Kelly Nicholas, a senior at Oak Ridge High School who has earned gold in her past two Science Olympiad events, will take on three categories this year: astronomy, fossils and experimental design.
"I love science and I really like competing," Nicholas said. "It's really fun to learn new areas of science that we don't usually learn in school."
Thirty-six middle and high school teams from across the state will compete in the Tennessee Science Olympiad State Tournament on Saturday, April 2 hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Competitions will be held from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in Nielson Physics, Buehler Hall, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hesler Biology, HPER Courts A and D, Estabrook, Walters Life Sciences and the Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center. The awards ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building.
There are multiple events in earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computers and technology. Teams will compete in a variety of events, with challenges such as constructing a vehicle that uses electrical energy as its sole means of propulsion, identifying the perpetrators of a crime, modeling proteins, and designing a robot that will attempt to move an opponent's robot from the ring.
"Science Olympiad is a wonderful way to get middle and high school students interested in science and engineering," said Kovac, director of the tournament and a professor of chemistry. "The competition stimulates them to understand these subjects more deeply and to develop new skills. The State Tournament is a way for the University of Tennessee to work with teachers to improve science education around the state."  
Bearden Middle School, Oak Ridge High School and Farragut High School are among the local participants.

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