MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – West Shore Jr./Sr. HS junior, Michelle Chin, Sarah Van Sickle, junior at Satellite HS and Zachary Loeb, a sophomore from Eau Gallie HS have been selected as finalists in the Dr. Nelson Ying Science Competition at the Orlando Science Center (OSC). As a finalist, the students will compete for the Dr. Nelson Ying Science Award, a trophy, a $5,000 cash award, plus $1,000 for the teacher’s/mentor’s science project budget and another $1,000 for the respective principal/school. Up to four additional awards of $1,000 may be made to the other finalists upon the recommendation of the panel of judges.
The Dr. Nelson Ying Science Competition encourages students to help humanity through scientific research. High School students submit research papers to be reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges to select five finalists. Finalists are invited to participate in a three-day, expenses-paid event, concluded by an awards luncheon to announce the “Ying Prize” of $5,000 to the student, $1,000 to their teacher and $1,000 to their principal!
Every year for over a decade, Dr. Nelson Ying hosts this competition in collaboration with the Orlando Science Center. Ying is a philanthropist, scientist and entrepreneur. He wants to inspire tomorrow’s science leaders today, so he has worked with the Science Center to create this competition. This competition not only honors innovative student science research but also exemplary teens.
Chin’s project looks at whether or not plants can help remove toxic chemicals from the environment. With this project, she has also earned a spot in the State Science and Engineering Fair that took place in Lakeland last week. Additionally, she has been invited to represent Brevard County in the 2012 International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, PA., in May. Her project focuses on the removal of selenium, which has been found to be carcinogenic to humans and wildlife.
West Shore principal, Rick Fleming said, “Michelle is indeed a very special young lady with a tremendous work ethic and a true gift for learning. As you can certainly imagine I am extremely proud of Michelle for the hard work she puts into so many different enrichment and academic endeavors.”
Loeb has expanded on previous years’ research and conducted an experiment regarding the elimination of estrogen mimickers through waste water treatment by testing the impact on Medaka fish eggs. His project proposed a possible solution for a global issue threatening the aquatic environment. At the state science fair in April, Zachary received a nomination for the US Stockholm Junior Water Competition.
“We are so proud of Zack’s success in science research,” said Jeremy Salmon, Eau Gallie High principal. “His dedication to the project is evident. I know he will represent not only Eau Gallie but the district well as he continues his science research endeavors.”
Van Sickle is a very dedicated student that excels in research. Her project used fractals to create a new type of antennae that may make a major improvement in free TV reception. In addition to better reception, it also uses less space. Sarah finished second in the State Science Fair and will be competing in the International Science Fair in the Engineering category.
Satellite Principal Mark Elliott says he was not surprised by the result. “Sarah was also a finalist as a freshman and she continually sets the bar in her classes. Sarah is the type of student that makes you feel hopeful for the future.”
The final part of the competition is a three day event beginning on Fri., Apr. 27, and ending on Sun., Apr. 29 when the awards luncheon to announce the winner will be held at Fulton’s Crab House in Downtown Disney.
Brevard Schools has a long standing history of receiving the top award in the competition. The inception of this award was in 1999. Every year, since 2000, a first place winner has been from BPS.
| Year of Award | Name of Student | Name of School |
| 2000 | Jay Michaels | Cocoa High School |
| 2001 | Ronald Hsu | West Shore Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2002 | Reed Shaffner | Astronaut High School |
| 2003 | Jessica Greer | Palm Bay High School |
| 2004 | Shiv Gaglani | West Shore Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2005 | Shiv Gaglani | West Shore Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2006 (Three BPS students tie for first place award) | Shiv Gaglani | West Shore Jr./Sr. High School |
| Richard Zhang | West Shore Jr./Sr. High School |
| Daniel Brandenburg | Cocoa High School |
| 2007 | Emily Sotherlund | Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2008 | Noel Turner | Satellite High School |
| 2009 (Two BPS students tie for first place award) | Daniel Brandenburg | Cocoa High School |
| Collin McAliley | Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2010 (Two BPS students tie for first place award) | Rachel Aaronson | Satellite High School |
| Collin McAliley | Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School |
| 2011 | Kristen Clayton | Viera High School |