Whiz Kids: Samohi Students Advance to State Science Fair

Three students are headed to the California State Science Fair after placing second in the microbiology category at a related contest. 

From Thursday through Saturday, Zachary Gold, Winston Lee and Jesse Gomer competed at the LA County Science Fair in Pasadena. At the fair, they shared their ocean-water-quality research, which they began undertaking at Santa Monica Bay in late 2008. According to the research conducted by the students, spikes in fecal-indicator bacteria—which most frequently happen following rain storms—pose a greater danger to beachgoers. The students' findings supported similar studies conducted by .

"The students also found that open beaches without a storm drain are not necessarily cleaner than beaches directly in front of storm drains, suggesting contaminated runoff spreads easily at the spatial scale investigated 0.5 miles between beach sites," the said. "The students’ research also raises concern about studies that commonly evaluate only one ocean sample per site, since the students discovered large variation in bacterial levels among replicate samples taken from the same site."

Also at the LA County Science Fair, the team was honored with the Earthwatch Institute Student Fellowship. Gold and Gomer nominated Lee to receive the $3,000 prize, which will enable him to travel and conduct research with expert scientists in the field.

“I’m interested [in] going to Greece to study dolphin populations,” Lee said.

Finally, the Samohi students' adviser, marine-biology teacher Benjamin Kay, was granted the $5,000 Earth Month Teacher Hero Grand Prize. He has been recognized for employing creative methods to educate his students about sustainability.

The Samohi team was sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps save oceans and beaches across the globe.

The California State Science Fair, now in its 60th year, will take place May 2 and 3 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles' Exposition Park. About 950 students in grades six through 12 are expected to compete, representing about 400 California schools. A total of $50,000 will be given out in the form of awards.

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