Mississippi Junior Academy of Sciences
This year has been a very productive one for the Mississippi Junior Academy of Sciences. The Statewide Research Paper Competition judging was conducted at Mississippi State University. As a result of the judging, approximately 46 students were invited to present their research at the Annual Meeting held at Stennis Space Center, January 2930, 1998, with the Center of Higher Learning and The Naval Research Laboratory serving as the hosts.
The Annual Meeting opened with a delightful reception Thursday, January 29. It was a time of getting acquainted and meeting many of the individuals responsible for planning and coordinating the event. Many of the participants traveled long distances to attend the meeting.
The competition on Friday began with presentations of all of the Class I and Class II presenters. A scrumptious meal was served in the Atrium for the presenters, judges, and hosts. During the luncheon, Mr. Eric Ross, Aerospace Technologist, presented astonishing information about Mars.
Following the luncheon, winners from each of the eight divisions presented their research to the general audience. A question and answer session followed each presentation with the judges asking each researcher about their research.
The eight division winners were as follows: Class I Microbiology, Chemistry, Math, and ComputersSonya Jagwani; Class I Computers, Physics, and Behavioral SciencesRaquel Sloan; Class II Medicine and Health ChemistryJohn Ma; Class II Botany, Environmental and Behavioral SciencesF. Thurston Drake; Class II BiochemistrySzilvia Szebeni; Class II EngineeringPaula Jean Runge; Class II ZoologyKenyetta Wilson; and Class II MicrobiologyAndrew Chatham.
A very impressive awards ceremony concluded the day with F. Thurston Drake winning the Clyde
Sheely Award and Szilvia Szebeni being selected as the Overall Winner. We would like to thank
everyone who helped in promoting the success of the Mississippi Junior Academy of Sciences this
year.--Joan Messer and Burnette Hamil
Mississippi Junior Academy of Sciences
thanks the following academic institutions and corporate sponsors:
Academic Institutions:
Coahoma Community College
Delta State University
East Central Community College
Jones County Junior College
Meridian Community College
Mississippi College
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Mississippi State University
Mississippi University for Women
Pearl River Community College
Rust College
Southwest Community College
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Mississippi
Corporate Sponsors:
Chevron
First Chemical
Georgia Pacific
Mississippi Power
Mississippi Chemical
First Chemical