Approximately 145 students and teachers representing nine schools attended the annual fall meeting of the Indiana Junior Academy of Science held at Indiana University Bloomington on November 5, 2005.

The following seven activities comprise the major portion of the Junior Academy meeting:

1. The Problem Solving Exam
This exam provides students with a fun and meaningful exercise in scientific knowledge and problem-solving skills. Two students from each school who are selected by their sponsoring teacher take the exam. A plaque is awarded to the top individual winner and certificates are given to the students who placed 2nd -5th.

This year’s winners were:
Individual Students
1st Place – Deanna Lind, Marian High School
2nd Place – Ryan Koerber, Christian Academy of Indiana
3rd Place – Jonathan Bell, Snider High School
4th Place – Emily Cook, Marian High School
5th Place – Peter Koerner, East Noble High School

Top Schools – From each school, their two students’ scores are combined and the top schools are recognized.
1st Place – Marian High School
2nd Place – East Noble High School

2. The Issues Presentation Competition
This competition encourages students to learn about the political, social, and scientific issues surrounding the selected topic. This year, the topic was “With the increasing drive towards genetically modified foods, should the federal government approve of the outdoor planting, or "biopharming" of plants genetically modified to produce pharmaceutical drugs?” Each competitor gives a five minute presentation on the topic without the use of visual aids. The students are judged by a panel of peers, and the finalists are then judged by a panel of undergraduate students. A plaque is awarded to the winning student.

This year’s winners were:
1st – Andrea Melcher, Northwestern High School
2nd – Jessica Jackson, Eastern High School
3rd – Natalie Lawyer, North Daviess High School

3. Science Olympiad Competition
This year we held one Science Olympiad competition called “Experimental Design” where students were given a sack of materials and asked to design, build, demonstrate, and explain an original experiment.

Winners were:
1st Place – Marian High School
2nd Place – Snider High School
4. The Research Paper Competition

This competition allows students who have carried out an original scientific investigation the opportunity to present their work publicly. Students who wish to compete in this event submit an abstract of their work to the IJAS Director in early October. The abstracts are reviewed by a panel of impartial judges, and thirteen student finalists are selected. At the IJAS meeting, these students give a 10-minute poster presentation to a panel of judges who evaluate them on originality, research procedures, and presentation skill. The second and third place winners receive a plaque. The first place winner receives a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship from the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers to attend any Indiana College or University.

This year’s winners were:

1st Place Kaleb Naegeli, Northwestern High School
2nd Place Jonathan Bell, Snider High School
3rd Place Allison Lange, Noblesville High School
4th Place Abigail Hines, Orchard Day School
5th Place Esther Volmer, Christian Academy of Indiana
6th Place Caaminee Pandit, Noblesville High School
7th Place Jillian Hodge, Marian High School
8th Place Angie Sells, Eastern High School
9th Place Heather Shearer, Eastern High School
10th Place Jessica Jackson, Eastern High School
11th Place Mark Fraser, Marian High School
12th Place Tanner Punt, Noblesville High School

5. The Outstanding Junior Scientist Competition
This event recognizes those students who are exemplary in overall scholarship as well as scientific ability and achievement. Each school may nominate two students for this competition. The top ten nominees are then selected to compete at the IJAS meeting, where they are interviewed by a panel of judges. The Outstanding Junior Scientist is selected based upon his/her academic record, involvement in original research and extracurricular scientific activities, and the interview. The second and third place winners receive plaques and the Most Outstanding Junior Scientist receives a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship from the Indiana Academy of Science to attend any Indiana College or University.

This year’s winners were:
1st Place 172.6 Kaleb Naegeli, Northwestern High School
2nd Place 148.6 Angie Sells, Eastern High School
3rd Place 135.6 Caaminee Pandit, Noblesville High School
4th Place 126.2 Michael Chartier, Marian High School
5th Place 125.0 Auna Badke, Marian High School
6th Place 124.9 Annalie Scudder, North Daviess High School
7th Place 120.4 Abigail Hines, Orchard Day School
8th Place 118.9 Jonathan Bell, Snider High School
9th Place 115.6 Travis Schaffer, North Daviess High School
10th Place 113.0 Sonal Sadaria, Noblesville High School

6. The Outstanding School Award
The Outstanding School Award is given to the school with the most participation points. To calculate this score, credit is given for every abstract submitted, more credit for those abstracts accepted for the Research and for Outstanding Junior Scientist competitions, and finally for rank scores for the top presentations. Each school received credit for entering students in the Issues Competition, for having a judge at the Issues presentations, and for entering students in the Problem Solving Exam. More credit was given to the winners.

The top three schools and the teachers representing them today are:

1st Place Northwestern High School
2nd Place Marian High School
3rd Place Eastern High School

7. Educational Tours
Educational tours of the Greeenhouse, Cadaver Lab, Mathers Museum, IFLE Lab, Dr. Garraghty and Dr. Rebec Research Labs were given twice during the day to give all students attending an opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at some of the great research opportunities the IU Bloomington campus has to offer.

Thank you the many people who made this year's meeting an competition a success!