Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
I received inspiration for this project from my dad and grandpa who, although they had very different jobs, both worked in these mines. I wanted to learn more and encounter new information through observation. I had so many questions about how things came to be, and didn't want to just read a textbook with a bunch of big words, so I decided to do my own research.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
The most pressing scientific issue facing my generation is that many people are ignorant when it comes to science. People do not understand or appreciate basic scientific discoveries. Fifty percent of people asked in a National Science Foundation poll, didn't know that it takes the Earth a year to go around the Sun, that antibiotics don't kill viruses, or that humans didn't live with the dinosaurs. With a better knowledge of science, my generation can learn to save the rainforests, make new discoveries, go to other planets, and much more without any limitations.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I do not have any planned investigations yet, but I'm sure I will keep asking myself questions about specific subjects in science that catch my interest, and try to be as knowledgeable about these subjects as I can be.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
Paraphrasing John Baez, a mathematical physicist and professor of mathematics at the University of California Riverside, I would like to forward his advice to other young scientists: "Keep playing around with all sorts of ideas, techniques and tools. Read voraciously! Don't be afraid of experts and their jargon, become one yourself, but then give the game away by explaining things in simple language whenever possible. Talk to lots of people! Don't be afraid to ask basic questions – and don't be surprised when nobody knows the answers. The simplest questions are the last to be answered."

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
While horseback riding, I noticed holes beside the trail. The guide explained these were the homes of gopher tortoises. She explained that they are a native species and were threatened in Florida. My science teacher, Mrs. Jill Smith, had encouraged me to begin investigating nature and the world around me. The more research I did about gopher tortoises and their habitat, the more interesting these neighbors of mine seemed as a topic for a Young Naturalist research project.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
The most pressing scientific issue for my generation is human impact on the environment. Pollution, overbuilding, and global warming all fall into this category. If people are more cautious about their actions, the Earth will be a better place for all living creatures.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I am amazed at how many times I have encountered gopher tortoises since doing my research. I still enjoy observing them and think my interest will continue throughout my life. I hope to attend the annual meeting this fall of the Gopher Tortoise Council, a group committed to the study and protection of these animals. I am sure my future scientific projects and essays will reflect my increased knowledge of nature that I have gained from this specific investigation.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
The most valuable advice I can give is to pay attention! Pay attention to what fascinates you about nature and your surroundings. In picking a topic to investigate, make sure it interests you. It is easier to put effort into a topic you enjoy. Pay attention to all of your resources. For my investigations I used books, park rangers, teachers, parents, the Internet and even the phone to call experts with my specific questions. All of these resources were valuable to me. Finally, pay attention to details in your investigations. While observing numerous tortoise burrows, I realized they preferred to have a certain plant, the saw palmetto, nearby. This increased my curiosity about gopher tortoises and made them even more interesting to learn about. If future scientists pay attention to these suggestions, then their investigations will be both educational and enjoyable.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
Aspen trees have always been around me, and I have always loved the way they grew and changed over the years. I like finding patterns in things, and I think that combining those two interests really set this project in motion. I loved finding patterns in the trees that I grew up with.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I think that my generation's most pressing scientific issue is finding more efficient forms of energy that do not pollute the environment. Oil spills kill entire ecosystems, and smog is eating away at the ozone layer. I think that we need to find a way to stop these harmful substances from destroying our planet and everything on it.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
My current goal in life is to become a virologist and study potential plagues, such as ebola, and try to find cures for them. However, I do not think that I will continue studying the growth patterns of aspen trees, as I will have to adjust to high school next year and devote all of my time to my studies.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
The best advice I can give to other young scientists is to talk to your teachers. They may know a lot about the subject you are interested in, and even if they do not, they can help you to learn more or even start your own research project!

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
I'd love to answer this question with some direct response, but my project evolved from a combination of situations. My science mentor mentioned the YNA contest and asked me if I would be interested. She assumed that I would do a biology project because that is her area of expertise. That was well with me, but upon seeing that I had two other options, Earth ccience and astronomy, both of which I had never tried before, I could hardly help but choose one of them. Astronomy appealed to me because the skies can seem so mysterious and mythical. I am familiar with some of the Greek myths, which explain how the stars and the moon got up there, but I wanted to actually learn about the science of what always seemed beyond my reach. I quickly narrowed down my area of focus to the moon because it seemed to be the most nearly tangible of the intangible. Big and bright, the moon was visible almost any night. As for my inspiration though...you may just have to peer up into the vast expanse that we call our universe and see the stars in all their glory for yourself...

