Dozens of students, parents, educators and community members packed the Oak Park River High School Student Center on April 22 for the 18th annual Percy Julian Symposium.
Julian, the science fair’s namesake, was an acclaimed chemist who lived in Oak Park for several years. One of Oak Park’s middle schools is named in his honor. The Institute for Science Education and Technology, a local Oak Park community group, hosted the event, which showcased dozens of projects from current OPRF students, as well as other area schools. Some of the projects are judged competitively, with the top student awarded a $500 cash prize.
“They really enjoy the fact that they are treated as adults. When you have a college professor judging your project, talking to you in a serious tone, asking you questions, a lot of kids rise to the occasion,” John Costopoulos, an OPRF science teacher and one of the event’s organizers, said April 21. “It’s something that they personally find rewarding. … I know this will help prepare them for future careers.”
The event featured research projects from more than 100 students, with topics ranging from oil spill impacts to the effect of music on productivity.
One student, OPRF sophomore Gabe Udofia, researched water quality and the usefulness of filters. He tested several local sources, including drinking fountains and kitchen taps.
“I’m hoping to gain the knowledge of what we can do to make our water more safe,” Udofia said. “I want the community to understand what’s happening with their water.”
A pair of OPRF seniors, Brandon Case and Jeremiah Kennedy, showed off their prototype for an automatic bike chain oiler that affixes to the bike frame. Another senior, Andrew Reese, collaborated on the project but was not at the fair.
“Bike chains rust a lot. A lot of people don’t know how to maintain them,” Case said. “I bike all the time. My chain’s always rusty.”
Kennedy, also 17, added he intends to study electrical engineering in college and the project offered a way to explore some of those skills.
Eliana Beck, an OPRF freshman, debuted a project on biomimicry, a field that uses biological processes and designs, to develop technology. Beck studied the spinal movements of a salamander and forecasted possible applications for search-and-rescue teams that cannot reach small and cramped places.
“I want to go into engineering,” Beck said. “This is just the start.”
Both Costopoulos, the science teacher, and Jamael Clark, 26, an OPRF alum who performed two poems to kick off the fair, emphasized the importance of remembering Julian’s legacy and educating students about the chemist’s story. Julian, whose career spanned the mid 20th century, faced challenges outside the laboratory, including the firebombing of his Oak Park home.
“It’s a story of encouragement,” Clark said April 22, referring to Julian’s life. “His legacy tells us we can do incredible things.”
David Flint, a River Forest resident whose daughter was in the fair, said he was impressed by the array of projects and gender and ethnic diversity of the participants
“We should encourage them to cross-pollinate,” Flint said. “Put a few of these bright minds together, they would have their own start-up even before they even get to college.”
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Flint said there were other benefits, too.
“This can give hope to bright young minds,” Flint said, referring to the fair, “When you’re a teenager, all you think about is the pimple on your nose and the prom you didn’t get invited to.”
Thomas Vogel is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.