Contact
Barbara Branca, New York Sea Grant
Office: 631.632.6956
Cell: 631.839.1763
E-mail: Barbara.Branca@stonybrook.edu
Stony Brook, NY, February 10, 2011 — It wasn’t just any competition—it was the Bay Scallop Bowl celebrating “Ten Years of Buzzers and Brains” and for the sixth time, Mt. Sinai High School took first prize and the opportunity to compete in the 2011 National Ocean Sciences Bowl Finals in Galveston, Texas. Taking the final nail-biter of a match by a score of 65 to 62, Mt. Sinai bested longtime “friendly rival” Churchville-Chili High School from upstate Monroe County, two-time winners themselves in both 2007 and 2008. Coming in third was 2004 winner Bronx High School of Science. Each student on a winning team receives a cash award: $1000 for first, $750 for second and $500 for third.
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University hosted students from 15 high schools across the region as they competed on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at the Student Activities Center at Stony Brook University. The all-day competition included Q&A “buzzer” rounds and team challenge questions that tested student knowledge of oceanography and related sciences with a special emphasis this year on the Gulf oil spill.
Other area high schools that competed were Bellport, Farmingdale, Half Hollow Hills East, Longwood, Sachem East, The Stony Brook School and WG O’Connell Copiague School. Further west, teams came from Locust Valley and Massapequa in Nassau; Midwood HS and Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn and from Ossining HS in the Hudson Valley. Longtime competitor St. Regis from NYC had to drop out at the last minute because of illness and Mt. Sinai created a B Team to round out the 16-team competition matrix. Whether newbie or veteran, every team member showed great effort and interest in this event that brings out the best and brightest of high school marine science students. Congratulations to all.
Kicking off the all-day event with opening remarks were New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright, Stony Brook University President Dr. Samuel Stanley, SoMAS Dean Dr. Minghua Zhang, and New York Sea Grant Director Dr. James Ammerman. Master of Ceremonies (and SoMAS Associate Director) William Wise and Staff Assistant Kim Knoll organized the Bay Scallop Bowl which was supported in part by financial contributions from the Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation, Battelle Corporation, SoMAS, New York Sea Grant, Blue Ocean Institute, and New York State Marine Education Association.
The Bay Scallop Bowl is New York's regional competition in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl which is sponsored by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, D.C. More information about the national event is available at www.nosb.org.
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University is a leader in marine science research and education. It is the only academic institution in New York to offer B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in marine science.
Part of the State University of New York system, Stony Brook University encompasses 200 buildings on 1,600 acres. In the 50 years since its founding, the University has grown tremendously, now with nearly 24,000 students and 2,100 faculty, and is recognized as one of the nation’s important centers of learning and scholarship. It is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and ranks among the top 100 national universities in America and among the top 50 public national universities in the country according to the 2008 U.S. News & World Report survey. Considered one of the “flagship” campuses in the SUNY system, Stony Brook University is a driving force of the Long Island economy, with an annual economic impact of $4.65 billion, generating nearly 60,000 jobs. Stony Brook accounts for nearly four percent of all economic activity in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and roughly 7.5 percent of total jobs in Suffolk County.
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is sponsored by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and funded by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), a collaboration of 15 organizations and federal agencies including National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) / Sea Grant.
