14th National Ocean Science Bowl in Seward - thank you teachers and students!

I had the privilege to be invited to join UAF Faculty to judge the oral presentations at the the 14th annual Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl, also called the Tsunami Bowl, which was held in Seward Feb. 4-6. The competition was hosted by the UAF Seward Marine Center and some 17 teams from 15 high schools across Alaska, from Unalaska to Scammon Bay to Ketchikan, competed.

The competition consists of two equally weighted parts: a tournament-style academic competition designed to challenge students' knowledge of ocean sciences; and a research project that has both written and public speaking components. This year, the research project focused on human responses to oceanic events.

I was simply blown away by the quality and creativity of the research presented -projects ranged from pressing issues in local communities (e.g. paralytical shellfish poisoning research undertaken by Ketchikan High students) to insights in to the challenges facing our oceans globally (e.g. students from Wasilla Career and Tech High presenting an analysis of cyanide fishing in Wakatobi national park in Indonesia).
 
This was my first NOSB and I left impressed with the exceptional organization of the event by UAF staff, with the enthusiasm of the coaches and mentors for each student team and by the obvious commitment of the students to excellence in marine science.  As Seward High Principal, Trevan Walker noted in his welcome... "it is great to see an academic competition gain such a high level of student and community participation as all too often we see that in sporting competitions only". 

I hoped that all the talent scouts in the audience were paying attention as there was clearly some great talent on offer in the competition. I also hope that all participants are able to realize their potential as they move into higher education!  The world needs more students like these...