Anthony Dyer, a student at Murrayville Elementary in Wilmington, won the Elementary Award for his study of how various wing profiles affect wind vortexes.  The Junior Award went to Mark Wuebbens, Brodgen Middle School in Durham, for his project “How white is white light?”  Samanda Emery of Independence High School in Charlotte won the Senior Individual Award for her efforts to help develop an inexpensive robot that can be used in space.  The Senior Team Award was presented to Steven Nutz and Apurva Oza, NC School of Math and Science, Durham, for their study of quasars and blazars.  Steven is a former Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program) student and spent two weeks studying astronomy on the PARI campus last summer.

The Science Fair was held on the campus of Meredith College in Raleigh.  The winner of the PARI Elementary Award, Anthony Dyer, was also nominated for national competition in the Society for Science Middle School Program and the Discovery Education Young Scientist Challenge.

About PARI

The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) is a not-for-profit public foundation established in 1998.  Located in the Pisgah Forest 30 miles southwest of Asheville, NC, the PARI campus is a dark sky location for astronomy and was selected in 1962 by NASA as the site for one of the first U.S. satellite tracking facilities.  Today, the 200 acre campus houses radio and optical telescopes, earth science instruments, 30 buildings, a fulltime staff and all the infrastructure necessary to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and research.  PARI offers educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate.  The institute is affiliated with the 16-campus University of North Carolina system through PARSEC, a UNC Center hosted at PARI, and is a member of the NC Grassroots Museum Collaborative.  For more information about PARI and its programs, visit www.pari.edu.