Young Scientists Honored at ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair

Top prizes awarded to chemistry and plant science projects

  • More than 1,000 students competed in 26th annual statewide science competition
  • Mai-Anh Vu and Tanner Best honored with top division awards
  • Fair sponsored by ExxonMobil Foundation and Texas Workforce Commission

Mai-Anh Vu, a senior at McNeil High School in Austin, Texas, earned top honors at the 2012 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair in San Antonio. (Photo: Business Wire)

SAN ANTONIO--()--More than 1,000 bright young Texans vied for honors this weekend at the ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair, a four-day competition that brings together top science fair winners from across the state. The event was hosted by The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Sciences at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio.

The fair offered students opportunities to earn prizes, college scholarships and a spot at the world’s largest international science fair. Students competed in two divisions — junior (grades six through eight) and senior (grades nine through 12) — in one of 17 categories. In addition to Best-in-Show and Grand-Prize winning projects in each division, awards were presented to first- through fifth-place winners in each category.

The top eight senior-division winners are eligible to apply for all-expenses-paid trips to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, May 13-18. The top 10 percent of competitors in the junior division qualified to participate in the Broadcom MASTERS program, a national science, technology, engineering and mathematics competition for sixth- through eighth-grade students hosted by the Society for Science and the Public.

Mai-Anh Vu, a high school senior at McNeil High School in Austin, Texas, earned Best in Show in the senior division for her project titled: “Determining the Quantum Limit of Palladium and Gold Nanometallic Supercatalyst by Kinetic Method.” Tanner Best, an eighth-grade Lubbock Copper Middle School student, received the top junior division honor for his examination of water-replacement levels and cotton yields.

“UTSA would like to thank all of the students who participated in the 2012 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair,” said George Perry, dean of the UTSA College of Sciences. “We are proud to host this exceptional competition and its aspiring scientists, who continually amaze us with their outstanding projects. Congratulations to all of the winners as well as the proud parents and teachers encouraging these bright young minds.”

ExxonMobil Foundation has sponsored the state-level competition for 12 consecutive years. The foundation provides a $75,000 grant to support the event, a portion of which funds a diversity recruitment initiative to help defray fair entry costs for those who might otherwise not be able to participate. The Texas Workforce Commission also provides support for the fair.

“ExxonMobil Foundation is committed to encouraging scientific exploration among the next generation of innovators,” said Suzanne McCarron, president, ExxonMobil Foundation. “Our nation is fueled by innovation, and the fair is one way to continue inspiring the ingenuity and creativity of America’s youth.”

UTSA has hosted the fair since 2005 with assistance from the Texas Science Careers Consortium, which has managed the program since its inception 26 years ago.

Students qualified to compete in the ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair by winning Grand Prize or first- through third-place honors at one of 12 regional fairs held across Texas. Each regional fair is sanctioned by Science Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and appreciation of science among people of all ages.

For more information on the 2012 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair, visit www.emtsef.utsa.edu.

About UTSA

The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and the Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. Learn more at www.utsa.edu/today.

The UTSA College of Sciences is changing the future of science by exploring new frontiers in the fields of science and mathematics. As the third largest academic college at UTSA, the college serves more than 5,000 students in 12 bachelor’s, nine master’s and five doctoral degree programs in the departments of biology, chemistry, computer science, geological sciences, mathematics and physics and astronomy. For more information, visit www.utsa.edu/cos.

About ExxonMobil Foundation

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of the Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation and the Corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, health and science in the communities where ExxonMobil has significant operations. In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels.

Globally, ExxonMobil provides funding to improve basic education, promote women as catalysts for economic development, and combat malaria and other infectious diseases in developing countries. In 2011, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), its divisions and affiliates, and ExxonMobil Foundation provided $278 million in contributions worldwide, of which $120 million was dedicated to education. Additional information on ExxonMobil’s community partnerships and contributions programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50226315&lang=en

Contacts

for The University of Texas at San Antonio
Merritt Talbott, 214-373-1601

Contacts

for The University of Texas at San Antonio
Merritt Talbott, 214-373-1601