transylvaniaschools
TIME Onnink Williams Jan 2015
Photo caption: Juniors Carly Onnink and Abby Williams begin construction of an electroantennogram. The team used their new device to study electrical responses of kudzu bug antennae to active chemicals.
The TIME Honors Science Research Course is an intensive, inquiry-based school-day course. Students learn about the process of science as they conduct original scientific research into topics of their own choosing. They are supported by both teacher and scientist mentors as they choose a topic of interest, develop a testable question, design a procedure, collect and analyze data and present their findings.
All Transylvania County Schools high school students (rising 9-12 graders) are eligible to apply for the course. Participants will be chosen through an application process that began in January of 2015, with application deadlines beginning Jan. 30. Course enrollment will be limited. Students will be chosen by an independent selection committee based on their demonstrated interest in science, potential for success in scientific research, and commitment to all components of the course.
Students chosen in 2015 will attend a trip to observe state research competitions in March and a summer field study week prior to the course. The school-day portion of the course will be held during the fall of 2015 in Brevard High School's Science Research Laboratory. Students will enter their work in one or more science competitions during the winter of 2016.
Why apply for the TIME Honors Science Research Course? Students benefit from doing research projects because they see how science applies to their own lives and community. They learn more about the process of science and what scientists do as they act as co-learners with teachers, scientists and other students. They discover new careers in science. While conducting research projects, students develop independence-no one is telling them exactly what to do or how to do it. They learn how to break down a complex, long-term project into manageable pieces, develop a plan of action, and follow it through. As they conclude their projects, students learn how to communicate their results clearly and persuasively to a variety of audiences as they contribute to the bank of scientific knowledge with their findings.
Students who have conducted long-term research projects are more competitive as they apply for college and scholarships. Top colleges want students who can write as well as possess analytical skills, creativity and a multidisciplinary perspective. Most of all they want people with a capacity for continuous innovation. These are skills gained from conducting original research. Doing a science project and participating in a competition can give students the opportunity to meet and spend time with others from around the world who have similar interests while competing for significant scholarships, travel, monetary awards and other prizes.
Current TIME students have recently completed the following research projects: Testing for the presence of estrogen-like compounds In Stevia rebaudiana (Cameron McCathern, Erin Smith and Sam Farrar); Electroantennogram response of Megacopta cribraria to chemical components in its defensive secretion (Abby Williams and Carly Onnink); Evaluation of honeybee health in Transylvania County: An assessment of Varroa destructor and Nosema levels (Ingrid Findlay, Aaron Neumann, and Hannah Lemel); Isolation, identification and screening of local wood rot fungi for the production of lignin-degrading enzymes (Hannah Field and Ryan Holland); Agrobacterium-mediated stable transformation of Coleus X hybridus plants using the floral dip method and B-glucuronidase (GUS) gene as a reporter system (Carver Nichols); Adapting the LAMP assay and culturing methods for hops downy mildew, Pseudoronospora humuli (Sam Lemel and Bryce Spradlin); The effect of antibiotics on the mortality of the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae (Allison Reece and Lauren DuBreuil); Evaluation of VOC producing Diaporthe species for enzyme production (Joe Roberts, Lauren Tooley and Eliza Witherspoon); Identifica-tion and heavy metal remediation potential of fungi isolated from Duke Energy's 1964 Asheville coal ash pond (Ryulee Park and Aidan Spradlin); and studies on the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis) and its association with Geosmithia morbida (Crista Cali and Sarah Branagan).
Current TIME students would like to thank all who have helped with their research during the year including students, teachers, administration, parents and numerous scientists and community volunteers. Thanks go to 2014 TIME volunteers: Ken Chepenik, Don Wauchope, Paul Sisco, Jeanine Davis, Kelly Gaskill, Laurie Moorhead, Chuck McGrady, Page Lemel, Craig DeBrew, Ervin Kovacs, Chris Cali, Pat Montgomery, Tammy Bellefeuil, Adam DeWitt, Brian Heath, Amy Kinsella, Kelly Oten, Bryan Dubois, David Williams, Cindy Carpenter, Lisa Smith, Eric Caldwell, Jay Case, Andy VonCanon, Dan Harris, Danny Fender, Paul Sisco, Scott Pryor, Rene Timmons, Nancy Knights, Sheila and Marvin Holland, George Logsdon, Ed Burdette, Mary Ann Mickewitz, Crawford and Jeanette Lowe, Allen Frost, Ora Wells, Randy Oliver, Coby Schal, Bart Renner, Harriett Walls, Kaitlin McCreery, Gordon Riedesel, Summer Cortinas, Bruce Roberts, Roger Frisbee and Wes Freund. Special thanks go to Dr. Kent Wilcox and Mary Arnaudin, without whose help, guidance, and actions the class could not have been possible!
Funds for the TIME Science Research Course are provided in part by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in addition to support from Transylvania County Schools and NC Cooperative Extension. Special thanks go to a growing group of community donors: the American Association of University Women, Pisgah Forest Rotary Club, PharmAgra, The Robertson Foundation, Merrill Well and Pump Company, Environmental Quality Institute, Roger Frisbee, June Litchfield, Peter Chaveas, Steve and Mary Beth Whitmire, Newell and Mary Witherspoon, Ed Buckbee, Kristine and John Candler, NC BioNetwork Labs, Kent Wilcox, Ken Chepenik, Ann Farash and Paul Onnink, Bee Cool Bee Supply and Pat Montgomery.
For more information, to apply for the research course, or to indicate an interest in volunteering or donating to the program, visit time4realscience.org.
© 2015, Transylvania County Schools. All rights reserved.
