1. SPECIAL AWARDS OFFERED AT INTEL-ISEF SCIENCE FAIRS
Dorothy Tepper
Head Special Awards Judge
10/14/15

2. What are Special Awards?
Different award category than the cash awards given at the middle- school and high- school levels for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and for Honorable Mention.
Given to recognize outstanding students and to increase public and students’ awareness of the mission and scientific work done by the awarding agency
Special Awards are given by:
government agencies, professional societies, etc.

3. • Government Agencies - U.S. Public Health Service
- NOAA
- U.S. Public Health Service
- U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Office of Naval Research

4. National Professional Societies
• American Meteorological Society
• American Psychological Association
• Association for Women Geoscientists
• U.S. Metric Association

5. State-Level Organizations and Academic Institutions
- Virginia Lakes and Watersheds Association
- Virginia Dental Association: Science Talent Awards Program
- Northern Virginia Dental Society

6. Foundations , Private Companies, and Honor Societies
ASM Materials Education Foundation
Intel Excellence in Computer Science
Mu Alpha Theta

7. What types of awards are given out in the Special Awards category?
Certificates of Achievement
Medallions and lapel pins
Cash awards
* The Office of Naval Research awards all 3 types of prizes to each of its high- school- level prize winners

8. What is the judging procedure for the special awards?
It varies with the agency providing the Special Award:
Some agencies provide very specific instructions for the judge along with a rating form for each project.
Other agencies are less strict and give the judge more latitude.
Some agencies will provide a judge from their organization .

9. Which Special Awards were presented at the Fauquier County 2014 Science Fair?
Virginia Lakes and Watersheds Association
U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Office of Naval Research

10. VA Lakes and Watersheds Association
Non-profit organization dedicated to conducting scientific and educational efforts to protect the quality and uses of Virginia’s lakes and watersheds.
Awards given to science fair projects that pertain to stormwater studies, water-quality improvements, and watershed investigations.

11. VA Lakes and Watersheds, cont’d.
Criteria for awards:
Relevance of project to their association’s mission
Sound scientific method
Clarity
Project appearance
Awards:
One middle-school award: award letter and $50 gift card
One high-school award: award letter and $100 gift card

12. Special Awards Given at 2015 Fair
American Psychological Association
ASM Materials Education Foundation
Arizona State University Sustainability
NOAA “Taking the Pulse of the Planet”
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Metric Association
U.S. Office of Naval Research
VA Dental Association, Northern VA Dental Society
VA Lakes and Watersheds Association
Yale Science and Engineering Association

13. How will we determine which Special Awards will be offered at our 2016 Science Fair?
We will receive a regional-fair level Special Awards Packet from the Awards and Education Program of the Society for Science and the Public. Their programs include:
- the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair - Broadcom MASTERS competition
The packet will contain a list of the 2016 Special Awards, specific information about each award, certificates, medallions, etc.

14. The Special Awards Packet should arrive by Christmas!

15. As Head Special Awards Judge, I’ll do the following:
a. familiarize myself with the various awards available
for the 2016 regional fairs
b. when a list of project titles becomes available, I’ll work with Vineeta Ribiero and Dee Thompson to determine which special awards we want to give out
c. line up a judge for each Special Award • some organizations may provide a judge
• some judges may cover more than one Special Award

16. VSSEF AND ISEF-2015

17. THE END