They’re back! Everybody run! The Bi-Phy-Chem team is back and ready to compete once again and to learn more about science than ever before. Last year, the East Noble Bi-Phy-Chem students competed at Purdue–Calumet (the regional competition) and earned a spot in the State competition! This was the first and only time that East Noble made it to the State competition since Bi-Phy-Chem was started at EN.

Even though we lost a lot of seniors, this year we gained a lot of talented and experienced students that roam the halls of EN. Our co-presidents are Senior Devin Gingerich and Junior Abbie Peterson. Our class officers are Seniors Samantha Sturgis and Haley Schroder, Juniors Reilly Childers and Zach Lane, and Sophomores Sahil Patel and Kyra Warren. These talented leaders (plus the members) have been training and practicing since December, and their competition is right around the corner. They have been testing, experimenting, analyzing, and correcting the mistakes that have been found.

As a member of this club, I think that our team is ready and that we have a good shot at Regionals. The head coach, Mr. Mark Liepe, has been helping us students and answering our questions about the topics given to us. Mr. Liepe is a science teacher at East Noble High School. He also coaches boys and girls cross-country and is one of the coolest guys I know. He has done so much, from coaching to helping with clubs/students, science fairs, and many other things.

Bi-Phy-Chem stands for Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. This means that all the topics that the organization of Science Olympiad pick are going to relate to these three specific science classes. The college that will host the regional competition is Purdue-Calumet near Chicago. The club will be competing against other schools from all across Indiana to solve technical problems while having fun. There are stressful events, fun events, and outrageous events. Overall, Science Olympiad is a fun thing, even if you aren’t that good at science.

The events that the Bi-Phy-Chem students will be competing in are as follows: Anatomy and Physiology, Cell Biology, Disease Detectives, Green Generation, Invasive Species, Astronomy, Dynamic Planet, Fossils, GeoLogic Mapping, Air Trajectory, It’s About Time, Chem Lab, Forensics, Protein Modeling, Wind Power, Bridge Building, Electric Vehicle, Robot Arm, Wright Stuff, Experimental Design, Game On, and Hydrogeology. The competition, as I said, will be at Purdue-Calumet on March 5, 2016. The competition will start roughly around 8 A.M. and will end around 4 P.M., with judging and awards afterwards.

Good luck, Bi-Phy-Chem competitors, on a safe trip to your competition, and do the best that you can do!