March 2, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Center for Community OutReach Development (CORD) will gather some of state's top middle- and high-school science students to compete in the Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (CARSEF) Saturday, March 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the UAB Campus Recreation Center, 1501 University Blvd.

More than 400 children and teenagers from central Alabama will present tabletop experiments and posters in biology, health, social and behavioral sciences, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and computer science, plus environmental, earth and physical sciences. Specific topics will include robotics, computer graphics, water pollution, air quality, plant ecology, soil contamination, genetics, epidemiology, astronomy, aerodynamics and more.

Judging for each division will begin at 9 a.m. The fair will be open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. The awards ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Students in grades 5-8 will compete in the Junior Division. Students in grades 9-12 will compete in the Senior Division. Category winners in each division will be eligible to compete at the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair that will be held April 1-3 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The top four overall winners in the CARSEF Senior Division will be eligible to bypass the state competition to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair May 9-14 in San Jose, Calif. The Senior Division contestants who compete and win at the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair also can compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

For more information, call CORD Science Fair Coordinator Jarrod Lockhart at 205-934-5171.

About the UAB Center for OutReach Development (CORD)

The UAB Center for OutReach Development is a universitywide center dedicated to advancing the outreach efforts of UAB in the Birmingham community by developing academic programs in partnership with area city schools.