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
In thinking about this question and talking about it with my parents, I realized that there are clearly many pressing scientific issues of my generation. A few of these issues are the environment's health, genetic manipulation, and water shortage. As I see it, these issues can be traced back to one problem--over population. Although I don't really know what can be done to remedy this problem, I suspect that the issue of over population does not get adequate attention. When this problem receives the attention it deserves, we can find solutions for the many pressing scientific issues of my generation.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
Although my paper this year was my first attempt to study astronomy, I now feel compelled to learn more about what lies beyond the realm of our atmosphere. During the months of my observation of Afpectus Lunae, I became quite familiar with my telescope such that I could change and focus lenses in the pitch black of night! Of course, having acquired this skill, I don't want to stop there and simply move on to something else; rather, I would like to put this and other recently acquired skills to work, learning and writing more about the cosmos.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
I could give other young scientists some of the usual advice and tell them, "Learn about something that you can get excited about," or "Don't give up when things are discouraging," or "Take advantage of the resources/people in your community." Good advice, but certainly not novel. So, I have decided that instead of advising young scientists about what to do, I'm going to advise them about what not to do. Besides, in this area I have experience!

• Don't forget to keep a list of the sources you used in your research. You wouldn't want to go back and find every single source again (trust me).
• Don't be disappointed if you aren't able to make observations as frequently as you had hoped. Younger siblings and bad weather conditions can keep you from getting done what you had expected.
• Don't forget to choose a project that you can use as an excuse for "needing" to stay up late!
• Don't attempt to send your final paper via overnight mail the night before the deadline, only to find the Fed-Ex box broken, then have to wait at the box for over an hour, necessitating numerous calls to the Fed-Ex home office with unsuccessful pleas that they come to fix the box, finally give up and drive one hour to the nearest airport, hand your work to the people there half an hour before the plane takes off, only to come home and realize at eleven o'clock at night that you forgot the bibliography, thus forced to call the YNA administrator the next morning, beg to be allowed to fax the bibliography (granted), all mere hours before the deadline.
• And if you decide to study the moon...Don't expect it to be piece of cake (cheese?). The moon seems to find pleasure in confusing you and turning (rotating?) your whole project on its head.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
From the moment I was told that the Kinkaid School had an awesome backyard, I was curious as to what it would look like. One day, my biology teacher brought the class to the backyard for observations. To my surprise, it was a mini forest. Then, my teacher told us that there are three vernal pools in the backyard. I had never heard of the vernal pools and I wanted to learn more about them through research.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I think that genetic engineering and cloning are the most pressing scientific issues of my generation. People are trying to manipulate the genes in living organisms to satisfy their needs. I think that this is a selfish attitude that needs to be changed. Cloning will just cause chaos in this world. People may abuse genetic engineering, especially cloning. Besides that, pollution is another concern. The Earth will gradually be destroyed if we continue to create hazardous waste products and pollute our environment.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I would like to investigate on the food web in my own backyard. My backyard has been influenced by human activities through selective planting and landscaping. I want to know what are the animals and plants still present there and how they depend on each other.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
First, as young scientists, we need to be curious about what is going on around us. Ask questions and try to find answers to the questions. Keep on investigating until an answer is found. The key is, never give up but be prepared to accept successes as well as failures.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
Ever since my family moved into our current house, I have been intrigued by the creek in our back yard. Over the years I played by it and stomped through it with my friends. I also saw it change to red and neon green when the Water Department was testing it. A neighbor was also constantly testing the creek and I was interested in what was wrong with one of my favorite play places. This past year I had the opportunity to test it myself when my school gave me the necessary tools.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I believe that one of the most pressing scientific issues of my generation is how ethics and science fit together. Science is rapidly progressing and before we get caught up in new medical advances and the like, we need to step back and evaluate by what means we are getting there and whether they are ethical.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I am still very interested in the health of my creek, and as I think about it and observe it, new questions about it are emerging in my head. Hopefully, someday I will be able to do more advanced testing on the creek.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
One piece of advice I would like to give to other young scientists is to make sure you experiment and learn about something that really interests and concerns you. It is essential that you are enthused about your topic or it will easily become a burden and not an opportunity to discover a world of new things.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
Each year, the freshman English teacher leads an international trip that is available to any of her students who are interested. Last year, she decided on a trip to the Galápagos Islands. I have always had a love for wildlife and nature, and I knew of the Galápagos Islands' reputation as a hub of the environmental and scientific community, so naturally I was captivated. I knew I had to seize this special opportunity to explore such an environmentally rich area while I had the chance. With infinite interesting possibilities for study in the Galápagos, it was almost impossible to choose one topic for research. It seemed to me that the marine iguanas were the ugly underdogs compared to the tortoises, seals, and sea birds. After some preliminary research, it became clear to me that despite their unlovable external characteristics, the marine iguanas had many unique behavioral and evolutionary traits that would make them an interesting subject for more careful study.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
