Piedmont Hosts Regional Science Fair

On Saturday, February 7, Piedmont University hosted the Regional Science Fair, welcoming 75 middle and high school students who had advanced from their respective county science fairs. Participating students represented 19 counties across northeast Georgia, including Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Greene, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Walton, and White.

At the conclusion of the event, 37 students earned the opportunity to advance to the Georgia State Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held at the end of March.

While numerous awards were presented, one of particular distinction was the Piedmont Rising Research Award. This year’s recipients were Grayson Oliver and Israel Ortiz of Cedar Shoals High School for their research project titled “Comparative Study of the Effects of Biostimulants Used in Hydroponic Production of Lactuca sativa.” A second Piedmont Rising Research Award was presented to Ryn Brown of Clarke Middle School for her project titled “Chewy Juice.”

The Regional Science Fair was directed by Will Dodd, a Piedmont alumnus, and Dr. Julia Schmitz, Professor of Biology. Piedmont University faculty served as judges for the competition, including Dr. Elaine Bailey, Dr. Doug Butts, Dr. Andrew Duitsman, Yunxuan Yang, Natalie Simmons, Dr. Steve Nimmo, Dr. Tony Frye, Dr. Areatha Ketch, Dr. Deb Dooley, Dr. Mike Friedline, Dr. Sean Carrigan, and Dr. Rebecca Godwin.

Additional faculty and staff contributed to the success of the event, including Dr. Bob Lutz, Erin Forester, Cat Wiles, Jason Croy, Chelsea Wilkes, as well as members of the Maintenance and Café staff. Twelve student ambassadors also played a vital role by giving campus tours to participating students, while others assisted with event setup and various tasks throughout the day.