The Research Association of Long Island, New York has announced that the WAC Lighting Foundation will sponsor its annual event for the eighth consecutive year. Created to help promote the education and careers of young scientists, the 2019 WAC Lighting Invitational Science Fair is scheduled for Sunday, April 17 from 8am-2pm at The Wheatley School at 11 Bacon Road in Old Westbury, New York.
The WAC Invitational Science Fair symposium offers the 400+ students from Long Island, New York City, and the surrounding area high schools the opportunity to present their research projects to judges from leading institutions and businesses. The Research Association is a consortium of 13 Long Island and New York high schools represented by teachers advising students that science research is an active avenue into understanding the true nature of science.
“This science fair lets students know that it’s wonderful to excel in science and we are honored to sponsor the Invitational Science Fair again this year,” explains WAC Lighting President Shelley Wald. “Perhaps some of these young scientists will help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and contribute to a greater quality of life for all of us.”
The fair includes eight major categories, with winners selected from projects developed and completed by high school seniors and underclass students (grades 9-12). Awards and scholarships will be presented to winners of First, Second and Third Place, as well as Merit Awards and Honorable Mentions.
Participating students have spent months, and even years, in labs exploring Earth and Environmental Science, Prototype Engineering; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; General Biology; Behavioral Science; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy; and Computer Science and Computational Modeling.
“The great thing about this science fair is that our judges are scientists and they engage our students in very high-level conversations about their work,” explains Alan Schorn, President of the Research Association. “We are very thankful to WAC Lighting for making this science fair possible.”
Participating students have gone on to pursue advanced studies at leading educational institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stony Brook University, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, the University of Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, and other top universities.
Judges include 135+ academicians and professionals who are affiliated with leading universities, hospitals, and other institutions including: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Long Island University, New York University, North Shore University Hospital-LIJ Medical Center, Wiell Cornell Medical College, Hofstra University, and Mount Sinai Medical Center, St. Johns University and Fordham University, Adelphi.
