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Category: Education

09.26.2013

my science fair projects were never this cool

2013 Google Science Fair winners

2013 Google Science Fair winners

Google has announced the winners of their 2013 science fair:

  • Viney Kumar designed a program that lets drivers know when emergency vehicles are approaching. Hopefuly the program will be able to communicate with cars or drivers through cell phone signals.
  • Ann Makosinski developed a flashlight that gets power when you hold it. By using Peltier tiles,  the difference in temperature between your hand and the ambient air can generate enough power to provide light without any need for batteries
  • Eric Chen was the grand prize winner. He developed a computer model to generate new anti-influenza drugs. The molecules are inhibitors of endonuclease activity and might be active against all flu strains.

These are some smart kids! Read more about their projects here, at the Google Science Fair site and at the Google blog.

 

12.13.2012

massachusetts eighth graders score well in science & math

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We are often told that American students aren’t excelling at science and math. What we never hear is that some school systems are in fact doing an excellent job in education our future generations. Massachusetts happens to be on state that excels. The new results from the Trends in Mathematics & Science Study, or TIMSS, reveal that Massachusetts students score highly in math and science. Only Singapore scored higher than Massachusetts in Science. And five countries scored higher than Massachusetts in math. The state performance was higher than any other in the U.S. It should be noted that not all countries participate this assesment.  See the excerpt from WBUR for links to the test results:

Massachusetts eighth-graders are among the smartest in the world when it comes to math and science, according to a new study of academic performance.

The state’s eighth-graders ranked second in science and sixth in math, respectively, in theTrends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). More than half a million students from 63 countries participated in the test.

Only Singapore outscored the state’s eighth-graders on the science (PDF) part of the exam.

In the math section (PDF), Massachusetts students were outscored by test-takers from South Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Japan.

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