A five-member South High School team won first place at the recent Brookhaven National Laboratory/Long Island Regional High School Science Bowl. The team of Adrian Chen, Ajay Dheeraj, Yiqing (Elissa) He, Allan Lee and Melody Yang will head to Washington, DC, on an all-expense-paid trip to the National Finals that will be held in late April/early May.
“Science Bowl is a great opportunity to study things in-depth,” said Allan Lee, team captain. “It’s a lot of self-study, but when we come together each of us makes an equal contribution.”
The South team competed against 18 other Long Island teams, which faced off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format. The teams were tested on a range of science disciplines, including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy and math.
South High has taken high awards at the last two Regional Science Bowls, placing third in 2016 and second in 2015.
“I love science, I love the competition, and I love watching the team improve and learn every year,” said Dr. James Truglio, biology teacher and team coach. “We have a ton of fun. It becomes like another family.”
The Science Bowl is one of the nation’s regional competitions of the 27th annual U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl (NSB). It’s one of the nation’s largest science competitions. More than 14,000 students compete in NSB each year, and approximately 265,000 students have participated in its 26-year history.
“The National Science Bowl continues to be one of the premier academic competitions across the country and prepares America’s students for future successes in some of the world’s fastest growing fields in science, technology and engineering,” said Dr. J. Stephen Binkley, acting director, Office of Science, DOE.