IUSD Science Fair coming to Northwood High

The 29th annual Irvine Unified School District Science Fair, sponsored by the Broadcom Foundation, will be held this Wednesday, March 3, in the Northwood High School gym. After the judges do their work in the morning, the districtwide fair is going to be open to the public from noon to 6:30 p.m. That will give the rest of us plenty of time to check out projects with titles such as “Study on the Similarity of Fingerprint Pattern Types in Related Family Members,” “The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Reaction Time and Memory Retention,” “An Analysis of Clock Rate and Thermal Scaling in Modern Multi-Core Microprocessors” and “Does Dog Saliva Kill Bacteria Effectively?” Capping the event, a formal awards ceremony is set to begin at 6:45 p.m. Budget cuts resulting from the state’s fiscal crisis had threatened the IUSD Science Fair, but the Broadcom Foundation – in partnership with the Irvine Public Schools Foundation – stepped in to ensure the continuation of this popular event. “The Irvine Unified School District Science Fair represents an incredible opportunity for students in grades six through 12 to put the scientific method into practice while applying the skills and concepts they have learned in science, mathematics, reading and language arts,” Superintendent Gwen Gross said. “With the state budget crisis necessitating cutbacks at the district level, funding for this year’s Science Fair was in jeopardy. We are so grateful to the Broadcom Foundation and the Irvine Public Schools Foundation for preserving this valuable educational opportunity.” Broadcom Corporation, headquartered in Irvine, established the Broadcom Foundation in 2009 to enable young people from all walks of life to enter careers in science, technology, engineering and math. In partnership with local schools, colleges, universities and non-profit organizations, the Broadcom Foundation supports education and community programs where Broadcom employees live and work. Update: The Orange County Register has posted an item about the science fair on its website. You can read it here.