UGA announces 2011 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair winners

Six-hundred-fifty Georgia middle and high school students won more than 400 awards at the 63rd Georgia Science and Engineering Fair hosted by the University of Georgia recently at the Classic Center in Athens. Prizes ranged from savings bonds and educational trips to an engraved geologist’s pick.
The highest honor, the Jackson Electric Membership Corporation Pinnacle Award, went to Spencer Wilson of Moultrie for his project “Construction of a Feasible Einstein-Szilard Refrigerated System.”

Four top students were selected to advance to the 2011Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles May 8-13. They are Raja Selvakumar, Alpharetta; Charles Ramey, Newton; Elliott Chung, Duluth; and Uchenna Anunobi, Conyers. Yash Mehta, Roswell, will attend as the Merial Biological ISEF Trip Observer.

Twenty-four other students selected directly from the State Affiliated Regional Fairs also will attend. These Georgia students will compete against winners from more than 1,600 high school students from all 50 states and 60countries, regions and territoriesto display their independent research.

In addition to the grand awards, entrants in the GSEF competed for prizes honoring best achievements in specific scientific areas. There were more than 100 special award donors from government, professional and educational organizations, colleges, universities, corporations and individual sponsors.

In other major prizes, Andy Kim, Athens, and Spencer Wilson, Colquitt County, were selected to represent Georgia at the 2011 National Youth Science Camp June 30-July 24 in West Virginia.

The Junior Division Student Choice Awards were new this year. Winners were selected by their sixth through eighth-grade peers.

The awards included Students’ Choice, received by Kyanna Simone Simpson, Chapel Hill Middle School. The I Never Would Have Thought of That Award was received by Austin Hyder and Trevor Ruhl, Carver Road Middle School, for “Electromagnetism of Nonmagnetic Metals Prove Lenz’s Law.” The Grossest Project Award was received by Akira Stobaeus, St. Francis Xavier School, for his project “Effectiveness of Two Different Dewormers in a Goat Population.”

Exhibits in the fair included projects in 17 categories, including animal behavior, biochemistry, engineering, physics and astronomy. Participants earned the opportunity to compete in the state fair by winning first or second place in their category in one of the 21 affiliated regional fairs.

More than 200 volunteer judges from the University System of Georgia, other institutions, contributing organizations and industry judged the projects on scientific merit and process, engineering goals, and presentation. Joe Hughes of Georgia Institute of Technology served as judging chairperson, supervising three tiers of judges.

Donors who presented awards included Christopher Hovorka with the Applied Prosthetics and Orthotics Award, Kay Parks of Jackson EMC, and Antonio Figueras with the National Aeronautics and Space Awards.

UGA has coordinated the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair since 1948. It is made possible by the support of the Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, Merial Inc., the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, Georgia Institute of Technology and dozens of other Georgia corporations and businesses.

