Hands-on science — it works!
In these days of blame the public schools for all societal woes, the tale of Faris Wald should cause parents to breath a sigh of relief. The young man is not only getting by in public school. He is thriving. Wald, 15, recently took the top prize from Broadcom MASTERS, a national youth science competition in Washington, D.C., earning him $25,000 and his middle school — the now-closed Capshaw — a $1,000 prize. His school award will go to the new Milagro Middle School, recognizing the role that teachers and schools have in shaping young minds.
The young man already was surprised to be chosen one of 30 finalists in the prestigious science competition (MASTERS stands for Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars and was created by the Society for Science & the Public, with the Samueli Fondation providing the cash prize). He is refreshingly humble, despite his obvious intelligence and work ethic.
The competition is part real-time challenges and part science fair (Wald’s 28-page presentation about sunspots and how the sun’s coronal holes might impact weather patterns such as cyclones or hurricanes, won honors at the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair in Socorro earlier this year). Then, at the actual competition, the students competed on challenges designed to test scientific knowledge and leadership skills. It sounds grueling.
Getting there was impressive as well. His honors at state led to Wald’s nomination — competing against some 2,500 students before the field was narrowed to 300 semifinalists and then 30 finalists. The idea is for young scientists to demonstrate leadership qualities and work cooperatively — science, after all, is not always best done by the lone genius working away in obscurity. Being able to join with other bright minds can be another path to discovery and innovation.
Considering that fewer than 40 percent of all New Mexico public school students demonstrate proficiency in science on the Standard Based Assessment tests, Wald’s achievement is all the more inspiring. He credits many people, including family and teachers, with helping him hone his scientific chops. After Wald won the state competition last spring, he told reporter Robert Nott about the many influences he met along the way — proof that volunteers and teachers, as well as parents, change the lives of students.
The Santa Fe Alliance for Science instructor, known only as Mr. Science, proved inspiring. “In sixth grade, there was this person, Mr. Science, who came to school every two weeks and did fun science projects. He made a rocket, he made a tornado simulator out of cardboard and a contraption that allowed us to see sunspots in the sun,” Wald said. “That opened up the world to me and taught me that science could be fun.”
His dad, Ted, took his son to the planetarium at Santa Fe Community College — a victim of budget cuts and closed for now to the public, but still available for school field trips, according to the college website. That’s a shame.
In 2012, while a student at Wood Gormley Elementary School, he placed third at the districtwide Science Expo for “Experiments with Airfoils.” Wald used a telescope on his own and began experimenting at home, once setting a napkin on fire while trying different methods of boiling water. His family, obviously, allowed his curiosity to flourish. We need more homes like this.
That quest for knowledge showed up at school, too. His middle school science teacher, Christy Krenek said Wald was always asking questions — preferring a hands-on, inquisitive approach (sort of like the soon-to-be adopted Next Generation Science Standards). Of him, she said: “He is one of those kids you see once every five years.”
The project he developed — as an eighth-grader — was complex and challenging. Wald tracked sunspot data back into the 1980s and coronal hole dates from 2003, comparing the information he gathered to outbreaks of extra-tropical storms. His study proved a correlation between sun activity and storms, which could help scientists better predict the weather. As we have seen in this year of extreme weather, solid predictions can save lives and property.
After the challenge of competition and the flush of winning, Wald is back at Santa Fe High School. He’s doing what all students must when they miss school, even for the best of reasons — catching up on homework. Like all of Santa Fe, we are proud of our hometown science whiz. We can’t wait to see where his curiosity takes him next.