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