Award	County	Student
Outstanding Sustainability Project Award	Baldwin	Kenneth Mcgill
Stockholm Junior Water Prize Regional Award - 1st Place Senior Div.	Baldwin	Kenneth Mcgill
Inspiring Excellence Award - Student	Baldwin	Geovic Jadol
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Barrow	Brooke Oxley
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Barrow	Charley Denmark
H. O. Lund Entomology Club Award 1st Place Senior	Bibb	Carolyn Krauss
American Association For Clinical Chemistry Se Region Award Junior Div.	Bibb	Kyrie Hugdahl
Ga. Academy of Aviation, Math, Engineering & Science Student of Promise, Junior Div.	Bibb	Kyrie Hugdahl
Regional Fair Director Honors Award Senior Div.	Brooks	Sunnie Dee Wynn
Merial Biotechnology Award 2nd Place Senior	Bulloch	Supriya Immaneni
National Association Of Biology Teachers Award Senior Div.	Bulloch	Supriya Immaneni
UGA Microbiology Department Award Junior Div.	Butts	Brianna Deraney
Ga. Microscopical Society Lucy B Mccrone Student Science Award Junior Div.	Camden	Irina Rochon
UGA Microbiology Department Award Senior Div.	Carroll	Jonathan Zot
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Chatham	Allen Charles Williams
National Aeronautics And Space Administration Award Junior Div.	Chatham	Allen Charles Williams
UGA Geology Department Award	Chatham	Grace Darling
American Meteorological Society Award	Chatham	Eric Lau
U.S. Air Force Achievement Award	Chatham	Eric Lau
U.S. Navy And U.S. Marine Corps Award - Senior Div.	Chatham	Eric Lau
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Chatham	Eric Lau
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Chatham	Eric Lau
U.S. Metric Association Award	Chatham	Grant Shillington
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Award 2nd Place Junior	Cherokee	Cameron Buice
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Junior Div.	Cherokee	Cameron Buice
Georgia Veterinary Medical Auxiliary Award	Cherokee	Kate Haruch
National Association Of Biology Teachers Award Junior Div.	Cherokee	Kate Haruch
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Cherokee	Yash Mehta
Merial Biological Isef Trip Observer Award	Cherokee	Yash Mehta
UGA Crop & Soil Sciences Department Agronomics Award Senior Div.	Cherokee	Mary Margaret Penniman
National Youth Science Camp Award	Clarke	Andrew Kim
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Clarke	Andrew Kim
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Clarke	Andrew Kim
American Water Works Association Georgia Section Award 1st Place Junior	Clarke	Evan Newman Marco Newman
UGA Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources Award Junior Div.	Clarke	Evan Newman Marco Newman
UGA Biomedical Health And Sciences Institute Award Junior Div.	Clarke	Angelina Choi
U.S. Navy And U.S. Marine Corps Award - Junior Div.	Clarke	Serena Mon
Inspiring Excellence Award - Student	Clayton	Quang Phuc Kieu N.
UGA Mathematics Department Award Junior Div.	Clayton	Quang Phuc Kieu N.
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Clayton	Emmanuel Ojo-Osagie
National Aeronautics And Space Administration Award Senior Div.	Cobb	Samantha Daigle
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Cobb	Caroline Poston
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Cobb	Praveen Doluweera
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Cobb	Connor Barre
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Cobb	Charles Sexton
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Cobb	James Sexton
UGA Crop & Soil Sciences Department Agronomics Award Junior Div.	Cobb	James Sexton
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Junior Div.	Cobb	James Sexton
Georgia Engineering Foundation Award Senior Div.	Colquitt	Spencer Wilson
National Youth Science Camp Award	Colquitt	Spencer Wilson
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Colquitt	Spencer Wilson
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Colquitt	Spencer Wilson
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Pinnacle Award	Colquitt	Spencer Wilson
Stockholm Junior Water Prize Regional Award - 2nd Place Senior Div.	Colquitt	Stephen Bozeman
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Colquitt	Jacob Lynch
Inspiring Excellence Award - Student	Colquitt	Jacob Lynch
Inspiring Excellence Award - Student	Coweta	Charles Ramey
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Senior Div.	Coweta	Charles Ramey
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Senior Div.	Coweta	Charles Ramey
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	Coweta	Charles Ramey
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Isef Trip	Coweta	Charles Ramey
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Coweta	Charles Ramey
Inspiring Excellence Award - Teacher	Coweta	Warren Bernard
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	DeKalb	Jessica Simon
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	DeKalb	Stephen Woolfitt
Broadcom Masters Nominee	DeKalb	Aomeng Cui
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Junior Div.	DeKalb	Kyanna Simone Simpson
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Kyanna Simone Simpson
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Student Choice Award	DeKalb	Kyanna Simone Simpson
Georgia Biogeneius Challenge Award Alternate	DeKalb	Kathleen Dinapoli
Natural Resources Conservation Service Award of Excellence Senior Div.	DeKalb	Kathleen Dinapoli
