More than electricity City of Austin

Austin Energy – City of Austin Serving Austin Since 1895 Austin Energy is the nation’s 8th largest publicly owned electric utility. We serve more than 448,000 customer accounts and more than 1 million residents in Greater Austin. As a department of the City of Austin, Austin Energy is more than an electric utility. We are closely engaged with the community and are dedicated to supporting local education and STEM. To learn more about Austin Energy and it’s dedication to the community and various programs, we welcome feel free to visit

Austin Energy Regional Science Festival February 17 – 20, 2016 Palmer Events Center Teacher Orientation: Junior & Senior Division

AERSF 2015 Statistics Jr / Sr Division Projects: 664 Students: 772 Schools: 58 School Districts: 21 Judges &Volunteers: over 500

We ask that you send 1 Judge and 1 Volunteer for every 10 projects from your school Judges & Volunteers

What is new for AERSF 2016? New: New online system, more powerful tools Students must obtain parental permission to create a student account Research Plan- Now includes “Results/Conclusion” section Sr. Division “2 nd Tier” ISEF finalist selection process has changed slightly. Judges will select the best projects regardless of the category. No longer will 1 st place in each category necessarily be selected for 2 nd Tier judging in the Sr. Division. 1 st -3 rd place in each category will still automatically advance to the State Fair. Category Names have changed. There are still 17 categories but they have been re-organized. Categories will be different from Fair to Fair. A new category “Robotics” has been added. School fee has been changed to $45. Schools invoices will be ed upon registration. Invoices must be paid before the deadline.

What is new for AERSF 2016? Not new but worth mentioning: Parking will be free of charge at the Palmer Events Center parking garage to all participants. Improved online registration and project management system. No paperwork will need to be submitted. All is handled online.

What’s New for 2016 ISEF Rule CHANGES No Major rule changes. Form changes (just for info) Research Plan- Now includes “Summary” section Human Participant Form 4 re-organized

Schedule Highlights Deadline to finalize School Registration Thursday, January 28, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Science Festival – Palmer Events Center Wednesday-Thursday, February 17-20, 2016

Registration Deadline & Fees Deadline for all registrations: Thursday January 28, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. ON TIME LATE (after 5pm, Feb. 3) Student Project Fee$15 $25 School Registration Fee $45 $75 No late entry for Scientist Training Students

The Flow of Things 1.School Coordinator registers school online before students start their projects at 2.Coordinator logs in and add teacher/adult sponsors, this will give teachers online accounts to access projects 3.Coordinator creates School SRC & IRB online 4.Each and every student will setup their own individual online account before they start their projects. Teachers will provide a “secret” registration link for their students 5.The system will guide the students step by step through the paperwork. 6.When finished school will select their winners online. 7.School will have access to all registration and student information and can export data in Excel Format for their own use.

Teacher Checklist Highlights Form an Institutional Review Board (IRB/SRC) at your school. (More on this later!) Have students begin registration before they start their projects if possible! The system will guide them through from start to finish.

Checklist Highlights: After your school fair Select your winners online and finalize school registration. Pay your registration fees.

School Review Process Projects that deal with the following will require a School Committee to give prior approval and are more complicated to complete properly: – Human Participants Studies (including surveys, questionnaires, etc) – Vertebrate Animal Studies – Biological Agents (microorganisms, culturing etc..) – Vertebrate (including Human) Tissues, body fluids, blood etc…

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approves projects that involve Human Participants prior to start of experimentation Membership: Educator School Administrator Human Risk Evaluator (minimum of RN) –Someone knowledgeable about evaluating risk (MD, PA, RN, psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed social worker)

Scientific Review Committee (SRC) Reviews some projects before experimentation Vertebrate animals Hazardous biological agents/Vertebrate Tissue Required SRC Members (at least 1 of each) –Biomedical Scientist (Ph.D., M.D., D.V.M., D.D.S., D.O.) or advanced degree/experience in micro/bio-medical field –Educator –One other member

Requirements for Your School’s Review Committee Minimum Required 3 Members for a combined SRC/IRB – SRC Chair – has degree or equivalent experience and knowledge in the biological sciences. (MS, MD, PhD, DDS etc. preferred) – Human Risk Evaluator - knowledgeable about evaluating risk (MD, RN, BSN, licensed social worker, psychiatrist, psychologist, school counselor) – School Administrator – (Principal, Vice-Principal, School Counselor, School Director, etc.)

