Middle and high school students with a knack for science competed Saturday at the annual Science Olympiad regional tournament hosted by UT. For the Olympiad, some students built engineering devices that they tested in real time, while others took exams ranging from the science of disease control to the biochemistry of nutrition. A third type of event incorporated both hands-on and exam-taking skills. 

Some students created a roller coaster in which a marble would have to jump over gaps and land back on the track. Another event included creating an experiment using given variables and controls using the full scientific method.

Gregory Palmer, Science Olympiad alumnus and tournament director, said competing in Science Olympiad when he was in high school helped foster his choice to become a scientist and research educator with UT’s Freshman Research Initiative.

“(Science Olympiad) got me excited about biology. It got me excited about science in general,” Palmer said. “I went to college and started doing research because of (Science Olympiad), and now I’m a professor teaching other people how to do research.”

Public health and biology junior Soumya Shekhar competed in Science Olympiad from middle school to her senior year in high school. She said she fell in love with the organization and what it stands for.

“I would not be a science major without Science Olympiad,” Shekhar said. “I think it’s a really cool way to get to learn about other science topics that you don’t necessarily learn about in general schooling. I never would have learned about public health if it weren’t for competing in Science Olympiad because it wasn’t in my public school curriculum.”

High school students Varun Sudunagunta and Edward Lee said competing in Science Olympiad has taught them that studying never ends, and there will always be people that are better, so the only way to improve is through experience and to try to learn as much as possible.

“You can’t just think that you’ve completed something and that you can stop now,” Sudunagunta said. “You have to keep learning and keep digging for knowledge and information, because that’s one of the most valuable things to have these days.”

In order to give back to the organization, Palmer said he founded the Science Olympiad Alumni Association on campus four years ago. Palmer said the association, in conjunction with volunteers from all around campus, have been instrumental in making the tournament possible at UT.

“We get more and more students that have done Science Olympiad in high school and want to stay involved,” Palmer said. “They help run this tournament and are involved in trying to start new teams in the area and to mentor the teams that already exist.”

Shekhar said she witnessed her friends, many of whom were girls, withdraw from competing in Science Olympiad. She said her main focus is bringing more women into science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, through Science Olympiad.

“I think (Science Olympiad) is a fantastic way to get children interested in science topics,” Shekhar said. “One of my big passions is getting more women in STEM because there really aren’t a lot of us.”

The teams were ranked in each event and received medals at the end of the tournament, similar to the real Olympics. The top teams will advance to the state tournament, which will be held at Texas A&M in April.