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	DeKalb	Kathleen Dinapoli
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Brian Song
Broadcom Masters Nominee	DeKalb	Conner Reinhardt
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Conner Reinhardt
Advanced Academy of Georgia - Science/Creativity Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Jonathan Yaeger
Broadcom Masters Nominee	DeKalb	Jonathan Yaeger
U.S. Navy And U.S. Marine Corps Award - Junior Div.	DeKalb	Jonathan Yaeger
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Jonathan Yaeger
Broadcom Masters Nominee	DeKalb	Sang-Chan Kim
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Sang-Chan Kim
Advanced Academy of Georgia - Science/Creativity Award Senior Div.	DeKalb	Joshua Traynelis
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	DeKalb	Joshua Traynelis
Association of Women Geoscientists Award	DeKalb	Mallory Larson
Broadcom Masters Nominee	DeKalb	William Moise
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Junior Div.	DeKalb	Alix Valcin Iii
UGA Artificial Intelligence Institute Award Junior Div.	Dougherty	Steven Feng
UGA Computer Science Department Award Junior Div.	Dougherty	Steven Feng
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Dougherty	Steven Feng
Sapps Award For Excellence in Botany 1st Place Senior	Fayette	Omar Martinez-Uribe
UGA Physics & Astronomy Department Award Junior Div.	Fayette	Matthew Harmon
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Junior Div.	Fayette	Matthew Harmon
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Fayette	Nicholas Powell
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Fayette	Jonathan Ciecka
Inspiring Excellence Award - Student	Fayette	Tommy Erbe Drew Halbert
Natural Resources Conservation Service Award of Excellence Junior Div.	Forsyth	Gabriel Shook
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Forsyth	Samantha Hudock
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Forsyth	Samantha Hudock
Regional Fair Director Honors Award Junior Div.	Forsyth	Trent Wagner Zachary Williams
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Ananth Punyala
Georgia Microscopical Society Walter C Mccrone Student Science Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Keith Jones
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Jason Lathbury
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Zoe Schneider
Georgia Biogeneius Challenge Award	Fulton	Jessica Allison
Sapps Award For Excellence in Botany 2nd Place Senior	Fulton	Jessica Allison
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Anirudh Tadanki
Spie - International Soceity for Optical Engineering Award 3rd Place	Fulton	Anirudh Tadanki
Agricultural Research Service Award for Excellence in Ag Science Senior Div.	Fulton	Raja Selvakumar
Georgia Biogeneius Challenge Award	Fulton	Raja Selvakumar
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Raja Selvakumar
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Isef Trip	Fulton	Raja Selvakumar
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Fulton	Raja Selvakumar
Spie - International Society For Optical Engineering Award 2nd Place	Fulton	Samuel Eppstein
American Meteorological Society Award	Fulton	Ja’sharee Bush
American Water Works Association Georgia Section Award 1st Place Senior	Fulton	Julia Abelsky
Broad River Watershed Association Award	Fulton	Julia Abelsky
UGA Eco-Reach Environmental Achievement Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Julia Abelsky
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Award 1st Place Senior	Fulton	Anthony Chen Siva Movva
Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Atlanta Chapter Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Anand Srinivasan
Prosthetics and Orthotics Wearable Technology Award	Fulton	Anand Srinivasan
UGA Artificial Intelligence Institute Award Senior Div.	Fulton	Anand Srinivasan
U.S. Air Force Achievement Award	Fulton	Anand Srinivasan
Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Atlanta Chapter Award Faculty Sponsored	Fulton	Megan Nettuno
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Junior Div.	Fulton	Nicole Izmaylov
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Award 2nd Place Senior	Fulton Gwinnett	Kirill Psarev Brandon Whitlatch
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 2nd Place Senior	Futon	Raja Selvakumar
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Glynn	Jason Michael Bennett Jr.
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair “Grossest Project” Award	Glynn	Akira Stobaeus
UGA Foundation Scholarship Award	Gordon	Hunter Pruitt
UGA Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources Award Senior Div.	Gordon	Hunter Pruitt
American Association for Clinical Chemistry Se Region Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Vivek Patel
UGA Cellular Biology Department Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Vivek Patel
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Vivek Patel
UGA Cellular Biology Department Award Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Andrew Ford
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Gwinnett	Elliott Chung
UGA Foundation Scholarship Award	Gwinnett	Shawn Albert
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Shawn Albert
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Gwinnett	Amanda Mayo
