SEFMD
- What’s Important for the 2012 Fair (55th SEFMD) – (as of 9/22/2011)
Please note the following key things for the 2011-2012
Science and Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit (SEFMD).
(1)
Institutional
Review Board: Any project that involves the use of human
subjects (surveys, testing, etc) must be approved by the SCHOOL Institutional
Review Board prior to the SRC Deadline given on the major events calendar. The school IRB must consist of three members
(school administrator, science teacher, and a medical person such as a school
nurse or doctor) and none of the members may be a sponsor for a student. A special IRB training class is available
on-line through the web site. If a school does not have a functioning IRB,
projects involving human subjects will not be permitted. Click
here to see power point of IRB training in HTML format or in
PowerPoint Format
(2)
School
Affiliation Agreement: The
participating school must complete a ‘school affiliation agreement/information
form’ prior to any entry forms being received from the school. The school information form provides the
Science Fair Office with a central contact at the school. Internet entries WILL NOT be
accepted until an updated School Information Form is on file. Cost of affiliation is $50 (reduced to $25 if
paid by December 1). If a school chooses to NOT affiliate and a
student wants to enter directly into the Science Fair, they may do so with a
$50.00 Individual affiliation fee.
Students that are HOME SCHOOLED may also enter with a $50.00 Individual
affiliation fee.
(3)
Junior
Division Team Projects: This year we will allow Junior Division (6th,
7th & 8th Grade) Team Projects. Each school may send a maximum of FOUR Team
projects for competition. Unlike the
normal Junior Division Individual projects, the team project students will need
to be present during judging on Wednesday from
(4)
6th
Grade Students MAY compete: This
year we will again allow 6th grade students to compete. They will be in the same categories as the 7th
and 8th grade students. 6th
grade students may also participate in the team project category.
(5)
Entry Quota – For the 55th
SEFMD, we are allowing each school to send up to 55 students to the Science
Fair! In addition, the Team quota of FOUR projects may be increased to SIX if
the school partners with a Title I school. Schools
are asked to pre-select their best projects up to their quota and enter only
those projects. Projects may be
disqualified during Phase 1 Judging if there are entry form errors such as no
grade, no classification, etc., or if there appear to be SRC violations. Entry forms still need to be completed in a
careful and thorough manner. If a school
has an active member on the Operating Council, that school may send up to 75
students to the fair.
(6) Entry Form Procedures: Students must enter on-line, via the
internet. Students are alerted
immediately if there is a potential SRC violation; teachers are notified
immediately if students have entered online.
There will be a $5 entry fee
for each individual project submitted and $10 for each TEAM project submitted
(this is above the school affiliation fee).
Note that this fee is for projects submitted and does not depend on the
projects accepted or the projects that actually participate in the Science
Fair. No money needs to accompany the entry
forms. Schools will be sent an invoice after the entries have been received and
payment must be received by the date given on the Major Events Calendar. Credit card payments (via the internet) will
be taken on-line for the entire school.
Senior division students should complete
the Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1), Student Checklist (1A), Research Plan, and
Approval Form (1B) before beginning their projects but you do not
need to submit these with your entry forms this year. Each student should have a copy of these
forms in his or her project notebook which is brought to the Fair.
(7)
Phase
1 Judging – In the past, all projects were read and evaluated prior to
being accepted for competition at Cobo Hall.
Phase 1 Judging for entries submitted on-line via the internet has been
eliminated except for projects requiring SRC approval (JR and SR divisions). After a project is submitted on-line, the
student and teacher will be immediately notified if it has been accepted for
competition. Schools are encouraged to
send only their best projects within their quota. Phase 1 judging may be re-instated without
notice if the capacity of the hall is exceeded.
(8)
Reminder about Additional
Required Forms: Projects that
use vertebrate animals, human subjects, human or animal tissue, recombinant
DNA, or pathogenic agents require additional forms. These forms may be obtained from our web site
at www.sefmd.org à General Info à Forms. All of
these forms must be completed before beginning your project. The student must enter on-line prior to
submitting the additional SRC forms.
Senior Division students (grades 9-12) must submit these forms to the
Science Fair office by 5:00 p.m. on the SRC deadline date in order to receive
approval from the Science Fair’s Scientific Review Committee. If the project involves human subjects, it
must first be approved by the school’s local Institutional Review Board. Forms are welcomed any time prior to that
date. Forms must be mailed to the
address given below.
Junior Division students (grades 6-8) should keep these completed forms
in their project notebooks; SRC pre-approval is not needed. When you bring your project to the fair, you
will be asked to show the completed paperwork.
If the forms have not been completed or they are incomplete, this will
result in disqualification from the Fair.
As in the past, if
any project is found to violate any of the rules regarding animals, humans,
etc. at any stage of the entry/judging process, the project will be
disqualified.
The previously
termed sections of “controlled substances’ and “hazardous Substances or
Devices” have been combined in one section termed “Hazardous Chemical,
Activities, or Devices.” A Risk
Assessment Form 3 is required for all projects in the research area, but prior
SRC approval is not required.
(9)
Additional awards at the Science and Engineering Fair: This year, a larger number of professional award
organizations and companies will be presenting prestigious and monetary
awards. All students entering the fair
will be eligible for these awards.
Senior division students will be competing for scholarships from Wayne
State University, University of Detroit Mercy, Lawrence Technological
University, and Oakland University.
Total value of professional awards will be in excess of $100,000!
(10) Details
for the 18th Annual Michigan Science & Engineering Fair will be released in November, 2011. All Senior division
first place winners and some selected 2nd place and 3rd
place winners will be invited to participate in the State Fair
competition. These students will be
competing for additional state fair awards and scholarships, as well as
competing for a place as an ISEF Finalist.
The State Fair awards presentation will be held that same day. Two students from the Michigan Science and
Engineering Fair will also be selected to attend the International Science
Fair.
(11) Entrance
Fee: This year, there will be a ‘school
affiliation fee’ of $50.00 (reduced to $25 if received prior to December 1). This
fee will be used to process the entries from a particular school. The entrance fee of $5.00 for individual
projects remains the same. The entrance
fee for TEAM projects (both in the Junior and Senior Division) is $10.00/project
(to offset the cost of the additional awards for the team members. If a student enters the Science Fair directly
(without going through a school), the entrance fee is $55.00 ($50.00 individual
affiliation fee plus $5.00 entry fee)
(12) The
International Science & Engineering Fair will be held May 13-18 in Pittsburgh, PA. The
sponsoring teacher (or designated representative from the school) accompanies
the student to the International Science Fair on a ‘cost sharing’ basis. If a student enters the fair independently,
the school and sponsoring teacher will forfeit any awards it may receive from
the ISEF.
Address: This year all SRC forms should be MAILED. There is NO physical office or receptionist.
The
following is our official address:
SEFMD
● PO Box
158 ● Farmington, MI 48332-0358
● (248)-471-9900 ●