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Steve Jacobs, also known as Mr. Wizard on TV, presented a variety of exciting experiments at Keystone School on Feb. 28.

The event, which was taped by Time Warner Cable, was co-sponsored by the Discovery Channel and Time Warner to honor student Neela Thangada, who was named “America’s Top Young Scientist of the Year” a few months ago by the Discovery Channel.

Thangada’s experiment was based on potato cloning and was motivated by her desire to help with world hunger.

“I had been to India and saw the hunger and especially noticed the youth,” Thangada said. “I wanted to find a way to make it easier to grow food. I found the project in a textbook, but it was still being researched, so I thought I would try to clone potatoes, making it faster and easier to grow them.”

Chance Ruder and Mr. Wizard, Steven Jacobs

Growth in a potato
Thangada’s experiment was described by the Discovery Channel as follows: “She wanted to determine how different nutrient concentrations affected the multiple stages of growth in a potato. Neela removed 60 shoot tips growing from potatoes. After sterilizing the tips, she excised the bottom two segments. She placed each in a test tube of half-strength and full-strength nutrient solution and incubated them.”

Thangada said after three weeks, the first batch became contaminated, forcing her to start the nine-hour beginning process over again. Her second run proved successful, and she found the potato clones worked better in full-strength solution.

Each year, the Discovery Channel, in conjunction with Science Service, holds the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC) to allow all middle school students to participate in a national science competition. Jacobs is one of the judges, “Judge Jake” of the competition.

First prize
Thangada first went to the Alamo Regional Science and Engineering Fair, placed in the top 10 percent, taking first prize in botany, then took her project to the state level where she again received the top prize in botany. After that, she submitted her project, along with an essay, to the DCYSC for consideration. She was chosen as one of the 2,000 finalists, then made the top 400, and eventually was among the top 40 finalists.

“Once a student gets chosen for the top 40, they have the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C., said Thangada’s science teacher and sponsor, Donald Howk. “The students were divided up into teams and put through several challenges to test their knowledge of science and ability to communicate with each other to solve a problem.”

Howk said the theme of the challenges was natural disasters, with problems such as tornadoes, tsunamis, biological waste and how light penetrates fog.

Work together
“These children have to work together to win the challenge. Neela wasn’t ashamed to tell her group she was not good with construction for the tornado project, letting the student with engineering experience head the team. Then on the fog challenge, she jumped right in and took charge of that project since she knew the most about light,” Howk said.

After the challenges were over and the numbers crunched, Thangada made it in the top three.

“What the judges look for in the students is their ability to communicate in a science manner, presence, poise and if they know their science. Neela knew what she was talking about, she was a great communicator, and she has a gentle, non-threatening manner about her. She humanized her project, and people like her,” Jacobs said.

Thangada ultimately won the first-place prize, earning her a $20,000 scholarship and the title.

Jacobs had this to say about Thangada: “She couldn’t fake it, she enjoyed what she was doing and put a lot of work into it. She found science to be delightful and found joy in her heart.”

Thangada said she wasn’t expecting to win the grand prize, but was truly excited she won. 

Inspire young females
“I didn’t plan on winning. But I am doing this to inspire young females, since females are not usually prominent in science. I wanted to inspire and share what I did and bring science awareness.”

Mr. Wizard showed the school that science can be fun, exciting and enjoyable. He had an assistant, eighth grade student Chance Ruder, to help him create white light, propel Chance while on a stool and create a few fires. The students seemed to enjoy the show, especially since a fellow student was wearing goggles and a helmet while lighting fires.

Jacobs said he likes to get students excited about science. He has several undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees, and he wanted to do something fun with his knowledge.

“There is a mass of students suffering with science. We can still do great things with science. Our culture has changed to where kids are dumped with so many pressures, and it seems that the schools are made to make up for what is lacking,” Jacobs said. “