H. O. Lund Entomology Club Award 1st Place Junior	Gwinnett	Amanda Mayo
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Amanda Mayo
Ga. Academy of Aviation, Math, Engineering & Science Student of Promise Award Sr. Div.	Gwinnett	Sitan Chen
UGA Mathematics Department Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Sitan Chen
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Sitan Chen
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Award 1st Place Junior	Gwinnett	Marian Metzger
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Gwinnett	Marian Metzger
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Marian Metzger
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Award 3rd Place Senior	Gwinnett	Samuel Gauspohl;  Daniel Ting
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Samuel Gauspohl; Daniel Ting
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Gwinnett	Vikram Varadarajan
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Award - Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Vikram Varadarajan
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Andrew Ford
Intel Excellence in Computer Science Award	Gwinnett	Elliott Chung
UGA Computer Science Department Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Elliott Chung
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett	Elliott Chung
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Isef Trip	Gwinnett	Elliott Chung
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Gwinnett	Sitan Chen
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Gwinnett	D. Ryan Bhowmik
Stockholm Junior Water Prize Regional Award - Junior Div.	Gwinnett	Emma Carlson
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Gwinnett	Evann Brantley
UGA Physics & Astronomy Department Award Senior Div.	Gwinnett Jackson Gwinnett	Guillermo Bautista; He Sun Kim; Sunyoung Wang
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 2nd Place Junior	Harris	Robert "Kyle" Newman
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 2nd Place Junior	Henry	Darius Cleary
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Award Junior Div.	Houston	Jacob Elliott
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Houston	Kenny Higginbotham
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Junior Div.	Houston	Kenny Higginbotham
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Houston	Cullen Shope
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Houston	Justin Saetina
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Houston	Sabina Banit
Agricultural Research Service Award for Excellence in Ag Science Junior Div.	Houston	Shivani Dhir
Georgia Health Sciences University Award	Paulding	Jamie Bingham
Merial Biotechnology Award 1st Place Senior	Paulding	Jamie Bingham
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Isef Trip Alternate	Paulding	Jamie Bingham
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Paulding	Jamie Bingham
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Pin Design Award	Rabun	Sarah Barr
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Rockdale	Alexis Mack
Spie - International Society For Optical Engineering Award 1st Place	Rockdale	Ana Sofia Tuttle
U.S. Air Force Achievement Award	Rockdale	Ana Sofia Tuttle
Outstanding Sustainability Project Award	Rockdale	Faustine Li
UGA Biomedical Health And Sciences Institute Award Senior Div.	Rockdale	Lauren Reagin
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 1st Place Senior	Rockdale	Uchenna Anunobi
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Rockdale	Uchenna Anunobi
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair/Jackson Emc Isef Trip	Rockdale	Uchenna Anunobi
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Rockdale	Uchenna Anunobi
Georgia Biogeneius Challenge Award Alternate	Rockdale	Vander Harris
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Senior Div.	Rockdale	Vander Harris
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Grand Award Top Ten State Recognition	Rockdale	Vander Harris
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best In Category Award Junior Div.	Rockdale	Carlan Ivey
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Rockdale	Mai Nguyen
Georgia Engineering Foundation Award Junior Div.	Rockdale	Mai Nguyen
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Junior Div.	Rockdale	Mai Nguyen
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair “I Never Would Have Thought of That” Award	Spalding Pike	Austin Hyder; Trevor Michael Ruhl
Merial Biotechnology Award 2nd Place Junior	Thomas	Jacob Rieber
Iota Sigma Pi Promethium Chapter Award - Women in Chemistry Junior Div.	Walton	Christina To
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 1st Place Junior	Walton	Christina To
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Walton	Christina To
Georgia Science & Engineering Fair Best in Category Award Junior Div.	Walton	Christina To
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Walton	Claudia Gaither
Merial Biotechnology Award 1st Place Junior	Walton	Annie Miller
American Chemical Society Georgia Section Award 3rd Place Senior	Washington	Elizabeth Layton
Iota Sigma Pi Promethium Chapter Award - Women in Chemistry Junior Div.	Washington	Elizabeth Layton
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Washington	Meghan Toler
Broadcom Masters Nominee	Washington	Stariel Oberry

