In the last few years (almost a decade) the interest in conventional science or engineering subjects suffered a decline among youngsters and the software industry along with boom in the financial careers due to buoyant market were mainly responsible for this. There is no doubt that there has been an improvement from that situation but there are plenty of rooms for development still. Whatever it is, the entry of more than 510 science projects from students in 23 Texas counties were witnessed in the South Plains Regional Science and Engineering Fair held recently at the United Spirit Arena and this amazed all.

Who did emerge as victorious? Well, there were two winners at the science fair and they included Jayton Rainey of Slaton High School in biological science and William Murray of Christ the King Cathedral School in physical science. Both of them were called gold medal winners. It has been learnt that both of them will receive all-expenses-paid trips to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nev., from May 10-15.

Let’s focus on the winners. Jayton Rainey happens to be a sophomore and has achieved the gold medal yet again. Rainey also attended last year’s international science fair with a project that concentrated on studying the effects of inactive ingredients in Roundup brand herbicide on earthworms. This year his project studied the effects of the same ingredients on earthworm bacteria.

Speaking on his victory, Rainey said, “It’s an honor to win again.” “Last year I wasn’t even expecting it. This year I was more educated in what I was going for.”

What made William Murray of Christ the King Cathedral School win gold? It was for the sake of proving the Pappus Chain Theorem, named for Pappus of Alexandria, who studied the series of inscribed circles in the fourth century. Murray said that the precise application of inversive geometry made the act of proving the theorem simple. He said, “It’s incredibly exciting to win.” “It’s a big shock to me. I didn’t think something in this mathematical category would do so well.”