AHS Junior Lauren Thomas was among thirteen outstanding Ohio students who went to Vancouver, BC, Canada on February 15, 2012, to present their scientific research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on behalf of The Ohio Academy of Science. They were named honorary Fellows of The American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS). The AJAS is the only US honor
society recognizing America's premier high school students for outstanding scientific research. Designated in Ohio as John H. and Ruth Melvin Memorial STEM Scholars, the students met their peers from 25 other states and interacted with world-known scientists including Nobel Laureates to discuss their research on topics as wide-ranging as work related to the Hubble Space Telescope to nanotechnology.
To present at AJAS, students must first qualify for their local state academy of science fair and then be chosen to go to the American Junior Academy of Sciences fair. Lauren was chosen to go to Vancouver, British Columbia, for AJAS this year. During the three days of the meeting, the students went on tours, presented their research, and interacted with students and senior scientists. For Lauren, the best part of the meeting was her fellow attendees. They were all unique, engaging, and diverse in the best kind of way. She met people from all four corners of the United States, from rural Kansans to metropolitan Vancouverites, with all sorts of different views and only one thing in common—they all loved science.
 See the Academy’s website at http://www.ohiosci.org  Ena Kadribasic and Lauren Thomas
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