Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Enrico Fermi (1901 – 1954) Was Born

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity and is today regarded as one of the top scientists of the 20th century.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Nuclear energy transportation
Subject: Aviation
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2008)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2008
Description: Main topics: Nuclear mechanics, Ford Nucleon, nuclear ships, nuclear aircrafts, Mars rover, advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy transportation and environmental impacts.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2008/iaco8v2/

Sunday, September 27, 2009

World Heart Day 2009

World Heart Day, organized by the World Heart Federation, World Health Organization (WHO) and UNESCO, is the World Heart Federation's most important advocacy event and aims to increase public awareness and promote preventative measures to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke. Begun in 1999 with the vision that all World Heart Federation members could collectively help to curb the global pandemic of cardiovascular disease, which claims some 17.5 million lives world-wide annually, World Heart Day is now celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: What is a pacemaker?
Subject: Medicine
Grade level: Elementary School Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2007)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2007
Description: Main topics: how the heart works; what is a pacemaker; different kinds of pacemakers; the invention of the pacemaker; recent innovations; movie.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/torr7m2/

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) Was Born

Michael Faraday was an English scientist, best known for the discovery of electromagnetic induction and the inventions of the electric motor and dynamo.

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Measure the torque of an electric motor by the mass lifted by the motor.
Subject: Electricity / Magnetism
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2007)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2007
Description: In order to measure the torque, the electric motor is suspended off the ground and a string is attached to the axel of the motor while the other end of the string is attached to different weights. The distance the motor lifts the weights off the ground is measured.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/benn7b2/

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Upton Sinclair (1878 – 1968) Was Born

Upton Sinclair, Jr. best known for his novel The Jungle (1906) which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: The Effect of Various Temperatures on the Type and Growth Rate of Bacteria in Meat
Subject: Food Safety
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Medium
Affiliation: Selah Intermediate School
Year: 2006
Description: Four different types of meat (hamburger, steak, pork, chicken) were grinded and incubated under different temperature and periods of time conditions. Bacteria colonies were counted and identified under a microscopes.
Link: http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2006/SarahS.html

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Norman Borlaug (1914 - 2009), the Father of The Green Revolution, Died

Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate, and has been called the father of the Green Revolution.
During the mid-20th century, Borlaug led the introduction of these high-yielding varieties combined with modern agricultural production techniques to Mexico, Pakistan, India and Africa. As a result, Mexico became a net exporter of wheat by 1963. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those nations. These collective increases in yield have been labeled the Green Revolution, and Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply.
Borlaug continually advocated the use biotechnology to decrease world famine.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Expression patterns of low temperature-induced genes in winter and spring wheat
Subject: Plant Genetics
Grade level: High School Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Advanced
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: High
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2006)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2006
Description: Seeds from two wheat varieties were germinated for 15 days and exposed to 4 degrees Celcius for different periods of time. Leaves were harvested and RNA was extracted. From the extracted Ribonucleic acid (RNA), copy-Deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) was synthesized to use in Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to measure expression of cold-induced genes. The Real-Time PCR data was then used to calculate the relative expression of the genes.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2006/kula6m2/