TIME Onnink Williams Jan 2015
Photo caption: Juniors Carly Onnink and Abby Williams begin construction of an electroantennogram. The team used their new device to study electrical responses of kudzu bug antennae to active chemicals.
The TIME Honors Science Research Course is an intensive, inquiry-based school-day course. Students learn about the process of science as they conduct original scientific research into topics of their own choosing. They are supported by both teacher and scientist mentors as they choose a topic of interest, develop a testable question, design a procedure, collect and analyze data and present their findings.
All Transylvania County Schools high school students (rising 9-12 graders) are eligible to apply for the course. Participants will be chosen through an application process that began in January of 2015, with application deadlines beginning Jan. 30. Course enrollment will be limited. Students will be chosen by an independent selection committee based on their demonstrated interest in science, potential for success in scientific research, and commitment to all components of the course.
Students chosen in 2015 will attend a trip to observe state research competitions in March and a summer field study week prior to the course. The school-day portion of the course will be held during the fall of 2015 in Brevard High School's Science Research Laboratory. Students will enter their work in one or more science competitions during the winter of 2016.
Why apply for the TIME Honors Science Research Course? Students benefit from doing research projects because they see how science applies to their own lives and community. They learn more about the process of science and what scientists do as they act as co-learners with teachers, scientists and other students. They discover new careers in science. While conducting research projects, students develop independence-no one is telling them exactly what to do or how to do it. They learn how to break down a complex, long-term project into manageable pieces, develop a plan of action, and follow it through. As they conclude their projects, students learn how to communicate their results clearly and persuasively to a variety of audiences as they contribute to the bank of scientific knowledge with their findings.
Students who have conducted long-term research projects are more competitive as they apply for college and scholarships. Top colleges want students who can write as well as possess analytical skills, creativity and a multidisciplinary perspective. Most of all they want people with a capacity for continuous innovation. These are skills gained from conducting original research. Doing a science project and participating in a competition can give students the opportunity to meet and spend time with others from around the world who have similar interests while competing for significant scholarships, travel, monetary awards and other prizes.
Current TIME students have recently completed the following research projects: Testing for the presence of estrogen-like compounds In Stevia rebaudiana (Cameron McCathern, Erin Smith and Sam Farrar); Electroantennogram response of Megacopta cribraria to chemical components in its defensive secretion (Abby Williams and Carly Onnink); Evaluation of honeybee health in Transylvania County: An assessment of Varroa destructor and Nosema levels (Ingrid Findlay, Aaron Neumann, and Hannah Lemel); Isolation, identification and screening of local wood rot fungi for the production of lignin-degrading enzymes (Hannah Field and Ryan Holland); Agrobacterium-mediated stable transformation of Coleus X hybridus plants using the floral dip method and B-glucuronidase (GUS) gene as a reporter system (Carver Nichols); Adapting the LAMP assay and culturing methods for hops downy mildew, Pseudoronospora humuli (Sam Lemel and Bryce Spradlin); The effect of antibiotics on the mortality of the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae (Allison Reece and Lauren DuBreuil); Evaluation of VOC producing Diaporthe species for enzyme production (Joe Roberts, Lauren Tooley and Eliza Witherspoon); Identifica-tion and heavy metal remediation potential of fungi isolated from Duke Energy's 1964 Asheville coal ash pond (Ryulee Park and Aidan Spradlin); and studies on the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis) and its association with Geosmithia morbida (Crista Cali and Sarah Branagan).
Current TIME students would like to thank all who have helped with their research during the year including students, teachers, administration, parents and numerous scientists and community volunteers. Thanks go to 2014 TIME volunteers: Ken Chepenik, Don Wauchope, Paul Sisco, Jeanine Davis, Kelly Gaskill, Laurie Moorhead, Chuck McGrady, Page Lemel, Craig DeBrew, Ervin Kovacs, Chris Cali, Pat Montgomery, Tammy Bellefeuil, Adam DeWitt, Brian Heath, Amy Kinsella, Kelly Oten, Bryan Dubois, David Williams, Cindy Carpenter, Lisa Smith, Eric Caldwell, Jay Case, Andy VonCanon, Dan Harris, Danny Fender, Paul Sisco, Scott Pryor, Rene Timmons, Nancy Knights, Sheila and Marvin Holland, George Logsdon, Ed Burdette, Mary Ann Mickewitz, Crawford and Jeanette Lowe, Allen Frost, Ora Wells, Randy Oliver, Coby Schal, Bart Renner, Harriett Walls, Kaitlin McCreery, Gordon Riedesel, Summer Cortinas, Bruce Roberts, Roger Frisbee and Wes Freund. Special thanks go to Dr. Kent Wilcox and Mary Arnaudin, without whose help, guidance, and actions the class could not have been possible!
Funds for the TIME Science Research Course are provided in part by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in addition to support from Transylvania County Schools and NC Cooperative Extension. Special thanks go to a growing group of community donors: the American Association of University Women, Pisgah Forest Rotary Club, PharmAgra, The Robertson Foundation, Merrill Well and Pump Company, Environmental Quality Institute, Roger Frisbee, June Litchfield, Peter Chaveas, Steve and Mary Beth Whitmire, Newell and Mary Witherspoon, Ed Buckbee, Kristine and John Candler, NC BioNetwork Labs, Kent Wilcox, Ken Chepenik, Ann Farash and Paul Onnink, Bee Cool Bee Supply and Pat Montgomery.
For more information, to apply for the research course, or to indicate an interest in volunteering or donating to the program, visit time4realscience.org.
© 2015, Transylvania County Schools. All rights reserved.