DA VINCI
SCIENCE CENTER HONORS 2010 SCIENCE
HALL OF FAME AWARD WINNERS
News Date
April 24, 2010
The youngest prize winner ever at the world's most prestigious science fair and a 12-year-old inventor who might revolutionize the automobile industry were among the ten honorees at the Da Vinci Science Center's 2010 Science Hall of Fame Awards Saturday night at The Swain School.
Raina Jain of Freedom High School, Bethlehem, Pa., and Billy Schopf of Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, Whitehall, Pa., were recognized along with four other exceptional high school students, three inspiring teachers, and the organization's outgoing board chairman during the Center's 12th annual awards event.
The 2010 Science Hall of Fame Awards featured an inspiring keynote presentation by former Astronaut Winston Scott - who overcame poverty and segregation to become the second African-American to walk in space - and a video message by United States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania in which he applauded the award winners and organizations dedicated to science education.
"The award winners are a credit to their families, their teachers, their community, and, of course, to our whole commonwealth," Senator Casey said in the video message. Casey said later in his remarks, "The level of achievement being recognized tonight demonstrates the important role that the Da Vinci Science Center and science education play in creating a more scientifically-literate Pennsylvania."
Since its inception in 1999, the Da Vinci Science Center's Science Hall of Fame has honored students who show a unique passion for science inside and outside the classroom, teachers who inspire active science learning, and community leaders who support the Center's efforts.
The high school juniors
and seniors received the Hall of Fame's Apprentice Award for Outstanding Science
Scholarship. Teachers from grades K-12 received the Grand Master Award for
Outstanding Science Teaching or the Da Vinci Teacher Leader Institute Grand
Master Award for Outstanding Inquiry-Based Instruction.
Billy Schopf was the first recipient of the Hall of Fame's Young Scientist
Award, and outgoing Chairman Peter C. Dent received its Spirit of Verrocchio
Award for Outstanding Mentorship. The award is named after a 15th century
mentor of a young Leonardo da Vinci.
Peter Dent was executive director of Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc., an organization that became part of what is now known as the Da Vinci Science Center in a 2003 merger with the then-Discovery Center of Science and Technology. Dent has served as the Da Vinci Science Center's board chairman since 2006 and will step down upon completion of his second two-year term in May.
The 2010 winners of the Apprentice Award for Outstanding Science Scholarship were: Debbie Chi, Moravian Academy, Bethlehem, Pa.; Anisha Garg, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pa.; Raina Jain, Freedom High School, Bethlehem, Pa. Vincent Mattiola, Southern Lehigh High School, Center Valley, Pa.; and Callie Woods, Moravian Academy, Bethlehem, Pa.
The 2010 winner of the Grand Master Award for Outstanding Science Teaching was Brent Ohl of Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pa.
The 2010 winners of the Da Vinci Teacher Leader Institute Grand Master Award for Outstanding Inquiry-Based Instruction were Ellie Fitts Fulmer, a Da Vinci Teacher Leader Institute instructor and a former Allentown School District teacher; and Sally Wolfe, an elementary gifted support teacher in the Allentown School District.
All 2010 Science Hall of Fame award winners received an exclusively-designed trophy from Fowler and Pena Creations, Bethlehem, Pa., and a Lifetime Membership to the Da Vinci Science Center. All student and teacher award winners also received cash prizes provided by Science Hall of Fame sponsors.
The Science Hall of Fame Awards highlight Science Works 2010 - the Da Vinci Science Center's two-day showcase of science in the greater Lehigh Valley region.
All proceeds from the 2010 Science Hall of Fame Awards benefited the non-profit Da Vinci Science Center's operations.
A World Record Holder
and the Potential to Change the World
While every 2010 Science Hall of Fame award winner has a powerful story, the
works of Raina Jain and Billy Schopf have either made an impact around the
world or may someday do so.
Raina became the youngest high-school student in the world to win an award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in 2008, just days after her 14th birthday. The Intel ISEF is the crown jewel of science competitions around the world. Raina's study of how glass implants can help bones regenerate their cells earned her a fourth place award in the Biosciences and Engineering category.
Billy - who looks and acts the part of an average 12-year-old - developed his patent-pending invention of a unique wind-powered generator for solar vehicle batteries while participating in a Da Vinci Science Center program for members. His system already has piqued corporate interest, and the potential exists for licensing deals. The White House also has taken notice, as President Barack Obama's office also has corresponded with Billy's patent agent about Billy's work.
Science Hall of Fame
Sponsors
The 2010 Science Hall of Fame Awards and Astronaut Winston Scott's keynote
presentation were sponsored by the following organizations and individuals:
Keynote and Dinner Sponsor: LSI Corporation.
Venue Sponsor: The Swain School
Winston Scott Reception and Book Signing Sponsor: Air Products.
Excellence Award Sponsors: Air Products; Beall and Linny Fowler; Just Born; Bob and Sandy Lovett; PPL.
Young Scientist Award Sponsors: Bob and Sandy Lovett; Frank and Yvonne Schweighardt.
Excellence Award Partner Sponsors: Bill and Phyllis Grube; Vincent and Michelle Sorgi.
Science For the Future Sponsors: Art and Denise Katsaros; Lehigh Carbon Community College; Lehigh University College of Education; Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.; PMC-Sierra.
Partners in Science: Active Data Exchange, Inc.; Ed and Jacqueline Atkins; Alvin H. Butz, Inc.; Cedar Crest College; Communication Systems, Inc. (CSI); Lafayette Ambassador Bank; Ted and Suzanne Lyons.
Hospitality Sponsor: Terry and Mary Jane Hart.
Awards Sponsor: Fowler and Pena Creations.
News Media Sponsor: The Morning Call.
Printing Sponsor: Offset Impressions.
Program Patrons: The Baum
School of Art, NAACP Bethlehem Branch.
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