Science Olympiad - Brain is the New Braun

Princeton University hosted the Central New Jersey Regional Science Olympiad Tournament and the Princeton Center for Complex Materials Outreach Team worked hard to ensure success. PCCM Education Outreach helped organize this massive event that was hosted at Princeton University for the first time. More than 600 students from high schools and middle schools in New Jersey came to campus to compete in 16 events related to science and engineering. PCCM recruited volunteers to judge the events which often entailed much more than observing and recording scores. For many of the events, the judges, or event managers, composed written tests to test the students’ knowledge on a subject or performed tests on contraptions built by students. The volunteers from PRISM, PCCM, USAMI and MIRTHE included Doug Adamson, Luis Rosa, Mike Vocaturo, Nima Rahbar, Afusat Dirisu, Kale Fanz, Stephen Farias, Daniel Stenberg, Shannon Swilley and many more. Department of Chemical Engineering Chair and PCCM faculty member Kyle Vanderlick personally hosted the middle school award ceremony at the end of the day. Kyle had the students, teachers, parent chaperones and the Olympiad volunteers on the edge of their seats as she interjected jokes and anecdotes throughout the festivities. Thanks to the help of the many volunteers of the Science Olympiad, the event went very smoothly and Princeton University will host the event for at least two more years.