October 2, 2021 | Issue 21-10
Upcoming Events
October 31 - Halloween Holiday

December 1 - Fair Registration Deadline

December 31 - $2,000 Nitro Scholarship Sweepstakes Deadline

January 26 - Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation Deadline
The 2022 Sacramento Regional STEM Fair will be here sooner than you think!

Support STEM Education efforts in your community by sponsoring the Foundation. The NorCal STEM Education Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax-deductible! All proceeds go toward our mission to inspire and engage students to become interested in pursuing scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) degrees and careers.

Donate via our PayPal here, or you can mail a check to:

NorCal STEM Education Foundation
455 Capitol Mall, Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814

For more information about sponsoring the Foundation, go to our website.
Registration is NOW OPEN for the 2022 Sacramento Regional STEM Fair!
Registration for the 2022 Sacramento Regional STEM Fair is NOW OPEN! Be sure to register before you complete any experimentation, to ensure your project can be reviewed by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and your project can be approved for competition!

Now is the time to do some background research, design your experiment, and register your project. Do not start your experimentation yet! The deadline to register for the 2022 Sacramento Regional STEM Fair is December 1, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.

Our SRC needs time to examine ALL registrations and approve them for safety and protocol content BEFORE you can perform your experimentation. The SRC is comprised of teachers, scientists, engineers, and various other specialties, and is dedicated to following the guidelines set by the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to guarantee the safety of the next generation of Scientists and Engineers, like you! We recommend submitting your registration early to ensure that any discrepancies within your registration are fixed before the deadline.

Stay tuned to our social media, newsletters, and emails for more exciting details!

See you at the Sacramento Regional STEM Fair in 2022! In the meantime, we hope your Halloween Festivities are safe, joyous, and fun!
Student Scholarships
Nitro 2021 College Scholarship Sweepstakes

DEADLINE:
December 31, 2021

HOW TO APPLY:
Meet one of the following criteria requirements:
  • a parent who currently has a child enrolled in an accredited college or university located within the United States;
  • a student who is currently enrolled in an accredited college or university located within the United States;
  • a parent who currently has a child enrolled as a high school senior located within the United States;
  • a student who is currently enrolled as a high school senior located with the United States; 
  • a student or a parent whose child has graduated from an accredited undergraduate school (a “School) and who is currently paying back a student or parent loan for his/her/child’s educational expenses for such School (“Entrant”).

Fill out the application on the Nitro Scholarship Website here.

Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation

DEADLINE:
January 26, 2022

HOW TO APPLY:
Students who reside in Elk Grove, California, may qualify for scholarships through the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation. Applications are open until midnight on January 26, 2022. A whole host of scholarships are available. If you reside in Elk Grove, California, visit their website here to see if you qualify for any of their scholarships, and to apply.

Good luck!
Teachers! Does your class need help figuring out exactly how to register for the STEM Fair? We're available! Contact us at [email protected] for details and to schedule a presentation!
Support STEM Education While you Shop!
Shop on Amazon! Make a difference while you shop online! Shop for gifts, school supplies, and more on Amazon to generate donations for the Sacramento Regional Science And Engineering Fair Foundation (dba NorCal STEM Education Foundation).

All you need to do is register with Amazon Smile here, then shop as you normally would, but from Smile.Amazon.com, Amazon can even auto-direct you there once you sign up! The same shopping experience, same prices, but with the added benefit of Amazon's support of the Foundation.
Science Spotlight
Bees' Electricity Makes Flowers Release Their Scent
Scientists at the University of Bristol, Rothamsted Research, and Cardiff University have determined that the electrical charge created by visiting bumblebees stimulates some flowers to release more of their sweet-smelling scent.

The authors posit the trait is expressed in plants to ensure they attract pollinators as opposed to other bugs that might not be as beneficial to the plant's goals: setting fruit!

The electrical charge on a bumblebee—somewhere in the region of 120 picoCoulombs (pC)—is incredibly small but the team found a charge of 600 pC, or about the same as five bee visits, was enough to induce a species of violet petunia, Petunia integrifolia, to markedly release more scent.

Read more about their research here.
Get Astronauts Home from Mars: Turn Carbon Dioxide to Methane
Engineers at the University of Cincinnati are developing new ways to convert Carbon Dioxide to Methane. The technology could be used to get astronauts home from Mars.

UC College of Engineering and Applied Science assistant professor Jingjie Wu and his students, including lead author and UC doctoral candidate Tianyu Zhang, are experimenting with different catalysts such as graphene quantum dots—layers of carbon just nanometers big—that can increase the yield of methane.

Wu's students are using different catalysts to produce not only methane but ethylene. Called the world's most important chemical, ethylene is used in the manufacture of plastics, rubber, synthetic clothing, and other products.

Read more about their research here.
NorCal STEM Education Foundation | www.sacSTEMfair.org