The identification of a safe, renewable and economical alternative to fossil fuels is probably the single most important task for the science and engineering community of my generation. The fossil fuels that are currently recovered inexpensively from widespread sources are going to become exhausted, so we are going to have to use more costly and environmentally damaging means of extracting the remaining reserves of fossil fuels. This will create huge environmental issues, economic damage due to increased fuel prices, greater global tensions as the precious fuel sources diminish, and, of course, will continue to produce pollutants that contribute to global warming. Finding a renewable and economical alternative energy source would go a long way toward alleviating many of these problems and provide an optimistic future for people throughout the world.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I found the question of speciation of marine iguanas very interesting and it made me curious to learn more about how other animals have evolved into separate species. For example, there are three closely related bird species (the red footed booby, the blue-footed booby, and the Nazca booby) living in close proximity of each other on the Galápagos Islands. I wonder how they evolved into three separate species despite their ability to fly from island to island and mix. If I am lucky I will be able to return to the Galapagos in the spring of 2005 and continue to study the intriguing topic of speciation.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
I have known for a long time that I liked science, wildlife, the natural world, and the environment. But it was not until I began to explore the details of this specific study project that I really started to learn how important an understanding of many different areas of science is to understanding one specific topic. I was surprised at how my research led in many different directions and touched upon many areas of science. In order to learn about one specific kind of animal on one island, I had to research animal behavior, radioactive decay, biology, genetics, geology, and oceanography. I gained a better appreciation for the degree to which all science is interconnected and how important a broad foundation is, regardless of one's area of specialization. My advice to other young scientists is to keep reading and learning in all areas of science at the same time as you work to become an expert in your specialty area.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
I got the inspiration for my expedition and essay from a controversy that existed in my neighborhood regarding the clearance of desert foliage for wildfire prevention, on one hand, and the desire of many residents to preserve natural desert foliage because it attracts desert fauna. Most residents are attracted to this area because of the natural desert flora and the fauna it attracts. I wanted to see if the clearance of Sonoran desert plants would affect the populations of desert animals.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I think that the most pressing scientific issue of my generation is the preservation of natural habitats and fauna around the world in view of human population explosions and increasing urban sprawl.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
My further investigation plans include studying the effect of urban development on natural succession in a Sonoran desert community, looking at how specific desert animals are attracted by specific plant species, and what application that would have to natural desert landscape management.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
The advice I would give other young scientists is to select a topic that you are personally interested in that has real-life applications, and keep the experimental parameters simple.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
When I thought about what inspired me to design my research expedition, the first person that came to mind was Mr. Campbell, my 7th grade science teacher. The first time he showed me a diatom under a microscope, I was hooked. I thought it was an amazing organism. Mr. Campbell taught me how to identify various diatoms microscopically, perform various water quality tests, and made suggestions that helped me to improve my experiment. He helped me expand my interest in science and I credit much of my success to his teaching. My parents who always support my scientific endeavors, no matter how crazy and inconvenient, have also inspired me to always put forth my best effort.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I think the most pressing scientific issue of my generation is that we are expanding and developing technologies so fast that we are not taking appropriate time to examine the impact these new technologies will have on the environment. Industrial waste, pollution, and unmonitored use of nonrenewable resources are causing serious problems today and the impact will be felt for generations to come. I am also concerned technologies are advancing so rapidly that the environment and its inhabitants can't evolve quickly enough to compensate for the changes in the structure of the environment.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I would love to continue my research on diatoms in order to determine whether they can be used as indicators of water quality, but I would also like to investigate other areas as well. I am interested in engineering and I would like to do research and develop an invention that benefits both people and the environment. I am interested in both lab and field research and I hope that I have the opportunities to pursue both. Last summer I participated in a field research expedition in Arizona, working with scientists studying the flight of the hummingbird and the experience made me appreciate, even more than before, the wonders of the natural world.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
I would encourage other young scientists to find something that interests them and pursue it wholeheartedly. Look at it as an adventure--you really never know what you are going to discover. I would also advise them not to give up. If you run into an obstacle with your experiment, don't quit; figure out a way to solve it. You learn so much more by solving your own problems. I think I learned the most from my mistakes and the time I spent creating solutions. I would also advise young scientists not to be afraid to ask questions, of experts and of themselves. Questions help you think of different approaches to establishing an experimental procedure and different interpretations of the data and results. Questions are the basis of scientific discovery.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
I have been studying common periwinkles for three solid years now. My love for marine biology and enjoyment of the scientific method are key interests that led me through my years of research. My freshman year I jumped at the chance to study marine biology for my school science fair. I decided to study periwinkles because I had seen them my entire life but knew little about them. After studying them in my basement for 30 days I was fully immersed in the wonder of these creatures and decided to analyze them in the field. In my sophomore year I discovered an intriguing trend which drew me back to the shore for two more studies last summer. I love this and wouldn't stop for the world.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
Our generation will have a lot of issues to deal with, but the one that stands out in my mind the most is fossil fuels. It is my belief that the fate of the entire world rests on the independence from fossil fuels. I feel that the first step our generation needs to make is in automobile choice. We have the choice and we have the power. We have the power to choose fuel efficient cars. We have a choice between a Hybrid or Hummer. We have the power of our actions, the choice is ours. Are fossil fuels forever part of our future?

