Scioto County Students Receive Science Day Awards
Staff Report
Science Day Winners (Left to Right – top row) Lorelei Martin, Briar VanSickle, Addison Mullins (Left to Right – bottom row) Serena Kataria, Claire Clevenger, Vivian Wheeler
Submitted Photo
SCIOTO This year the Ohio Academy of Science determined that Science Days would be held virtually due to restrictions related to the pandemic. It was determined that students could register to go directly to District Science Day (without needing to participate in their own school’s Science Day or in County Science Day).
The South Central Ohio Service Center’s Gifted Services Department offered to pay all registration fees for students to participate in District Science Day as a way of encouraging students to take part in this event. Students were required to create video presentations of their projects, submit research papers, and register with the Ohio Academy of Science in order to participate. Videos were 15 to 20 min
Centre director Professor Shaun Hendy said it had been a pleasure to work with the team on such an “unrepeatable experience”. “[Thank you for] listening to us, for trusting us – it’s been incredible – and if we hadn’t had that trust, it would have all been for nothing.” The World Health Organisation’s Diane Abad-Vergara said the work done by Te Pūnaha Matatini on the Covid-19 response has had significant health and social impacts for New Zealand. It is part of the reason why New Zealand is one of the few countries to eliminate the virus, she said.
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The five Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are New Zealand’s most valuable research awards. Awarded annually, they are worth nearly $1 million.
A real team effort
The team prize, worth half a million, has been awarded to a consortium of 24 researchers working together in the field of complexity science as part of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a Centre of Research Excellence.
In early 2020, director Shaun Hendy saw that there was a gap in providing the New Zealand Government with the data science it needed to make informed decisions about responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.