R.C. Murphy Junior High School Wins Science Bowl at Brookhaven Lab

Lawrence Middle School wins the solar car challenge

March 8, 2010

Students From R.C. Murphy Junior High School enlarge

With their coach, Patrick McManus (left) and Ken White, Manager of Brookhaven Lab's Office of Educational Programs, are students in team 1 from R.C. Murphy Junior High School who took first place in the Regional Middle School Science Bowl at Brookhaven Lab: (from left) Yifan Wang, Raymond Yin, Daniel Redlinger, Akilesh Tangella, and Harrison Li.

UPTON, NY – Students from R.C. Murphy Junior High School were the first-place champions at the Regional Middle School Science Bowl held March 6 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. One hundred students from 13 Long Island middle schools participated in the fast-paced question-and-answer tournament designed to test students’ knowledge of life sciences, physical sciences, earth sciences, mathematics, and general science.

Commack Middle School took second place in the academic contest, Copiague Middle School came in third, and Longwood Junior High School in Middle Island came in fourth place.

Lawrence Middle School’s team 2 – all girls – won first place, and the school’s team 1 –all boys – won second place in the solar model car competition, in which students design, build, and race model solar cars. The first-place team’s car raced down the fifteen-meter track in 5.65 seconds, only two-hundredths of second less than the second-place winners took – 5.67 seconds – to send their car down the track. Third place in the model car competition went to the Holy Angels Regional School in Patchogue, whose car went down the track in 6.25 seconds.

Students From Lawrence Middle School enlarge

With their coach Kobir Gupta (left) and Ken White, Manager of Brookhaven Lab's Office of Educational Programs, are students in team 2 from Lawrence Middle School who took first place in the solar car challenge in the Regional Middle School Science Bowl at Brookhaven Lab: (from left) Remy Geier, Brianna Burbia, Victoria DiCeglio, Jennifer Kendal, and Briana Curra.

The Regional Science Bowl at Brookhaven Lab is part of the National Science Bowl™ coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. About 60 volunteers from Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University donated their time to help run the contest. In 2009, more than 5,000 students participated in regional events throughout the nation. By taking part in this “Jeopardy”-style academic contest and model solar car competition, students are encouraged to excel in science and math and to pursue careers in those fields.

Each student on the winning teams received a medal, and each winning team received a trophy for its school. R.C. Murphy Junior High School will represent the Long Island region in the National Science Bowl®, which will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 29 – May 4, 2010. The U.S. Department of Energy will fund the team’s all-expense-paid trip.

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