March 17, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Four area high school students recently took top prizes in the 2008 Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair, sponsored by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for Community OutReach Development (CORD).

Nearly 300 middle and high school students competed in the Regional Science and Engineering Fair in areas that include chemistry, biology, engineering, mathematics, computer science, medicine and social and behavioral science. The top four high school winners all competed in the Senior Division of the science fair. They will now go on to compete in the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair May 11-17 in Atlanta.

The four winners in the Senior Division are:

Biology - Mason McFarland, sophomore, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, "The Allelopathic Phenomenon of Sweet Potatoes"

Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Sciences - William Whitney, junior, Mountain Brook High School, "WiFiCam: A Scalable Visualization of Wireless Network Signals"

Behavioral and Social Sciences - Sarah Clayton, junior, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, "The Impact of Musical Literacy on Linguistic Acuity"

Environmental and Earth Sciences - Kathryn Lecroy, senior, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, "The Kudzu Question: A Useful, Renewable Resource?"

Thirty-two other contestants at the Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair were selected to compete at the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair that will be held April 3-5 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

For a complete list of all Junior and Senior Division winners, here to find the 2008 results.

UAB CORD is a university-wide center dedicated to advancing the outreach efforts of UAB in the Birmingham community by developing academic programs in partnership with Birmingham and surrounding area schools.