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Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Eight students win $16K from eCybermission contest
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · May 04, 2011
Eight middle- and high-school pupils won a total of $16,000 plus all-expense-paid trips to the East Coast after winning a 19-state regional award for their science projects.
The trip to the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area is so that The DeIcers and the Buzz Busters teams can compete June 20-25 for the first-place national award in the U.S. Army’s eCybermission contest.
“This is a remarkable feat,” Learning Without Limits instructor Hector Ibarra said of two West Branch teams advancing to the national level.
The DeIcers team includes seventh-graders Linzee Espensen, Hunter Wargo, Russell Martin and Ian Andrews. The team is focusing on the environmental impact of runoff from airports which use ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and propylene glycol (RV fluid) to remove ice from planes.
“The project took a lot of hard work, but it came through and paid off,” Espensen said. “I am very glad that we are able to go to D.C. to compete. It will be fun to go again.”
The Buzz Busters team includes ninth-graders Justin Roth, Ryan O’Neil, Emily Corr and Nathan Juels. That team is drawing attention to the negative effects of energy drinks on teenagers.
“It is great to get recognition for the project through the win,” Roth said. “But the real satisfaction is raising awareness on the effects of energy drinks and making an impact on my community.”
This is the third year in a row that West Branch has had two teams selected to compete in Washington, Ibarra noted, and the fourth time in the nine years of eCybermission.
“The goal is for both teams to be selected as first-place finalists and perhaps punch a ticket for an invitation to the White House. This won’t be easy but it certainly is within the students’ reach.”
O’Neil agreed.
“I’m excited to win at the regional level for the third year in a row,” he said. “I think we have a unique project and I’m looking forward to preparing for the national competititon. It’s a great opportunity and just shows that hard work and dedication pays off!”
Corr agreed that another trip to D.C. is exciting.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she said.
Each of the pupils earned $2,000 in government savings bonds.
When they travel to DC, the teams will compete against teams from three other regions.
A third team, Carb Alert, made up of eighth-graders Lilly Brown, Arielle Soemadie and Christina McVay, were state winners in the eCybermission contest. Each of them received $1,000 in savings bonds.
Ibarra also saw his sixth-grade Iowa City team, the Alpha Eliminators, win the Seimens We Can Change the World Challenge at the state level with their project on radon awareness and testing devices. |
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