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SCAD Wins 7th Equestrian National Championship

/PRNewswire/ -- The Savannah College of Art and Design equestrian team captured their seventh American National Riding Commission's National Intercollegiate Equitation Championship that was held April 15-17 at the Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center.

The Bees have also won ANRC team titles in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010, making 2011 four-in-a-row. Members of the team were Kelse Bonham, Paul Frederick and Caroline Ingalls. SCAD also had two other riders - Lydia Todd and Henrietta Armstrong - compete as individuals.

The championship was divided into three phases – dressage sportif, hunter trials equitation, and hunter seat. The dressage sportif portion counted 40 percent of the total score while the hunter trials equitation and hunter seat equitation counted 30 percent each.

SCAD's Kelse Bonham bested 34 other riders to defend her individual title that she won in both 2009 and 2010. It's the sixth time a SCAD rider has won the individual title in the event. Armstrong also was named reserved individual champion in the event. It's the first time in the program's history that the Bees claimed the top two honors at the event.

SCAD's team in the novice division were also named reserve champions. Members of the novice team included. Taylor Brown, Hayley Bolton and Erin Hickey. Annie Patterson also competed for the Bees as an individual in the novice division.

SCAD returns to action May 5 when the Bees will compete in the IHSA National Championship in Lexington, Ky.

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Mountain View High wins Northrop Grumman scholarship in UGA TEAMS competition

A team of students from Mountain View High School in Gwinnett County was awarded a Northrop Grumman scholarship in the Junior Engineering Technical Society’s 2011 Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics and Science competition recently hosted by the University of Georgia.

Teams from Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology and Heritage High School joined the Mountain View High team in the academic competition that had the theme “Smart Energy. Clean Planet.”

The Northrop Grumman scholarship will fund TEAMS conference registration fees for Mountain View High.The Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company that provides innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide

“TEAMS brings math and science to life for students, fostering creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving,” said John Mativo, an assistant professor in the College of Education’s department of workforce education, leadership and social foundations, and a member of theUGA Faculty of Engineering, who co-directed the competition.

The event featured high school students, grades nine to 12, participating in teams of four to eight members, using real-world applications of math and science to solve some of today’s greatest engineering challenges. There were two parts: a 90-minute, 80-multiple choice question session, and a 90-minute, open-ended, four-question session.

Approximately 30 participating students also saw demonstrations of and interacted with robotics in a presentation by Chi Thai, an associate professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering and member of the faculty of engineering who co-directed the event. They also learned about and participated in the creation of a virtual reality scenario by Kyle Johnsen, a member of the UGA Faculty of Engineering. Cindy Crawford, a representative of the UGA Admissions Office, also made a presentation.

The TEAMS event was assisted by Nancy Vandergrift, a program coordinator with the UGA Office of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education and six UGA students from the department of workforce education, leadership and social foundations.

More than 14,000 students across the country participate annually in TEAMS competitions. Questions are aligned with national education standards. UGA is one of two sites hosting the competition in Georgia. The other site is the Atlanta University Center. The next Junior Engineer Technical TEAMS competition will be hosted at UGA on Feb. 22, 2012.

TEAMS competition site sponsors include Harvard University, Itasca Community College, National Education Partnership Alliance, Shell and Starbucks.

