(left to right) Junior Patrick Kim of McAllen, Senior Muhammad Shamim of Brownsville, Junior Sumit Gogia of Harlingen, Senior Nolan Eastin of Pharr and Senior Nidharshan Anandasivam of Rancho Viejo.

SCI TECH STUDENTS WIN TEAM CHALLENGE AT NATIONAL SCIENCE BOWL

MERCEDES – The Science Academy of South Texas (Sci Tech) team won the Division Team Challenge at the 2010 National Science Bowl held April 28 through May 4 in Washington D.C. The Division Team Challenge is designed to test a team’s ability to solve problems the same way as scientists and engineers.

Comprised of Senior Nidharshan Anandasivam of Rancho Viejo, Senior Nolan Eastin of Pharr, Junior Sumit Gogia of Harlingen, Junior Patrick Kim of McAllen and Senior Muhammad Saad Shamim of Brownsville, the Sci Tech force beat out 68 high school teams from across the country.

For the Division Team Challenge, the five Sci Tech students had to solve a Fermat-Weber math optimization problem in a half hour. The challenge was to find a point in the center of several other points that would minimize the distance to all other points. Though the problem could not be solved perfectly, the future math and science professionals used certain analytical methods to approximate the answer extremely well.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Bowl^® is a nationwide academic competition that tests students' knowledge in all areas of science. High school and middle school students are quizzed in a fast paced question-and-answer format similar to the quiz show Jeopardy! DOE launched the National Science Bowl^® in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in science and math and to pursue careers in those fields.

Andi Atkinson

Public Relations & Marketing Specialist

South Texas Independent School District

100 Med High Dr.

Mercedes, TX  78570

Office: (956) 514-4255

Mobile: (956) 373-4067

E-mail: andi.atkinson@stisd.net