Stockholm Junior Water Prize     Prize Background In addition to Clean Water Awards presented at the Illinois Junior Academy of Science (IJAS) State Fair, the Illinois Water Environment Association (IWEA) also awards the Illinois Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP). This prize is presented to a High School student whose science project best demonstrates the application of scientific methods in research in an area relating to our surface, underground or atmospheric water environment. The Illinois SJWP winner will compete with other State winners in a national competition, the U.S. SJWP. The 2010 U.S. SJWP competition will be held June 17–20 in St. Louis and the 2011 competition in Chicago . Transportation and all local expenses will be provided for the winner and teacher sponsor to compete at the national competition which is not all project presentations and judging, but fun activities too! The winner of the U.S. SJWP will be sponsored on a five day trip by the Water Environment Federation to compete in the International SJWP youth award competition in Sweden. This takes place annually in Sweden during World Water Week, every August. All International winners will exhibit their projects at the Stockholm Water Symposium and participate in an educational and cultural exchange program culminating in the award ceremony and banquet. Eligibility and Entry Any high school student (grades 9-12) with a water-related science project is eligible to participate in the Illinois Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition. By April 15, students must complete the online entry form at http://www.wefnet.org/onlineform/SJWP_form.asp and electronically submit their research paper to enter the Illinois SJWP competition.   Furthermore, water-related projects exhibited at the IJAS State Fair will be judged for the Illinois SJWP. If the Illinois SJWP winner is an exhibitor at the IJAS State Fair and has not completed the online entry, she/he will be informed how to complete it for the U.S. competition. Criteria and Guidelines The Illinois SJWP is for student projects aimed at improving the quality of life through improvement of water quality, water resources management, water protection, or water and wastewater treatment. The projects may focus on local, regional, national or global topics, and contestants in both theoretical and applied science are welcome. There are no specific paper guidelines for the Illinois Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition—all submissions will be evaluated. However, it is essential that all projects use a research-oriented approach, which means they should use scientifically accepted methodologies for experimentation, monitoring, and reporting, including statistical analysis. Entries into the U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition are judged based on six criteria: relevance, creativity, methodology, subject knowledge, practical skills, and report and presentation. Unlike other science competitions, this competition weighs the quality of the scientific research paper much more heavily than the poster presentation! The U.S. SJWP competition paper guidelines are somewhat different from state science fair competitions and the Illinois SJWP winner should comply with the national paper guidelines; specifically, the paper format requirements. These are presented in the Criteria and Guidelines link on the home page http://www.wef.org/SJWP/. Furthermore, we emphasize the following: The paper should not only include a problem statement, but clearly explain how the project can contribute to a solution. Even if the project itself may not solve the problem, it should demonstrate how the activities in the project can play a role in a solution.  Each project should try to address a cause-effect solution. This means studying not only the environmental effect (e.g. nitrogen load in a lake system), but also the causes behind the problem and ways of solving the problem. The first section of the report should be a scientific summary (abstract), no more than 180 words, that briefly explains how this project improves the quality of life. The abstract is a complete and concise summary of the research project and the findings. It should provide an interesting synopsis of the project and use language that appeals to a broad audience.  A separate discussion section (which is not required by most state science fair competitions) should present the significance of your data and results. This is an extremely important section which the judges pay close attention to, so think about it very carefully! Your conclusions are presented in a separate section and should be short, to-the-point and listed or itemized. It is recommended that you number your conclusions and present them on a maximum of two pages (one page is perfectly acceptable). Your conclusions should be short and to-the-point. As a guide, each conclusion should be no more than 1–3 short sentences long. Please remember that this section is for your conclusions and only your conclusions. It is not the place to discuss your results (all discussion belongs in discussion section)! Additional Information Go to http://www.wef.org/SJWP/ for more information on the U.S. SJWP. Specifically, review the National Paper Guidelines link for paper guidelines not listed above, and the Judging Criteria link. Also at this site past National SJWP Winner’s project abstracts and papers can be reviewed at the U.S. Winning Research link. Past Illinois SJWP Winners 2003 – 2004 – 2005: Daria Zelasko, Guerin College Preparatory H.S., River Grove 2006 – 2007 – 2008: Eva Feldman, Lincoln Park High School , Chicago 2009: Allison Ramsey , Southeastern Senior High School, Augusta