NEWS FROM WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 30, 2007
CONTACT: Jen Neville,
720-962-7054
POUDRE HIGH NAMED NATIONAL SCIENCE BOWL CHAMPS
LAKEWOOD, Colo.—Five Poudre High School students, from Fort Collins, Colo., claimed the title "champions" today in the 2007 U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl®.
"The tension was rising toward the end of the championship round," said Poudre High School Senior Winston Gao. "We were ahead, but we had to ensure victory was ours. It was funny, but even when we realized that we were winning, we were still thinking about questions in the round."
After two days of undefeated, round robin competitions, Poudre High School team members vied State College Area High School from State College, Penn.—the National Science Bowl defending champions—at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center, Washington, DC. The team—Gao, Patrick Chaffey, Sam Elder, Sam Sun, Logan Wright and coach Jack Lundt—clinched victory in the championship by correctly answering a chemistry question about reaction order and rates.
"With competing in Science Bowl, not only do you have to communicate with your teammates, but you also have to make sure you work well with them, otherwise you break down," said Sun, Poudre Team Captain and a senior classman. "This competition really helped us use each other strengths."
Junior Classman Elder added, "We liked our chances going in because we were undefeated at that point. We've never done this well before!"
The Poudre High School students beat 23 teams at the Rocky Mountain Regional Science Bowl, Feb. 3, earning them a trip to the National competition against 63 other high schools from across the United States. Western Area Power Administration, a DOE agency, sponsored the regional competition.
"I congratulate Poudre High School for its victory in the Department of Energy's National Science Bowl," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "These students displayed an acute knowledge of science and mathematics in many disciplines. It is this level of knowledge, excitement and teamwork that will keep America at the forefront of innovation. With these students as our country's next generation of scientists and engineers, I am confident the U.S. will remain the world's leader in science engineering, and innovation."
With its victory, the Poudre team has won a science research trip to Australia.
"This is a culmination of 11 years of work in Science Bowl," said Team Coach Lundt. "This is the ultimate prize. It's the second time we've made it to the National Science Bowl’s top four and the first time a Colorado team has won." Lundt's wife, Poudre High School's principal, was thrilled to hear about the team's success.
More than 300 high school students competed in this weekend's National Finals of the 17th annual DOE National Science Bowl. DOE recognizes all the students who competed as true mathematics and science stars, representing the nation's next generation of scientists and engineers.
Sun said, "I've been involved with Science Bowl for a long time, but because of today and thinking about the future of graduating from high school, I'm confident I'll succeed in college. The National Science Bowl is a premiere program that has made me more comfortable with science material."
DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. DOE supports mathematics and science education to help provide a technically trained and diverse workforce for the nation. More than 100,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 17 year history.
For more about the Science Bowl competition, visit http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/default.htm.
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Photos
(Courtesy of the Department of Energy)
Poudre
caption: Poudre High School students (from left to right) Winston Gao, Sam Sun,
Sam Elder and Logan Wright compete in the championship match.
Poudre1
caption: DOE Under Secretary for Science Raymond Orbach, left, and Mrs. Diane
Bodman, wife of Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, right, present the Poudre
High School team with a check and championship trophy. Coach Jack Lundt stands
with his students (from left to right) Patrick Chaffey, Logan Wright, Winston
Gao, Sam Elder and Sam Sun.
Poudre2
caption: Poudre High School Students (from left to right) Sam Elder, Logan
Wright, Sam Sun and Winston Gao compete in an early round-robin match.
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Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of power from hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy.
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