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
Yup! I love periwinkles because they are so common, yet present an intriguing puzzle. Every study I've done has led to more and more questions that are burning to be answered. I intend to further explore periwinkle size trends especially in relation to wave exposure. After high school I plan on taking a break from common periwinkles and aspire to study marine biology in Hawaii.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
Go with what interests you but don't be married to one idea too soon! Even if you can't study your immediate passion find something similar which intrigues you. For example: I wanted to study whales but couldn't bring them into my basement so I studied periwinkles instead. Now I am completely obsessed and plan to continue studying marine invertebrates through out my life.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
In my freshman year, I was looking for a science fair project in zoology. Through his work, my father met a research herpetologist who had an exciting idea for a project. I took this basic idea of a road survey of snakes and during the next four years, expanded on it.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
Apathy to science is a major problem of the general public, as more and more everyday things become science-oriented.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I plan on conducting research in college, but I don't think I'll continue studying snakes. I would simply like to explore other areas of research.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
Find a project that you're interested in. It makes the data collection easier, the analysis easier, and people appreciate someone who is researching simply for the love of science.

Where did you get the inspiration for your expedition and essay?
My expedition really came about by chance. My father and I enjoy hiking in the woods. One day we decided to hike along the stretch of coastline that I wrote about in my essay. On our hike we discovered a nest of peregrine falcons. When I learned of the Young Naturalist Award essay contest, I decided to write about discovery and research. My father has also been a source of inspiration, for he was the one that introduced me to hiking in the first place. He also encouraged me to write the essay.

What do you think is the most pressing scientific issue of your generation?
I think the environmental issues that our generation is being faced with such as, global warming, ozone depletion, and the mass extinction of wildlife, are our most pressing scientific issues. All past generations have either exploited the environment or managed it in a sustainable way. Every generation has also had to deal with the successes and failures of the previous generation. My generation now has to deal with more serious environmental issues than in the past. We must take action now to conserve our planet's resources, in working together as fellow citizens of the Earth.

Do you have plans for any future scientific investigation?
I plan to continue exploring the forests and coasts in my area with my father, and hopefully I will be able to contribute to the study of science as I do. Next year I am going to be attending my first year of university, where I will be taking forestry. Through this program I plan to continue my expeditions. My father and I will also continue to monitor the nesting site of the peregrine falcons in the hopes that a pair will nest there in the future.

What advice would you give other young scientists?
Always strive to continue learning and exploring. Don't stop with only one investigation or one expedition. Find new locations or new topics to study, and enhance your experiences by talking to those in the field or by reading books, magazines and journals. Don't forget to take lots of pictures so that you can share your experiences with other people!