Indiana Science Olympiad

IU Bloomington hosted the Indiana Science Olympiad State Tournament March 23. Forty-eight high school and middle school teams of young scientists compete for a chance to represent the state at the National Science Olympiad in May, but everyone went away a winner.

IU faculty, research scientists, students and staff, along with scientists and volunteers from the Bloomington community, coordinated and judged 36 science and engineering events. Regional Olympiads were hosted earlier on the IU Northwest and IU Southeast campuses.

Photos by Paul Martens

(Left to right) Danny Jackson, Hunter Vibbert and Anthony Martinez of Wainwright Middle School in Lafayette worked diligently on building their flag-hoisting machine during the timed “Mission Impossible” competition.

Physicist Ben Brabson of the IUB Department of Physics has been a perennial participant in the Science Olympiad. Giving up a Saturday to be a judge not only puts staff and faculty in touch with a younger generation of scientists, it allows youngsters to be mentored by seasoned professionals. Who knows which participants will come back as students?

Stephen Sehr and Erica Santucci of Kokomo’s Central Middle School took up the challenge of bridge building at the Olympiad.

Steve Studley, manager of mass spectrometry at the IUB Department of Geological Sciences, and his wife, Penny, an administrative secretary at University Information Technology Services, also are long-time Olympiad volunteers. Steve Studley is pictured here judging a bridge construction.