Palos Verdes High Team Takes Top Prize in
Science Competition at The Aerospace Corporation
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (6/7/07)—A team of PALOS VERDES HIGH SCHOOL students took first place in the high school experiments category of the 30th annual Robert H. Herndon Memorial Science Competition held today at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo.
Members of the winning team were Will Averill, Donnie Briggs, Kevin Hoffman, Joanne Jordan, and Adam Schultz. 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 a method of filtering carbon dioxide emissions to reduce the greenhouse effect. Placing second was GARDENA HIGH SCHOOL. Team members were Julia Chan, Judith Guerrero, Tri Huynh, Yolanda Portillo, and Arielle White. They designed an efficient and inexpensive solar cooker. Team members will receive $500 savings bonds.
The team from PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL captured third place. Team members were Debra Chang, Hyun Woo (June) Choo, Lawrence Huang, James Lin, and Hao (Helena) Wu. They used computers to design a missile-intercept system. They will be awarded $200 savings bonds.
Scott Wong of PALOS VERDES HIGH captured first place in the high school essay competition and Christina Fong of PALOS VERDES PENINSULA placed second. Wong earned a $500 savings bond and will be offered a summer position if he meets requirements. His essay was titled “Nuclear Waste Disposal: Possible Permanent Solutions.” Fong will receive a $250 savings bond. Her essay was titled “Medical Applications for Microarrays.”
Middle Schools
MONROE MAGNET MIDDLE SCHOOL won first place in the middle school category of the experiments competition. The team investigated how to increase the effectiveness of a trebuchet. Team members were Daisy Garcia, Joanne Luzon, Jacqueline De La Cruz, Dulce Rios, and Nia Spears. Capturing second place was FRANK D. PARENT MIDDLE SCHOOL. The team investigated how to keep a crashed commercial airplane from sinking. Team members were Diego Castro, Christian Garland, Portrait Plair, Karen Gomez, and Eran Tre Sooggins. Monroe students earned $1,000 savings bonds while Parent experimenters earned $500 bonds.
The JOHN MUIR team placed third with their investigation of variables that affect the speed of a projectile released by a trebuchet. Team members Isabel Bravo and Jennifer Martinez earned $200 savings bonds.
Yousuf Syed of CALLE MAYOR won first place in the middle school essay category, earning a $500 savings bond, while Emmanuel Villapando of MONROE was awarded second place and a $250 savings bond. Syed’s essay was titled “The Future of Nanotechnology: Nanocomposites” and Villalpando’s was titled “Power of the Wind.”
A total of 88 students from 13 Los Angeles area schools participated in the anniversary 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.
Contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org
