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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Phylicia Lovelace, 13, an eighth-grader at Columbia Middle School, recently won second place with her science project in the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship. Lovelace says that she wants to be a code-breaker for the U.S. Navy when she's older.
Chemical Reaction
Columbia Middle School student places second in regional fair through Synopsys program
By Jana Seshadri
With the help of some Scotch tape, a few Popsicle sticks and some chemicals, Phylicia Lovelace proved to be a winner.
The 13-year-old eighth-grader from Columbia Middle School won second place at a regional science fair held on March 13 organized by the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship.
Lovelace, who was the only winner from a Sunnyvale school, said her experiment was called "Chemic-it."
By wrapping Scotch tape around Popsicle sticks and dipping them in different chemicals, Lovelace was able to determine the reactions each had on the tape. She tabulated the results and compared the time it took for each chemical to unglue the tape, if it did.
"Phylicia was self-motivated and came up with the idea herself," said Kevin Anderson, science teacher at Columbia.
Anderson said the science department provided students with many ideas and many more students were encouraged to participate and could have done well if they had.
"It was really an exciting event," said Erin Brennock, community relation's manager for Synopsys.
First held in 1999, the annual regional science fair for students in middle school and high school is administered by the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association. Although the majority of the students who participated in the competition were from high school, Brennock said there were a lot of enthusiastic middle school students who showed off their scientific skills.
The Synopsys Outreach Foundation--a major sponsor of the event--is working in partnership with schools in Santa Clara County to boost the science curriculum in schools.
"The idea is to get more students interested in science," said Gary Robinson, president of the foundation.
In order to support project-based learning in Santa Clara County, the foundation is offering to support schoolteachers and provide them with extra training and whatever else they might need to enhance the science instruction, Robinson said. As part of their support, the foundation conducts summer workshops for teachers and has representatives go around to the different schools to ensure on-hand help is available to them, he said. The effort, which started with just high schools two years ago, now encompasses all schools countywide, he said.
"We are trying to make this more available to schools that don't have them," Robinson said.
Many Sunnyvale elementary and middle schools encourage their students to exhibit their science skills and interest by entering a project or experiment in their school science fair. This early start motivates students to participate in such fairs every year until the fear of competing does not deter them from entering huge competitions.
"Doing the science fair brought in a lot of parents," Anderson said. "This year twice as many parents attended the fair than last year."
About 1,000 students from 58 different Bay Area schools participated in the Synopsys science competition, Brennock said. The competition was was judged by more than 450 experts from throughout the region.
Grand prize winners will advance to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair to compete with students from across the United States and 50 other countries for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific fieldtrips and a trip to the Noble Prize ceremonies in Sweden. Many winners also participate in the California State Science Fair.
Lovelace won a ribbon for second place. More than the actual prize, the venue for the awards ceremonies was what excited most students, Anderson said. The awards ceremonies were held at Paramount Theater at Great America on March 24. What's more, Great America provided free admission to all winners and five extra free tickets for their families.
"Just the fact that Phylicia won second place will encourage other students to participate in science fairs and enter into competitions," Anderson said.
When asked whether this win will spur her on to bigger scientific endeavors, Lovelace responded, "I want to join the Navy and break Navy codes."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
