CONYERS — Rockdale Magnet student Vander Harris has been busy lately.
In addition to studying for finals and finishing up the school year, he had to find the time to take a trip to Istanbul, Turkey, and compete at an international event with his environmental project.
At the end of May, Harris won a silver medal — earning second place in the world — at the 19th annual International Environmental Project Olympiad in Turkey. He entered his project, the Effect of Biological Control Agents on the Growth of Phytopathogens.
“I have always been deeply interested in my project because science has always been my favorite subject,” Harris said. “I actually gained the idea to perform this experiment in my AP Biology class, which has been my favorite class yet, when we were discussing the systems that plants have developed as a response to certain stimuli in their environment.”
To follow up, he attended the Georgia Plant Science Scholars camp at the University of Georgia to study plant pathology and gain information about the subject from professionals.
In March, he was part of the final round of national judging for the INEPO by professors at Clemson University, Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University and Firat University. Harris’ entry was among the top 18 projects that were invited to compete at the Istanbul Center in Atlanta.
There, he placed third, earning $100 and the trip to Turkey for which he had to raise about $3,000 to pay for airfare. His sponsoring teacher Amanda Baskett, a research teacher at the Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, also won $100 and a trip to Turkey to accompany him.
Fellow Magnet students, Anna Grace Slifko and Brooke Tryon, earned honorable mentions for their projects, A Comparison of E.coli and S.epidermidis on the Decomposition of Common Waste and Combating the Effects of Ozone Depletion on Skin Health, respectively.
“The students began developing their projects in February of 2010,” Baskett said. “The students developed an original research proposal after completing a survey of existing literature and journal articles in their area of interest.”
She said the projects took many months of lab work, data collection and adjustments.
“These student projects stand out from their peers because of their persistence as researchers to keep revising their methods and approach their research question from a new angle,” Baskett said. “(They) are all bright, dedicated students, and it was a pleasure to see them succeed at this level.”
INEPO focuses on ecological problems that are faced around the world and developing novel solutions to issues. The four-day symposium is an international event that brings students from 44 countries to compete and showcase their projects.
Harris mostly enjoyed trying various Turkish foods and exploring mosques.
“I really enjoy traveling, so this is not my first time leaving the country,” he said. “I have been to Europe twice.”
In eighth grade, he joined the People to People organization on a trip to the United Kingdom, and he also went to France last fall as part of the Magnet School’s French Exchange Program.
via Student gets 2nd in world for project.