Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

U. of I. to host state finals of Science Olympiad April 29

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The state finals of the Illinois Science Olympiad will be held April 29 at the University of Illinois. The event, which begins at 8 a.m., is part of a national competition in which middle and high school students compete in 23 events involving science concepts and engineering skills. The public is invited to attend.

“About 1,100 of the top technical students from around the state are expected to participate in the event,” said Howard Guenther, associate vice chancellor for research at Illinois. “The day will be filled with academic competition, spiced with the spirit of an athletic event,” said Guenther, who is university liaison and site coordinator for the Olympiad.

Area schools that qualified for the competition are Bloomington High School; Champaign Central High School; Home Hi Middle School, Urbana; St. Matthew Catholic School, Champaign; and Urbana Middle School.

The Science Olympiad is devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers.

The competition covers science and engineering disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Many of the activities will be hands-on, with student teams launching bottle rockets, flying homemade airplanes and building bridges. Other events will test the students’ knowledge in areas such as chemistry, forensics, genetics, health science, meteorology, mineralogy, physics, qualitative analysis and water quality.

Most of the tournament competition will take place in buildings near the Quad. A schedule of activities will be available in 161 Noyes Lab, 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

A science and engineering information fair will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St., Champaign. Representatives from many U. of I. science departments and local student organizations will be available to talk with prospective college students.

Charles F. Zukoski, vice chancellor for research at Illinois, will be the featured speaker during the awards ceremony, which will begin at 5 p.m. in Huff Hall.

Editor’s note: To reach Howard Guenther, call 217-333-0030; e-mail: hguenthe@uiuc.edu.

Read Next

Agriculture Graduate student Andrea Jimena Valdés-Alvarado, left, and food science professor Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia standing in the Edward R. Madigan Laboratory holding samples of the legume pulses they used in the study.

Fermenting legume pulses boosts their antidiabetic, antioxidant properties

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified the optimal fermentation conditions for pulses ― the dried edible seeds of legumes ― that increased their antioxidant and antidiabetic properties and their soluble protein content. Using the bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v as the microorganism, the team fermented pulses obtained from varying concentrations […]

Expert viewpoints Ukraine’s daring drone attack deep within Russia is significant but not war-redefining, and may hinder U.S. efforts to end the war, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor and international relations expert Nicholas Grossman.

Does Ukraine drone attack inside Russia augur new era of asymmetric warfare?

Champaign, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Nicholas Grossman is the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security” and specializes in international relations. Grossman spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about “Operation Spiderweb,” Ukraine’s expertly plotted drone attack inside the Russian mainland. […]

Behind the scenes Photo of a man with his leg lifted and his boot in the foreground, while another man in the foreground reacts.

Staging a fight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A group of theatre students is gathered in a rehearsal room at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They are each paired with a partner, and I watch as they shove each other in the chest, knee one another in the gut and then punch their […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010