News Release

Local angles: Buxton, Cary, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Connelly Springs, Hendersonville, Huntersville, Jacksonville, Laurinburg, Mount Airy, Raleigh, Weaverville, Williamston, Winston-Salem

Teens earn third annual Carolina Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Science

CHAPEL HILL - Fifteen teenagers from across the state have been named recipients of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's third annual Carolina Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science.

The award is administered by UNC's Office of Undergraduate Admissions, in consultation with UNC's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. A $10,000 gift from Dr. Peter and Lisa Gardner of Stamford, Conn., is funding the awards program.

The Carolina Award is designed to cultivate students' excitement for the sciences and recognizes outstanding eighth- and 11th-grade students in the state's educational districts. Science teachers nominated students, and the recipients were chosen based on a review of their transcripts, achievements in science and short essays on topics related to the field.

The award recipients, their parents and nominating teachers were recognized at a ceremony in April on the UNC campus. Dr. Jerry Lucido, vice provost for enrollment policy and management at UNC, presented each student with a certificate and book commemorating the occasion. Teachers also received a $100 stipend to supplement their classroom teaching.

Dr. Wayne Christiansen, a professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences' department of physics and astronomy, gave a talk on a recent discovery he made while using the SOAR telescope in Chile. UNC was instrumental in the creation of the SOAR and PROMPT telescopes, which already are being used by UNC students. The day included viewing the multimedia show "Extinction!" at the Morehead Center.

The 2006 Carolina Award recipients are listed below, alphabetically by N.C. county:

• Buncombe: Dylan Peifer, an eighth-grader at North Buncombe Middle School. Peifer, of Weaverville, is the son of Brenda Carleton and Dave Peifer. Nominating teacher: Judy McGuire.
• Burke: Melinda Lee Clark, an eighth-grader at East Burke Middle School. Clark, of Connelly Springs, is the daughter of Jacki and Danny Clark. Nominating teacher: Jacki Clark.
• Dare: AnnaGrace Gray, an eighth-grader at Cape Hatteras Secondary School. Gray, of Buxton, is the daughter of Robin Gray and William Gray. Nominating teacher: Tracy Shisler.
• Forsyth: Cecilia Kucera, an eighth-grader at Hanes Academic Academy. Kucera, of Winston-Salem, is the daughter of Noni Waite-Kucera and Greg Kucera. Nominating teacher: Rachel Beasley.
  
• Henderson: Erin Rholl, an 11th-grader at East Henderson High School. Rholl, of Hendersonville, is the daughter of Vicky and James Rholl. Nominating teacher: Margaret Schakel.
• Martin: Austin Johnson, an 11th-grader at Bear Grass School. Johnson, of Williamston, is the son of Leslie and Doug Johnson. Nominating teacher: Tracie Wynn.
  
• Mecklenburg: Gregory Pullen, an eighth-grader at Lake Norman Charter School. Pullen, of Huntersville, is the son of Elizabeth and David Pullen. Nominating teacher: Amanda Reasoner. Michael Troy, an 11th-grader at Charlotte Catholic High School. Troy, of Charlotte, is the son of Diane and Jim Troy. Nominating teacher: Carolyn Hilerbrand.
  
• Onslow: John King, an 11th-grader at Richlands High School. King, of Jacksonville, is the son of Elizabeth and Steve King. Nominating teacher: Alvin Davis. Nicole Brown, an eighth-grader at Hunters Creek Middle School. Brown, of Jacksonville, is the daughter of Suzanne and Allen Mayfield. Nominating teacher: Jason Tant.
  
• Orange: Meng Xiao He, an 11th-grader at East Chapel Hill High School. He, of Chapel Hill, is the son of Lan Ma and Zong Ke He. Nominating teacher: Gail Boyarsky.
  
• Scotland: Joy'eshia Brown, an eighth-grader at Sycamore Lane Middle School. Brown, of Laurinburg, is the daughter of Keshia Brown. Nominating teacher: Joanna Cole.
  
• Surry: Jonathan Thacker, an 11th-grader at Mount Airy High School. Thacker, of Mount Airy, is the son of Judy Walker and Mark Thacker. Nominating teacher: Patricia Walker.
  
• Wake: Edward Bartels, an eighth-grader at Wakefield Middle School. Bartels, of Raleigh, is the son of Drs. Joyce and Edward Bartels. Nominating teacher: Gary Hyman. Ryan Watson, an 11th-grader at Cary Academy. Watson, of Cary, is the son of Sherry and Jeff Watson. Nominating teacher: Dan Yaverbaum.

The award program is part of an initiative showing high school students how they may immerse themselves, as undergraduates, in the physical sciences and technology at UNC. A Web site, sciencecarolina.unc.edu, focuses on how undergraduates and world-renowned faculty work together in the classroom and research settings.

For more information, contact Sue Klapper, senior assistant director of undergraduate admissions, at (919) 966-3987 or sklapper@email.unc.edu.

- 30 -

Admissions Office contact: Sue Klapper, (919) 966-3987 or sklapper@email.unc.edu