For more information about TEAMS, see www.jets.org/teams/. For more information about Northrop Grumman, see www.northropgrumman.com/. For more information about UGA College of Education see www.coe.uga.edu/.

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Congressman John Lewis to Receive the 2011 Louis E. Martin Great American Award from Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

/PRNewswire/ -- The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has announced that it will honor U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA) with the 2011 Louis E. Martin Great American Award at its Annual Dinner on May 3 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington.

Congressman Lewis will be recognized for more than 50 years of active service to the cause of human rights, civil liberties and the strengthening of the American community.

The award, named after the legendary journalist, presidential advisor and co-founder of the Joint Center, honors an individual who exemplifies Louis Martin's passion for justice, compassion and the bridging of racial and ethnic divides. Previous award recipients include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and William J. Clinton, Congressmen James E. Clyburn and Charles B. Rangel, Muhammad Ali, lawyer and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the late civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

A member of the U.S. Congress for nearly a quarter-century, Congressman Lewis first came to national attention as one of the top figures in the civil rights movement, as well as an architect of and keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington. He has served in the House leadership as Senior Chief Deputy Whip for the Democratic Party since 1991 and has been a leading voice on a wide range of domestic and international issues. He has been referred to as "the conscience of the U.S. Congress" and "a genuine American hero and moral leader."

In announcing the selection, Joint Center President and CEO Ralph B. Everett cited Congressman Lewis' legendary courage and leadership in the struggle for full voting rights. "His refusal to flinch in the face of extreme adversity left an indelible mark on our history, and sent an unforgettable message to the world on the intrinsic value of the right to vote and the scope of sacrifice that is often necessary to secure it," he said.

"Today, Congressman Lewis continues to lead by example, working for racial harmony and to inspire all Americans to make the most of their right to engage in the nation's political and civic affairs," he added.

"Congressman Lewis fits well into the pantheon of leaders whom the Joint Center has recognized over the years with this high honor," said Roderick D. Gillum, Chair of the Joint Center's Board of Governors. "Few people in history have contributed more to helping America live up to its cherished ideals, and the difference he has made throughout his career is something that all of us can see and feel in our everyday lives."

Hosted by the Joint Center each year for more than a quarter century and with this year's theme of Forward Together – Engaging Our Future, the Annual Dinner is the organization's major fundraising event of the year and provides an opportunity for a broad range of elected officials, business, civic and community leaders from across the country to celebrate the success of the Joint Center and its impact on the lives of all Americans.

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UGA education researchers receive national award for developing measurement of math problem-solving skills

A team of University of Georgia education researchers has received a national award for the development of a statistical method for measuring the growth of students’ problem-solving skills in mathematics. This new method enables researchers to simultaneously measure both the different ways that students can reason about individual questions on a mathematics test and their overall growth in mathematics ability.

The researchers were named recipients of the 2011 Award for an Outstanding Example of an Application of Educational Measurement Technology to a Specific Problem from the National Council on Measurement in Education.

The team included UGA College of Education professors Allan Cohen, director of the Georgia Center for Assessment, and Seock-Ho Kim; lead author Sun-Joo Cho, a UGA doctoral graduateand assistant professor of educational psychology at Vanderbilt University; and Brian A. Bottge, the William T. Bryan Endowed Chair in Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky.

Current methods for detecting growth of students’ skills in math by score-level analysis may fail to reflect subtle changes that might be evident at the item level, said Cohen.This new method combines an analysis of individual performance on each test question, coupled with methods that provide a deeper analysis of the differences in reasoning that students use to answer each test question.

The team published two articles in 2010 describing how item-level changes could be measured using data from a multiwave experiment with a teaching method called Enhanced Anchored Instruction. EAI is a method specially designed for developing the math skills of low-achieving adolescents, including students with learning disabilities in math.

One article, “Latent Transition Analysis with a Mixture Item Response Theory Measurement Model,” appeared in the journal, Applied Psychological Measurement. A second article, “Detecting Cognitive Change in the Math Skills of Low-Achieving Adolescents,” was published in the Journal of Special Education.

