STEM Scene

by Neil Bai, Aquila Copy Editor

Harker team wins National Science Bowl

The Harker upper school Science Bowl team won the regional competition for the 2018 National Science Bowl (NSB), qualifying for the NSB National Finals taking place at Washington D.C. from April 26 to April 30. The NSB tests students’ knowledge in the subjects of biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics and math through a quiz bowl format. The NSB is run by the U.S. Department of Energy and have more than 14,000 students compete in it each year in America.

Students participate in annual science fair

The annual Synopsys Championship is quickly approaching, with the  competition taking place on Mar. 15 at the San Jose Convention center. The Synopsys Championship will select student projects presented at the fair through a judging process. The top projects will have the opportunity to compete in higher-level science fairs, with the most prestigious being the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, which takes place in Pittsburgh from May 13 to 18.

Students take American Mathematics Competition

Upper school students participated in the Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10 and 12 math contests on Feb. 7. The AMC annual mathematics competitions test students on their problem-solving skills and general math knowledge. The AMC 10 is available to students in tenth grade or below, while the AMC 12 is available to all high schoolers. Students who score well will be invited to take the American Invitational Math Exam (AIME) on Mar. 6. Those who score well on the AIME can qualify for the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO).

International Space Station implements AI

The International Space Station (ISS) is implementing a robot with an artificially intelligent system designed to roam around the ISS offering technical help to crew members. The robot is named Cimon, and will be floating and ball-shaped, contain an eight inch display, and use propeller-driven thrusters. Airbus and the European Space Agency are currently developing Cimon and will launch the robot later this year.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 6, 2018.