Team from Ligon Middle advances to National Science Bowl finals
A team of students from Raleigh's Ligon Middle School won the regional competition and will advance to the finals of the 2016 National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., in April, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced on Monday.
The Ligon team is made up of Quinn Gebeaux, Aman Kapoor, Subhag Kotrannavar, Rohan Pasi and Ekartha Sharma. Coach Steven Gebeaux said his team has been working weekly sharpening their competitive skills.
The National Science Bowl pits teams of middle and high school students in a fast-paced question-and-answer format where they solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics and math.
"These questions are very difficult and not just every day science facts," coach Gebeaux said. "The students feel the pressure of losing points for their team if they buzz in too quickly and their answer is wrong.”
At the national finals, middle school teams will design, build and race battery-powered model cars.
“The National Science Bowl® continues to be one of the premier academic competitions across the country, and prepares America's students for future successes in some of the world’s fastest growing fields in research and engineering,” Moniz said. “I am honored to congratulate all of the competitors who are advancing to the national finals where they will continue to showcase their talents as top students in math and science.”