Adult Sponsor/Teacher Has solid background in science Maintains close contact with student during the course of the project Oversees that project is within rules and guidelines Responsible for guiding student with health and safety concerns and managing their project Signs Form 1 – Checklist for Adult Sponsor

Qualified Scientist Required only for some projects involving human subjects, vertebrate animals, hazardous biological agents, or DEA-controlled substances Must have advanced degree or expertise related to student’s area of research and be familiar with rules governing that area of research May reside in another state (in that case, a Designated Supervisor must oversee student’s experimentation) May be the same person as the Adult Sponsor Completes Form 2 – QS Form

Designated Supervisor Supervises project experimentation when Qualified Scientist cannot directly supervise Need not have advanced degree, but must be thoroughly familiar with student’s project and trained in the area of research “Animal Care Supervisor” for animal projects Supervises projects using Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices

Human Participant Studies Involve living individuals with: –Intervention or interaction with subjects or manipulation of their environment including surveys and/or –Collection of identifiable private information Not Human Subjects studies –Review of publicly available data –Observations at unrestricted public settings

Human Participant Studies Require IRB review and approval of research plan before experimentation begins IRB evaluates and determines –Risk level –Requirement for informed consent –Requirement for Qualified Scientist

Activities that normally are considered to be more than minimal risk (Risk level to be determined by the school’s IRB) Exercise Ingestion, Smelling, or Tasting Emotional stress – survey, stimuli Invasion of privacy Breech of confidentiality

Restrictions - propulsion, hazardous materials or activities Jr. Division students may NOT conduct a project that includes: the students use of a firearm, air pressure canister device, or potato gun; chemicals hazardous to student health, or radioactive materials; any other activity or substances that present a danger to the student. Sr. Division students who design experiments that include: discharging a firearm or air pressure canister devices; chemicals hazardous to student health, or radioactive materials; any other activity or substance that presents a danger to the student …must carefully follow the Intel ISEF Rules and Guidelines.

Most Common Fail to Qualify Student did a project involving MOLD or Bacteria at home Student did a vertebrate animal study and an animal died Student involved Human Participants (or him/herself) as a test subject but did not complete the Human Participant Study steps

ISEF SRC 101 PowerPoint We highly recommend you view the presentation made available by the ISEF SRC. Share with your IRB and SRC members, teachers, parents, and others interested in finding out more about ISEF Rules.

Scientist Training Program For special populations of students Available in all divisions for individual or team projects The basic rules and guidelines are the same, but the paperwork requirements may differ Notify us if student has specific requirements Students may not advance to the state fair

Special Awards & Sweepstakes Austin Energy Best of Fair Austin Energy Best Use of Electricity Austin Energy Best Use of Renewable Energy Austin Energy Science, Math & Engineering Scholarship Austin Energy Sweepstakes Award and Scholarship Broadcom Masters

Project Display & Safety Rules Items Not Allowed in the Exhibit Hall No organisms; living, dead or preserved plants or animals* No human or animal food No Bacteria or mold cultures No liquids or chemicals or Crystals! No sharp objects or glass (including light bulbs) Allowed and Encouraged Items Photographs, drawings, or toy animals/artificial plants should be used to depict the items not allowed. Be sure to properly credit/acknowledge all photographers.

2015 Sponsors Austin Science Education Foundation

More Special Awards American Meteorological Society American Psychological Assn. Association for Women Geoscientists Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association Intel Excellence in Computer Science Service MU Alpha Theta National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Society of Professional Engineers Society of Women Engineers Synopsys Intel ISEF Travel Award U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Yale Science and Engineering Association

Fair Dates Summary February 17-20, 2016 –Austin Energy Regional Science Festival –Austin Texas March March , 2016 –SXSWedu –Austin, TX March 31 – April 2, 2016 –Texas Science and Engineering Fair –San Antonio Texas May 7- May 11, 2015 –ISWEEEP –Houston Texas May 08-13, 2016 –Intel International Science and Engineering Fair –Pheonix, AZ

Resources—Web Austin Energy Regional Science Festival Intel ISEF – rules, info, etc. Austin Science Education Foundation– Non-profit created to help support Science Fest Science Fair support – ideas and “how to” for projects

Resources—Real People! Russell Cowen, Regional Fair Director (512) Advisory Committee Members: Barbara tenBrink Michele Mann SueAnn Decuir Lisa Rogers Ingrid Weigand

Requirements for an Online/Paperless system. Students and teachers must have Internet Access All paperwork required for uploads MUST be in PDF format! Browser and PC must be able to view PDF files! Every user must have a unique address. Students whose parents have no computer access must have them sign the Media Release and Approval Forms and have it uploaded by the teacher.

Advantages of New System No more Forms!! Save a whole rain forest every year Save schools & students the headache of choosing, signing and filling out forms Ability to use the registration data for school fairs Teachers have access to student project data to aid the student Step by step process, easier to follow, easier to understand Seamless advancement to higher fairs with less errors Integrated guidelines for students and SRC reviewers More difficult for students to make paperwork mistakes

Old School Screen

New School Screen

Old Fair Screen

New Fair Screen

New School Screen

Tracking of students