The award will be presented to Cohen and his group at the NCME’s annual conference in April in New Orleans.

For more information on the UGA College of Education see http://www.coe.uga.edu/.


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Dalton Driver Examiner Honored for Customer Service

Receives Examiner of the Year Award from National Organization

The Department of Driver Services (DDS) announced today that Mary Dillard, a Dalton native, has been named Georgia’s Examiner of the Year by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

Mary is a manager in the Dalton, Whitfield County, Customer Service Center (CSC) and has been serving customers there for over 21 years. She was selected for her excellence in adhering to the principles and recommended practices of driver examining and for a high level of conduct in her profession.

“I proudly commend Mary for receiving this award. It is fitting that she should be honored for serving the citizens of the State while upholding and demonstrating the highest standard of dedication to customer service,” said DDS Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier. “It is apparent to all who know her that she loves caring for people and helping others,” he added.

Mary began her state service at the Dalton center as a driver examiner on June 30th, 1990. DDS driver examiners are responsible for all driver’s license issuance procedures and regulations including receiving applications for and issuing Georgia driver's licenses. After several promotions, Mary has been managing the Dalton office since November 1st, 2009. As a center manager, Mary is responsible for the daily operation of the center. DDS District Manager Sheila Miracle has worked with Mary for a number of years and commented, “Mary is always willing to help whenever she is needed. She regularly sacrifices personal time to ensure that the Dalton center is operating smoothly and is in tip top shape!”

Miracle joined with the other DDS center managers in the Dalton area to nominate Mary for promoting the DDS core values of Communication, Accountability, Respect and Ethics (CARE). Mary works diligently and professionally to ensure that each customer feels valued. She frequently assists special needs customers with patience and compassion.

Mary has lived in Dalton all her life. She is very active at Liberty Baptist Church, where she is a church matron. Mary, her brother and sister all spend time caring for their 89 year old mother, Emma Barksdale. In her spare time, she loves to cook and read books.

Georgia Lake Sturgeon Restoration Project Receives National Recognition

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division is one of four states recently recognized by the American Fisheries Society’s Fisheries Administrator’s Section for their efforts to provide the public with quality fishing opportunities and aquatic education programs. Other state agencies recognized include the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

“We had some excellent projects submitted for consideration this year and it is clear that state agencies are responding to both the needs of the anglers and the fish with Sport Fish Restoration Program funds” said Doug Nygren, president-elect of the American Fisheries Society’s Fisheries Administrators Section and the chief of fisheries for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.    

The Fisheries Administrator’s Section annually recognizes outstanding fisheries conservation projects and programs that are funded from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sport Fish Restoration program, commonly known as the Wallop- Breaux or Dingell-Johnson grant program. The projects receiving recognition were selected from a score of outstanding proposals submitted from several state fisheries agencies.

Georgia received the “2010 Outstanding Sport Fish Restoration Access Award- Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction in Georgia.” This project benefits anglers in Georgia and Alabama with its far sighted and far reaching efforts to re-establish lake sturgeon in the Coosa River system.   

Historically, the Coosa River supported a population of this prehistoric looking game species. However, none have been documented since about 1970. While the exact cause of the decline of this species in Georgia is not known, biologists believe that intense stocking efforts will result in a self-sustaining population in the future.   Lake sturgeon eggs are provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Warm Springs Hatchery in Georgia. Sturgeons have a slow growth rate, so biologists do not expect to allow anglers to harvest any fish until 2027. In addition to stocking, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has also implemented an aggressive outreach effort to involve local school children with the project. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sport Fish Restoration Program has provided more than $6 billion to state fisheries agencies since the program’s inception in 1950. The program provides critical funding to state agencies for their fisheries conservation and management programs. Additional information on this program can be found at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR.htm. 

The American Fisheries Society is the nation’s leading organization of professional fisheries scientists. Its membership includes fisheries scientists from all 50 states as well as international members. 

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