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Teen earns finalist spot in science contest

His project will send him to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published September 18, 2006

Fourteen-year-old Trevor Van Voorthuijsen suspected there might be a difference between the way men and women read emotion in the eyes of others.

His testing of this theory has earned him a spot as one of 40 finalists in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge in October. He will take an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.

He will join the other finalists from around the country for the competitions, which will include oral presentations and a number of science challenges.

Many of the events will be held at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The students will work in teams and be judged in communication, leadership and problem-solving.

Trevor is a homeschooled ninth-grader who plans to attend the Academy of Environmental Science in Crystal River during its spring term. He, along with nine other middle school students, was selected to compete in the Young Scientist Challenge during the Citrus Regional Science and Engineering Fair. The competition is for middle school-age students and Trevor was in the eighth grade at the time.

He was one of 400 semifinalists, which included three others from Citrus County - Renee Fonseca, 13, currently an eighth-grader at Inverness Middle School; Donovan Foster, 14, an eighth-grader at Citrus Springs Middle School; and Bryce Uzzolino, 12, who is in the seventh grade at Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Lecanto.

Renee's science fair project was "A New Levee for a Safer New Orleans." She made scale models of the existing levees protecting the city, then designed one of her own consisting of a series of "wave-shaped elevations that rose progressively," she said.

Donovan tested ways to reduce algae on boats with his project, "Can Shark Skin Save the Boatyard or Can Cayenne Pepper, a Tasty Spice, Make Your Boat Shiny and Nice?" He tested mixtures of sharkskin and marine paint, cayenne pepper with marine paint and shark meat with the paint and determined that the shark meat mixture worked the best at repelling algae growth.

Bryce worked with red wiggler worms in his project, "Does Food pH Affect Food Preferences for Einsenia fotedia?" He was attempting to determine whether the test worms preferred foods that were more basic or acidic. They seemed, he said, to be more attracted to basic foods.

They liked cantaloupe, he said.

When they were selected at the science fair, the students received lapel pins, certificates and entry booklets. Those who actually completed the booklets and entered the challenge received T-shirts.

The four semifinalists received certificates of recognition and science-related CDs.

Along with the trip to Washington, D.C., Trevor will get a Special Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge shirt, a $50 Discovery Channel Store gift certificate, a plaque for his teacher, a plaque for his school, a Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge medal and a chance to appear on television.

In the October competition, he has a chance to win one of four scholarships of $500 to $20,000.

Trevor's project is "A Wink Is As Good As a Nod -Are There Differences in the Ability to Read Facial Expressions?"

"It was whether men or women were better at identifying emotions that can be seen in someone's eyes," Trevor said. "I learned that the results were too close to determine."

Women seemed to do slightly better, with the biggest gaps between the sexes during the teen years, but after age 50, Trevor's results indicated that men had the edge.

[Last modified September 17, 2006, 22:24:47]