Director’s Corner

by Brian Anderson, Ph.D.

It’s Science Bowl season for NETL and our regional teams. This year, NETL is proud to host virtual events for middle school and high school students throughout the state of West Virginia and across western Pennsylvania that test participants on a range of science disciplines and math.  
For 30 years, NETL and our partners have worked hard to host fun, challenging events for our region’s schools. A fast-paced question-and-answer competition, Science Bowl events encourages students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. The regional competitions NETL hosts qualify teams to compete at the DOE National Science Bowl®, which has hosted approximately 315,000 students throughout its 30-year history, making it one of the nation’s largest science competitions.  
The West Virginia Science Bowl (WVSB) is being held virtually Feb. 5-6, with 24 middle school and 48 high school teams competing. 
The western Pennsylvania Science Bowl (WPASB) will be held virtually Feb. 27 and March 6, with up to 40 high school teams and 32 middle school teams competing. 
As a former competitor myself, I know first-hand how valuable it is to have a venue that not only sparks students’ inspiration but also rewards excellence so that our academic achievers receive recognition for their dedication and success.   
NETL takes seriously our obligation to mentor the next generation of innovators and energy experts. WVSB and WPASB support our mission while enabling us to contribute to our communities in a meaningful way and inspire tomorrow’s science and engineering professionals. To our coordinators and all our volunteers — thank you, and to all our competitors — good luck and have fun.