Terri Hudkins
Headquarters, Washington, DC             May 10, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1977)

RELEASE:  95-64

STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL AEROSPACE COMPETITIONS

    Twenty-six students from schools across the U.S. have won 
national recognition in NASA's 15th annual Space Science 
Student Involvement Program (SSIP) competition.  Students and 
their teachers were honored at the National Space Symposium, 
May 6-10, in Washington, DC.  

    Over 4,000 students in elementary, junior high and high 
school competed in five competition categories of the national 
competition.  SSIP is co-sponsored by NASA and the National 
Science Teachers Association to promote science, mathematics 
and technology achievement. 

    During the Symposium, eight national semi-finalists in the 
Mars Scientific Experiment category competed for first place.  
The top national winner is Luke Bergmann, Montgomery Blair 
H.S., Silver Spring, MD.

    In addition to their recognition in Washington, the 
students win the opportunity to intern at a NASA field center 
for a week during the summer.  They also win a scholarship to 
Space Camp.  

Competitions and Winners

Mars Science Expedition  
    Students in grades 9 to 12 planned and developed a trip to 
Mars and proposed an experiment to be conducted along the way.  
Students were required to follow the guidelines of the 
scientific method of research when designing the study.  The 
following regional winners competed for first place during the 
Symposium: 
 
o    Kathleen Cusick, Glastonbury H.S., Glastonbury, CT
o    Amita Danak, Parma Senior H.S., Parma, OH
o    Sara Shelton, Robinson Secondary School, Fairfax, VA
o    Brian Pierce, Bonnabel H.S., Metairie, LA
o    Travis Caddell, Springtown H.S., Springtown, TX
o    Michelle DeDecker, Davis H.S., Kaysville, UT
o    Bryn Daisy, East Anchorage H.S., Anchorage, Alaska
o    Luke Bergmann, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, MD 

Interplanetary Art Competition.  
    Students in grades 3 to 12 expressed their talents in 
science and art by creating a two-dimensional illustration 
depicting a scene from interplanetary space and writing an 
essay describing the picture.  The art work will be displayed 
for public viewing.

o    Gregory Metcalf, Quail Summit Elementary School, Diamond Bar, CA
o    Jon Frey, Precious Blood Middle School, Dayton, OH
o    Jaime Behrens, Rosemount H.S., Rosemount, MN

Future Aircraft/Spacecraft Design Competition.   
    Students in grades 3 to 5 worked in teams to design a 
futuristic aircraft or spacecraft.  The students created three 
illustrations and wrote an essay describing the spacecraft.  

o    Ariel Overstreet, Jerick Graves, Megan Brewer, Daniel 
Karlin, Big Timber Grade School, Big Timber, MT

Mission To Planet Earth.   
    Students in grades 6 to 8, worked in three person teams to 
create an interdisciplinary project using satellites to study 
the effects of human activity on the Earth's ecosystem.  They 
used research methods and an understanding of technology to 
search for solutions to society's ecological problems.

o    Laura Elliott, Angela Feuerborn, Stephanie Spiegal, Holy 
Trinity Elementary School, Paola, KS

Aerospace Internship Competitions.   
    Students in grades 9 to 12 competed for a one-week 
internship with their teacher/advisor at a NASA facility.  
Students were chosen on the basis of a written proposal of an 
experiment that could theoretically be performed at one of the 
facilities such as NASA's supercomputer, drop tube, wind 
tunnel, Space Station or Spacelab.  

Supercomputer Internship
o    Raffi Krikorian, Clarkstown South H.S, West Nyack, NY, 
will intern at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 
with scientists and engineers working on the Cray Computer.

Space Station Internship
o    Rose Koba, Parma Senior H.S., Parma, OH, will intern at 
the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, with scientists and 
engineers working on the Space Station.

Wind Tunnel Internship
o    Jason Ernst, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, MD, 
will intern at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, with 
scientists and engineers conducting research in aerodynamics 
using wind tunnels.

Microgravity Internship
o    Nathan Hulse, Davis High School, Kaysville, UT, will 
intern at NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH, with 
scientists performing microgravity experiments in a drop tube.  

Spacelab Internship
o    Rachel Mandel, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, MD, 
will intern at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, 
Huntsville, AL, conducting experiments with scientists and 
engineers in the pressurized Spacelab module.

Space Telerobotics Internship
o    Alex Epstein, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, MD, 
will intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, 
and work with engineers conducting research in the microrover 
laboratory for lunar and planetary surface exploration.

Space Astronomy
o    Brendan Connell, Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring, 
MD, will intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, 
Greenbelt, MD, and work with astronomers conducting research 
in observational and theoretical astronomy and solar physics.

Launch Operations
o    Brian Blum, Shoreham-Wading River H.S., Shoreham, NY, 
will intern at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL, and work with 
engineers preparing payloads for their launch on the Space 
Shuttle.

                        -end-

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