Chemistry whiz kids ace regionals; prepare for state meet April 1

Dhara Patel, an eighth grader from Addams Junior High in Schaumburg was the first contestant introduced Wednesday night, and when it was all over, she was first again.

Patel emerged as the top chemistry student in the Schaumburg regional of "You Be The Chemist Challenge," organized by the Illinois Chemical Education Foundation, and sponsored by the South suburban phosphate manufacturer, Innophos.

She won a $750 savings bond for her efforts, and now advances to the Illinois state competition, which takes place April 1 at the Prairie Lakes Theater in Des Plaines.

Advancing with Patel were the top two finalists, Aarsh Sachdeva from Frost Junior High School, who won a $500 savings bond for coming in second; and Ryan Pierce, from Keller Junior High School who won a $250 savings bond for third place, both in Schaumburg, along with alternate Venkat Tirumala, also from Frost.

Wednesday's event took place at Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, and it drew nearly 30 students from junior high schools in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village and Arlington Heights.

All the contestants placed high on the introductory chemistry tests at their school and then worked through a study guide to prepare.

Here's a sample question: "What do you need to know to determine the kinetic energy of a substance?"

Answer: The object's mass and velocity.

Patel says she did not answer every question right.

"It was kind of challenging," she said afterward, "but very interesting."

Not only did she find the questions wide ranging and complex, she found the applications demonstrated by the engineers from Innophos to be just as interesting.

Sue Turner, manager of the Innophos plant in Chicago Heights, said chemistry is the fifth leading industry in Illinois, and jobs in the field pay 61 percent above the average state salary.

During a brief power point presentation she demonstrated how chemistry plays a role in the manufacture of phosphates, which are used in common foods and pharmaceuticals.

For Patel, who likes to cook as well as play violin in the school orchestra and pursue amateur photography, she found the real world applications of chemistry exciting.

Teachers at Addams Junior High School say Patel is an excellent student, who placed well among seventh graders in the chemistry challenge last year.

"In our science curriculum, we spend three months or roughly one third of the year on chemistry in seventh grade," said science teacher Tom Pfeifer. "She has always done well in science, and apparently retained what she learned."

Other students said chemistry's real life applications made it more appealing than other sciences.

"Chemistry is the most concrete branch of science," said Seiji Hamada, an eighth grader from Lincoln Prairie Junior High School in Hoffman Estates. "It will never change, and that's what I like about it, unless they discover a new element."

Eighth grader Kennedy McNamara from South Middle School in Arlington Heights, has strong role models at home: both his parents are chemists.

"I don't know, science just comes easy for me," McNamara said. "I like chemistry because it has more to do with real life, than some of the other sciences we study."