Peter Lai Ku, a rising ninth grade student at High School South, has been named as one of 10 finalists competing for the title of America’s Top Young Scientist. Ku, one of the 44 middle school students from around the nation selected as semifinalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, and a former Grover Middle School student, represented New Jersey.##M:[more]##
The student finalists will compete in Washington, DC, from October 4 to 6, for the chance to win a $50,”000 Savings Bond as well as the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist of the Year.” NASA will host the competition finals at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where students will demonstrate their science prowess in a series of team-based, interactive challenges focused on this year’s theme, “The Science of Space.”
According to the press release, the Young Scientist Challenge, the nation’s premier science competition for middle schoolers, “targets students in the years when research indicates their interest in science begins to fade and encourages them to explore scientific concepts and creatively communicate their findings.”
Ku was a member of the Grover Middle School Science Olympiad team that finished fourth in the state and the Science Bowl team that finished second in New Jersey. Rae McKenna, the faculty advisor for both teams, recommended him for the Young Scientist Challenge in May. The topic “Why is the sky blue?” was one of five topics suggested by YSC.
“It was also coincidentally one of the questions Peter encountered in class this past year,” says his father, Bill, a retired physics professor at Columbia University. “He researched the question and found a solution on the Internet that seemed easy and straightforward to develop into a two-minute video.” He submitted his video in June.
As a member of the South Science Bowl team, Ku and his teammates practiced throughout the summer to prepare for the April State Science Bowl competition.
