From Posterboard to Discord

On Feb. 11, students at both Palos Verdes and Peninsula High School virtually presented their science research projects over Zoom at the annual Palos Verdes Peninsula Science and Engineering Fair (PVPSEF). 

Taken as a 7th-period class, science research is an experiment-based project on any specific subject that is researched, tested and analyzed throughout the year before being presented to judges at the PVPSEF. Just like everything else in the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the fundamentals of the science research class. Some groups overcame the safety issues presented by the pandemic.

 “For the research process, my group mates [Kapil Dheeriya and John Kim] and I worked together virtually over Discord,” senior Daniel Belzberg said. 

The adjustment to doing most social activity and classwork online has continued over to the science research class where groups need to communicate and conduct research on their project. 

Most of the projects eventually required some hands-on science and if not for taking the right precautions, students could have been at risk of spreading the virus.

Belzberg, Dheeriya and Kim needed to meet in-person to conduct their experiment, the construction and testing of a cloud chamber to detect muons, a particle similar to the electron.

“[When testing the chamber] we kept our distance as much as possible and wore masks,” Belzberg said. 

The classic P.V. science fair with poster boards, experiments and in-person judging were completely changed due to the pandemic. 

The painstaking research and complicated experiments that some students have spent two to three years on would have to be presented virtually. The poster boards were completely replaced with an interactive PowerPoint presentation where the judges have access to the research paper, summary video, slideshow, abstract and science notebook. 

“The whole process was very technologically different from last year, but it felt like the same core components of an in-person fair,” senior Kapil Dheeriya said.

The judges, who are chosen for their knowledge in a specific scientific field, entered a Zoom meeting with the research group for ten minutes and judged based on originality, clarity, design and execution. 

Although there were some technical difficulties with some judges, every project was fairly evaluated by the end of the day. 

“I prefer the in-person fair as making a personal connection with the judges was far easier,” Dheeriya said. “However, I enjoyed the virtual fair due to how much it simplified the process.”

Belzberg, Dheeriya and Kim earned second place in the physics and astronomy category for the second year in a row for their study on the muon particle. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things, but research and the scientific method will always be constant. 

“In my opinion, the fair and overall research process adapted very well to the virtual environment,” Belzberg said.