Three hundred students representing 16 Rochester-area middle schools will be at St. John Fisher College to participate in the 2012 Regional Science Olympiad Competition on Saturday, February 25.

The competition will determine the area’s top students in the field of science.

A total of 22 teams have been preparing since September to compete in 20 events in the fields of engineering, biology, physical science, and problem solving.

It is one of several regional competitions in New York State, which act as a preliminary round to the state competition to be held on April 20th and April 21st at SUNY Ulster. The two winning teams in the state competition move on to the national competition in May.

When I visit schools, I’m often asked how I became interested in the weather. Observing the weather as a high school student and as a college student studying meteorology at Lyndon State College in Vermont played a very important role in my professional growth. Growing up in eastern Massachusetts, I had many opportunities to be an eyewitness to a number of major weather events like Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and the March “Superstorm” of 1993.  I also had the unique opportunity and privilege to work at and intern at the Blue Hill Observatory, which holds the title for the longest, most homogeneous climate record in the United States. They’ve never missed a day of weather observations since April 1, 1885. Now that’s what I call dedication!