Governor's School to Hosts Science Fair and Open House

March 2, 2007

Students in the Jackson River Governor’s School participated in a Science Fair at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and hosted an Open House for prospective students on February 22.

Three projects were selected for entry in the Western Virginia Regional Science Fair to be held on Saturday, March 24, at Roanoke College: “Effects of Temperature on the Performance of PEM Fuel Cells” by John Alerding of Parry McCluer High School; “A Study of Geometrically Iterated and Complex Fractals using BASIC” by Shaymus Hudson, also of Parry McCluer; and “Body Fat in High School Athletes and Non-Athletes” by David Moynihan of Alleghany High School.

Two projects were selected as alternates: “The Effect of Thickness Distribution in Symmetric Wind Sections on their Overall Efficiency” by Michael Mason of AHS; and “The Effect of Weather on Emergency Room Visits” by Amber Edwards of Rockbridge County High School.

Entries were also submitted by John Rollinson, Chris Shepard, and Brian Jefferson, all AHS students, and J.R. Riegel of RCHS. Judges for the science fair were Dr. Stan Willenbring and Mrs. Judy Dotson, both of DSLCC.

All juniors at the Governor’s School are required to work on an independent research project as part of the Introduction to Scientific Research course. Seniors may take an advanced research course as an elective. In addition to preparing a science fair presentation, the students keep a laboratory notebook, write a full research paper, and give an oral presentation of their results.

JRGS gives motivated high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in an innovative and challenging program of studies in mathematics, science, and technology. The JRGS provides an opportunity to work with faculty who have distinguished themselves as outstanding teachers in a learning environment that nurtures and stimulates students with a genuine interest in science, mathematics and technology. Research projects, internships, visiting speakers, and field trips complement classroom lecture and make students more aware of the connection of the curriculum to the "real world."

For more information about Governor’s School, contact Dr. Rollinson at (540) 863-2841 or srollinson@dslcc.edu.