Because I'm a masochist, I made my always crazy finals week even more crazy this semester by being a Grand Awards Judge at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. It took up all Tuesday and Wednesday, but it was an amazing experience. Over 1500 judges, over 1500 participants in all sorts of categories - engineering, chemistry, physics, etc... I was a judge in the Space Science category, which had 35 projects.

There were students from all over the world, representing over 40 countries. I enjoyed seeing the diversity of the students - male and female, fresh-pressed suits and colorful national dress, fear and confidence. Students waiting in the lobby at 10:30 pm the night before judging to make last minute improvements, students being ill in the restrooms right before judging began. All of these competitors had won at regional levels, so this was the best of the best. In the Space Sciences category, I personally interviewed students from South Africa, China, Denmark, and Sweden, as well as students from the United States. The projects were all good, and there were some wonderful projects that stood above the rest. And happily, the project we voted as best in our category went on to win one of the $50,000 best in show prizes. Yay! My only disappointment is that didn't have time to see projects in other categories.

Between ISEF and graduation, I feel like I did "big things" this week. It's a great feeling. Sometimes, I feel like my life is so mundane - I know so many people who are creative and more interesting than me. But the gratitude and happiness of my students (thanks, Mindy, for showing me your blog!) and the nurturing of the interest in science of all those eager high school students provided a source of contentment that is hard to express.