Durham Regional Science Fair at UOIT a success

Durham Region's best and brightest young minds came together at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) on April 5 to take part in the 2014 Durham Regional Science Fair (DRSF).

"The participation in the 2014 Durham Regional Science Fair was the highest in recent years and shows that there is an interest in having this event in Durham Region," said Mary Olaveson, DRSF Co-ordinator, and Lecturer, UOIT Faculty of Science. "This is very encouraging as we try to grow the fair in the future. Such an event would not be possible without the help of sponsors at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology; Faculty of Science, Advancement Office, Registrar's Office, Marketing and Communications, Automotive Centre of Excellence, Engineering Student Society, University of Ottawa, Aramark-DC-UOIT, Partners in Research, Macmillan Canada, Pearson Education, Proforma and Youth Science Canada. Thank you also to the UOIT faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students and Durham community members who volunteered to help with the organization of the fair and to judge projects."

Hosted by UOIT’s Faculty of Science (FSci), the event provided elementary and secondary school students with the opportunity to showcase their experiments and share what they had learned throughout the research process.

There were 55 students from 10 elementary and secondary schools from the Durham Region who competed this year, displaying 45 experiments that included exploring the phases of the moon, the effects of phosphates on algae growth and alternative energy, such as solar power and wind turbines.

The students competed for prizes in four categories — elementary (grades 4 to 6), junior (grades 7 and 8), intermediate (grades 9 and 10) and senior (grades 11 and 12). The winners of each category were:

• Elementary: Angelina Fernandez from St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School with the project Series Circuit.
• Junior: Jayash Singh from Roland Michener Public School with the project Ring-A-Reactions.
• Intermediate: Hamayal Choundhry from Pickering High School for the project Eternal IPT.
• Senior: Gabrielle Sweeney-Tobin and Samantha Griarte from O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute for their project Heart Beats 4 Music.

Gabrielle Sweeney-Tobin and Samantha Griarte were the top winners of the DRSF and will have the opportunity to compete in the Canada-Wide Science Fair, which will be held in Windsor, Ontario this May.