UHD co-sponsors Science and Engineering Fair of Houston 2008       

University of Houston-Downtown is supporting college readiness by co-sponsoring (with the Houston Museum of Natural Science) the 49th Science and Engineering Fair of Houston, March 15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Hall E, where 1,100 secondary projects are exhibited by individuals and teams.

Judging takes place on Friday, March 14. The fair is free and open to the public Saturday, March 15,
9 a.m.-2 p.m. The awards ceremony is 2-5:30 p.m., Saturday.

Houston secondary students display their original projects from a wide array of scientific and engineering disciplines for judging. Winning projects receive awards, and the fair also honors science teachers by conferring Teacher-of-the-Year awards. The fair draws some of the brightest secondary science and math students in the Houston area.

Professor Larry Spears, chair of the Department of Chemistry at UHD and Executive Director of the fair, has been the guiding force and fire that fuels the fair for many years. His belief and passion have made the fair what it is today, organizers and participants say.

UHD President Max Castillo serves on the science and engineering fair's board of directors. In addition UHD employees Heather Davis, program coordinator in the natural sciences department, and Rene Garcia, program manager for UHD's Scholars Academy, chair two of the fair's committees.

Entries for science writing this year were judged under the direction of Aimee Roundtree, UHD assistant professor of English. UHD students also make the annual event a success. UHD juniors and seniors in the sciences joined experienced judges to evaluate team projects, giving students a collegiate perspective of science competitions. For information on the science fair, go to http://hunstem.uhd.edu/SEFH/

Posted March 13, 2008