The Academy of Applied Science (AAS) has awarded Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College a $10,000 grant to host the Thirty-sixth Annual Indiana Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (InJSHS). The Symposium, which will be held March 5-7, 2009, is sponsored by AAS and The Research Offices of the United States Army, Navy and Air Force.

Dave Grabowski, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Sciences and Mathematics at SMWC and director of this year's Symposium, is a founding member of the InJSHS Board of Directors and has been affiliated with the Symposium for several years. Janet Clark, Ph.D., chair and assistant professor in the Department of Sciences and Mathematics at SMWC, is assistant director for the Symposium.

The Indiana Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (InJSHS) is an annual research competition open to Indiana high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. In addition to promoting research in science, engineering, mathematics, and humanities, InJSHS serves to publicly recognize students for outstanding original research achievement.

The major activities of the Symposium include presentations of original research papers by high school students; laboratory visits and presentations of current research; and opportunities to interact with others involved in the sciences. Approximately 70 Indiana high school students are expected to participate, accompanied by a dozen teachers. Research projects must demonstrate valid investigation and experimentation aimed at discovery of knowledge. Competition entries are judged by a team of science educators and researchers.

Winners from the Regional Symposium have the opportunity to move forward. Approximately 260 students win at the local, national, and international levels.

For more information about the Indiana Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, contact Grabowski at injshs@smwc.edu. More information is also available online at injshs.smwc.edu.