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YCIS student demonstrates airfoil project, earns regional win and national nomination
Summary
Maxwell, a YCIS student, won first place in physical science with an airfoil experiment that measured airflow and demonstrated stall behavior; he said he was nominated to compete in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge in Washington, D.C.
Maxwell, a YCIS student, presented a hands-on airfoil project to the board during the YCIS student-spotlight segment and explained how differential airflow over a wing produces lift. "With the wing level at 0 degrees... the top of the wing is faster than the bottom," Maxwell said, describing his setup of wind-speed meters and fans that showed the airflow reversal at about 17 degrees—the point he identified as stall.
Board members and staff praised the demonstration and asked about Maxwell’s time commitment and research. Maxwell described spending "about an hour, maybe four times a week" for a couple of months assembling the apparatus and troubleshooting cracked plexiglass. He also said that, at the regional fair in Eugene, he was one of about 10 middle-school nominees chosen to travel to Washington, D.C., in October to compete in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, where finalists can win awards and team opportunities. "It's a chance to... work in teams with other students," Maxwell said of the trip.
The board thanked Maxwell for demonstrating both the science and the process of problem-solving. The district noted that Clayton, another student whose project placed third in the category, was not present because he was ill; a parent described Clayton’s catapult experiment and the learning that came from testing different masses and launch conditions.
