They dazzled the judges with speed, expertise, precision and, of course, science.
North Hollywood High School Team A won the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Science Bowl XXXI Regional Competition on Saturday, March 4 at LADWP’s John Ferraro Headquarters in Los Angeles..
The 31st Science Bowl featured more than 170 top science students from 19 public, parochial, private and charter high schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District area. There were 34 teams in this year’s competition. Students were asked college-level questions in biology, chemistry, math, physics, earth sciences, technology, and specific questions on energy. This year’s theme was “Science Sparks Imagination.”
Winning team members snagged a $1,000 Hitachi Scholarship and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC from April 27 to May 1 to represent the City of L.A. at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science National Science Bowl.
North Hollywood High School Team B placed second in the competition. Team members were awarded a $700 Water and Power Community Credit Union Scholarship.
Harvard Westlake High School finished third, while the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies wound up fourth.
Joining a field of 65 regional champs, North Hollywood’s Team A will be one of eight teams from California that will compete against schools from 40 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It was also awarded the first place Melinda Rho Memorial Trophy, named for a longtime Science Bowl volunteer and DWP manager who passed away in retirement in 2019.
In the hands-on competition, Chaminade High School Team A won first place, a $500 scholarship and the Franklin Lu Hands-On Trophy, named for the late LADWP engineer and Science Bowl volunteer. Ramon C. Cortines Visual and Performing Arts High School finished second, with Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School in third, and Downtown Business High School in fourth.
In addition to LADWP and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, sponsors of this year’s Science Bowl included the Water and Power Community Credit Union, the Hitachi Southern California Community Action Committee, the Water and Power Community Credit Union, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The event was also made possible due to more than 100 volunteers, mainly LADWP employees, their families and past Science Bowl participants.
The National Science Bowl is among the nation’s largest science-based academic competitions and the only one sponsored by a federal agency. Since its inception in 1991 more than 330,000 students have participated in the program. This year 9,000 students participated in high school regional competitions and 5,000 in middle school regionals.
In addition to Science Bowl, other LADWP-sponsored education programs include the new electric vehicle lesson program for high school science classes, Los Angeles Times in Education Program, the Adopt-A-School Program, Youth Service Academy, the Environmental Teacher Institute and electric safety lessons and eSMARTkids website for elementary schools. LADWP is also involved in an alliance with other utilities to enhance the pathway of students from school to careers.
The LADWP is the nation’s largest municipally-owned utility and has provided water and energy services to the residents and businesses in the City of Los Angeles for more than 100 years. LADWP serves 1.5 million electric and 713,000 water customers.
“One of the main goals of the Science Bowl Program is to encourage students from all backgrounds and parts of the city to pursue studies and careers in the STEM fields — math, science, IT, and especially engineering,” said LADWP General Manager Martin L. Adams, in a press release about the March 4 competition.
“As they enter the workforce, we hope that some Science Bowl competitors in future years will seek employment with LADWP and the city of Los Angeles. Hiring employees with strong technical skills is essential to our success.”
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Teams competing in the LADWP regional championship have won five national titles and placed among the top five teams 15 times. The team from North Hollywood High School won the 2022 LADWP regional competition.
Information about the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power “Science Bow”l: bit.ly/3ERH29a
Information about the United States Department of Energy Office’s National “Science Bowl” process and past sample questions: bit.ly/3YfQ2f5