan, director of PJAS Region 7. “The need for student participation in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields is great within our region. Jobs are plentiful due to the many hospitals, and robotic and tech companies right here in Pittsburgh. People gain the scientific skills needed to fill those jobs by participating in these activities.”
Project presentations, though only for the eyes of the judges, will start at 8:30 a.m. for middle school students and culminate with an awards ceremony that is open to the public at 1:15 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. Afternoon presentations will begin at 1 p.m. and end with the awards ceremony that is open to the public at 4:30 p.m. in the Union Ballroom.
The first-award winners from Region 7 will participate, along with the winners in a dozen other PJAS regions, in the state competition in May.