Middle and high students from various schools of the Southern Korean Activities Conference (SKAC) gathered at DIS to participate in the final round of the STEM Fair on Dec 2. This year’s fair occurred in person after long years of virtual fairs. Through winning individual school competitions, researchers received qualifications to progress to this final event. DIS contestants who secured at least second place in their respective categories earned a ticket to participate in the competition.

The judges for the finals differed from the initial competition, as faculties and parents from other schools put their heads together for a fair critique. Most assessors consisted of science teachers and parents with PhDs. Despite the more rigorous standards and competitive atmosphere, DIS brought home several awards.

Students excavated motifs of their projects with inspiration from their day-to-day lives. “I harvested household wasted energy using a thermoelectric generator. We constructed a TEG [Thermoelectric Generator] device where the machine would harvest the energy and convert it to electric energy and store it in an energy source. I think that by using inspirations from our mundane lives, my project was easily approached by many people and it related to me also,” junior Jayden Ahn, one of the DIS winners from the environmental science section, said. 

Not only DIS, students from different schools conducted unique endeavors and received recognition as well. “Our project was about making a sand battery and proving how sand is the most efficient material to enter the heat-conserving battery system. We won the award with this topic, and I think it is great to win the award because it feels like my hard work is getting paid off,” Minjoo Koo from HIS, one of the second-place award recipients in the physics category, said.

As the STEM Fair concludes, researchers look forward to presenting new ideas next year. With the success of both the in-school and national contests this year, students and faculty aspire to continue the spirit of the scientific method. 

Congratulations to the winners of each division: 

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Sunny Oh

Mr. Balint and Mr. Cameron open the judging day and provide each participant with detailed schedules. All students listen closely as they wait patiently for their turn.