Gardena High Team Takes Top Prize

in Herndon Science Competition

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (6/2/06) -- A team of GARDENA HIGH SCHOOL students took first place in the high school experiments category of the 29th annual Robert H. Herndon Memorial Science Competition held June 1 at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo.

Team members at least 16 years old will be offered paid summer positions at the company if they successfully complete the application process. They also will receive $1,000 savings bonds. Their experiment demonstrated the use of innovative housing structures resistant to extreme weather.

Placing second was VAN NUYS HIGH SCHOOL. Their project examined the effects of different foods on students’ classroom performance. Team members will receive $500 savings bonds.

The team from A-MAN International Science Discovery and Learning Center captured third place. Their project examined how to build earthquake-resistant buildings. They will be awarded $200 savings bonds.

Carol Suh of PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH captured first place in the high school essay competition and Geoffrey Woo, also of Peninsula, placed second. Suh earned a $500 savings bond and will be offered a summer position if she meets requirements. Her essay was titled “Nanotechnology: Revolutionizing Medicine and Materials Science.” Woo will receive a $250 savings bond. His essay was titled “Blowing Away the Big Bang Theory: The Impact of Ekpyrotic and Superstring Theories.”

Middle Schools

MONROE MAGNET MIDDLE SCHOOL won first place in the middle school category of the experiments competition. The team devised a system to measure the effectiveness of robots. Capturing second place for the third straight year was JOHN MUIR MIDDLE SCHOOL. The team examined the use of robots for aiding disaster victims. Monroe students earned $1,000 savings bonds while Muir experimenters earned $500 bonds.

The FRANK D. PARENT MIDDLE SCHOOL team placed third with their experiment that demonstrated how to redirect and slow floodwaters. Each student earned $200 savings bonds.

Leslie Johnson of PARENT won first place in the middle school essay category, earning a $500 savings bond, while Nestor Guzman of JOHN MUIR was awarded second place and a $250 savings bond. Johnson’s essay was titled “Mud Vacuum Slide” and Guzman’s was titled “This or That (Corn or Oil), Fuel for the Future.”

A total of 70 students from 11 Los Angeles-area schools participated in the event, designed to stimulate interest among minority students in science, engineering, and technology, and to increase diversity across the aerospace industry.

The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for Defense Department space programs and other space programs in the national interest.

Media Inquiries: contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org