TWO ARE STUDENTS COLLECT SCIENCE HONORS

Two area students were among those collecting honors and scholarships at the International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, Calif., Friday.

Kennett High School senior Amanda Busby and Sikeston High School junior Kendra Riddle were the top winners among a handful of Missouri students recognized at the global competition.

Both girls advanced to international competition after winning top honors at the Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair. Regional director Ruth Hathaway said this year's winners had the best finishes Southeast Missouri students have experienced in at least a decade.

"Competition is tough, extremely tough," said Hathaway, who attended the science fair. "I think we did outstanding."

The competition included projects completed by some 1,200 ninth- through 12th-grade students from 39 countries. Students could compete in 14 different categories that were judged by experts and instructors from the various fields.

Busby, 18, received several awards this year for her four-year engineering and chemistry study "Glass I-V: Toward a Standard."

She earned a second-place award of $1,500 in the engineering category and received a full tuition scholarship to attend the University of Missouri at Rolla. She also won third-place honors and a $200 award from the American Chemical Society, which judged all chemistry projects.

Glassware standards

"It's something I believe in, that I'm committed to, so I've made time for science fair work and research," Busby said.

The study produced a set of standards for producing Chinese copper red ceramic ware, the most difficult color to develop in glass.

Busby became interested in the subject after an anonymous community member donated $15,000 worth of ceramic equipment to her high school that received little use because no one knew how to use it.

"With my project, I've done more than 100 firings and well over 500 hours on the project, so you can see it's being used much more," she said.

This was the fourth year Busby's project was selected for entry in the international competition and her best finish overall.

Polymers studied

Riddle, 17, won a $1,500 scholarship to the University of Missouri at Rolla for her project, "Fire Prevention: Study of Polyacrylate Polymers."

Riddle's project tested the fire resistance of polymers, which Sikeston science teacher Wanda Throop said are molecules made of several repeating units. Some examples of polymers are plastics, proteins and DNA.

Throop said Riddle was "thrilled to death" with her accomplishment in her first international competition.

"It was an excellent opportunity for her," Throop said. "She got to see a lot and do a lot."