Science Researchers, Put To the Test, Sharpen Presentation Skills

The 60 community volunteers helping the Science Research Program students prepare for one of their biggest competitions were not there to go easy on them.

They were assisting the students on WESEF Practice Night, when New Rochelle High School’s young scientists try out the presentations that they will use to enter the upcoming annual Westchester Science and Engineering Fair.

Teacher Jeff Wuebber, the head of the Science Research Program, instructed the judges to grill the students. The young scientists were encouraged to be enthusiastic, clearly explain the gap in existing research they sought to close — and “wow” judges.

“The idea here is to give kids a dry run and a practice night so that by the time they get to WESEF, they’ve got this,” Wuebber said during the Zoom-based event Thursday night. “This should be harder than WESEF.”

Students rose to the challenge.

“Tonight is a huge help for me,” said junior Jobin Daniel, who researched efforts to strengthen bricks and concrete with carbon nanofibers. “WESEF is such a big competition. This practice night will alleviate a lot of the pressure we feel. We get a lot of feedback from adults that are in our research fields. We get that experience that we need before the actual fair.”

WESEF Practice Night has become a District tradition. Volunteers from the community, many of them in the sciences, join in to hear the students discuss their research and to ask questions. The event helps students hone their skills in explaining their work and their findings.

WESEF, the largest local science fair in the nation this year, takes place March 15 through 18. One of several key competitions students enter, it is sponsored by Regeneron and will be held virtually this year.

“These students have done college-level, or graduate level, or doctorate-level research,” Wuebber said.