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Judges

We need your participation to judge student projects

Nearly 1,200 volunteer Grand Awards Judges will interact with students and judge their projects in 18 categories:

Duties and Schedule

Grand Awards Judges must be available Tuesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Registration for judges is on Tuesday, May 12. That afternoon is spent training with your category section Co-Chairs, reviewing the exhibits in your category, and networking with other judges. Judges receive their specific judging assignments between 8:00 and 8:30 pm Tuesday evening. The rest of the evening, until about 10:30 pm, may be spent reviewing assigned projects without the student finalist present. Lunch and dinner are provided.

On Wednesday, judging will take place from 9:00 am to 8:30 pm. Each Grand Awards judge will conduct eight to fourteen 15-minute interviews with finalists in their category across seventeen scheduled interview periods. From 5:00 pm until about 8:30 pm or until finished, Grand Awards judges will caucus within their scientific category to decide on the finalist award rankings. The awards are: Best of Category Award of $5,000, First Award of $3,000, Second Award of $1,500, Third Award of $1,000, Fourth Award of $500. The three top prize scholarship winners are selected from the Best of Category award winners. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided plus a judge’s social is held in the evening.

Why should you consider volunteering as a judge?

Tip: Many academic and private institutions and organizations will fund travel for persons judging at the Intel ISEF so don’t be bashful, ask!

Qualifications of a Grand Awards Judge & Category Co-Chairs

Grand Awards judges must have a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent (D.O., Ed.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., etc.) OR a minimum of six years related professional experience beyond receiving their B.A., B.S., or a master's degree. Judges may include university faculty and scientists, industrial engineers and scientists, representatives of private and federal research centers and agencies, and medical researchers. Individuals NOT ELIGIBLE to serve as ISEF Judges are science fair directors, ISEF Official Party members, or practicing elementary, secondary or high school teachers. Parents or research mentors of student finalists are not eligible to judge in the same category in which the student with whom they have a relationship is competing.

Travel and Other Expenses

The Reno Host Committee – a nonprofit organization known as Gathering Genius – will raise money to cover the cost of putting on the fair. States with affiliate regional and state fairs must raise funds to send their state winners and their families to the international fair. Due to the extensive fund-raising required to host a fair, the funds do not exist to cover the travel expenses of judges. During the judging process, a lunch and dinner is provided for judges on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Breakfast is provided on Wednesday morning and a judge’s social is provided Wednesday evening.

Housing

The Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno has blocked out rooms with a special rate for this event (and the students will be staying at another hotel, the Grand Sierra Resort, a couple of miles away).

Contact

Dr. Richard Simmonds
University of Nevada, Reno
Intel ISEF 2009
P.O. Box 9059
Reno, NV 89507-9059
(775) 742-7944
simmonds@unr.nevada.edu

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