Students to present work at Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Ohio’s top high school science students and selected eighth-grade students will present the results of their original research during the 51st annual Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (Ohio JSHS) at Bowling Green State University March 19-21. The event is patterned after research sessions at professional meetings where both paper and poster sessions take place. In addition to the student presenters, area high school students and teachers will attend the sessions to network and learn about cutting-edge research.

More than 100 high school students from throughout the state will present their research on topics from all areas of science. The eight paper sessions will take place on Thursday and Friday in 101B Olscamp Hall. Poster judging will take place on Thursday. The public may view the posters from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, and from 8:45 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Friday in 101A and 101B Olscamp.

At stake is more than $18,000 in scholarship money and cash awards for the winners of the Ohio JSHS. The top three paper presenters all receive scholarships, and the top five paper presenters receive an all-expense-paid trip to the National JSHS to take place in Washington, D.C., April 23-27. The top two presenters at the National JSHS will have the opportunity to compete for one of six $12,000 scholarships and a trip to the International Fortnight in London.  

Faculty members from BGSU, Lourdes University and the University of Toledo will serve as judges for the competition along with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Undergraduate students will serve as paper session presiders, with high school teachers serving as moderators.

Sponsorship awards come from the Academy of Applied Science, BGSU’s Northwest Ohio Center of Excellence in STEM Education (NWO), COSMOS, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, College of Education and Human Development, School of Teaching and Learning, and the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.

BGSU’s Pershing Rifles Color Guard will initiate the program at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

NWO director Dr. Robert Midden; Lt. Col. Douglas Mohler, U.S. Army and BGSU professor of military science; and Blythe Tipping, Ohio JSHS assistant coordinator and science teacher at Sylvania Southview High School, will give the welcome address.

On Thursday evening, keynote speaker Dr. Jodi Haney will discuss “Roots to STEM.”

Haney is a professor in the School of Teaching and Learning with a joint appointment in the Department of Environment and Substantiality.

For additional information on the free public event, contact Midden at midden@bgsu.edu or 419-372-0563; Dr. Emilio Duran, School of Teaching and Learning, at eduran@bgsu.edu or 419-372-1262; or Jessica Belcher, OJSHS coordinator and NWO assistant director, at jbelche@bgsu.edu or 419-372-5571.