Ebert, left, listens to seventh grader Zoe as she explains her experiment, “Penguins and Chocolate Mousse Don’t Mix,” which tested how the salinity of water affects a mixture of crude oil and seawater, modeled using cooking oil.

Alexander and Naveena Bontha, an 11th grader, stand in front of her presentation, “Improving Energy Efficiency and Reducing our Carbon Footprint: A Novel Approach to Preparing Electrochromic Coatings for Smart Windows.”

Callahan listens as sixth grader Sofia explains a graph in her experiment, “Energy Content of Biofuels.”

KENNEWICK, Wash. – Three of EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) staff members served as judges for the 61st annual Mid-Columbia Science and Engineering Fair this month. 

   The fair, according to its website, is the oldest science fair in Washington state. Up to 400 students between sixth and 12th grades took part. 

   Don Alexander, Vic Callahan, and Kelly Ebert were part of the judging teams.  

   “I love working with kids,” explained Alexander, who has been judging science fairs for more than 30 years. “I like to see the spark of excitement that comes from discovery.”

   Alexander is a technical advisor and staff scientist with ORP and helped judge the senior division, which covers projects for the ninth to 12th grades.

   Both grand prize winners from Hanford High School had presentations dealing with energy. Naveena Bontha, an 11th grader, took top honors for her presentation, “Improving Energy Efficiency and Reducing our Carbon Footprint: A Novel Approach to Preparing Electrochromic Coatings for Smart Windows.” 

   Bontha further researched and expanded an idea she used last year. 

   Using Prussian Blue, a dark synthetic pigment, Bontha tested the idea that she could change the pigment’s color, either lightening or darkening it to allow more or less light, and in the long run cut the amount of energy needed to heat or cool a building.

   Anneka Walton, a 10th grader, was selected for her presentation, “Solar Thermal Electric Generator Using Common Metals.”

   Walton used wires made from readily available material, such as copper, to create a small electric generator that releases electricity by having heat introduced to it. She said she came up with the idea after reading about solar panel usage in third-world countries and, because of their relatively high cost and low availability, wanted something more easily available, or easily able to be created, that could be used to generate electricity.

   Walton said that an efficient generator could even generate small amounts of electricity from body heat.

   “These are often good enough to be at a senior level of college or even better,” Alexander said about the presentations he’s seen throughout his judging experience. “Some would be worthy of a graduate-level dissertation.”

   Bontha and Walton were presented separate certificates of achievement from ORP for their work in the field of energy.

   Ebert, who covered the seventh-grade physical sciences presentations in her second year as a judge, said that she, too, is sometimes surprised by the complexity of the displays.

   “I think we see the full gamut,” she said. “I was really impressed with some of these kids’ presentation skills, their oral presentation skills. It’s pretty exciting to see the enthusiasm coming from these kids.”  

   Alexander said science fairs like this one benefit DOE.

   “It’s an opportunity, a valuable opportunity, to steer kids into STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics],” he said.