Twelve Tucson area students have been selected as semi-finalists in a national science fair competition.

The 400 semi-finalists for the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge were announced on September 10.

A media release indicates 1,960 student entries were received representing 47 states.

Evaluators and judges read and reviewed all entries during the summer to determine which projects demonstrated scientific merit and originality. They also looked to see who could clearly communicate their scientific process with creativity.

Forty finalists will be chosen on September 12 to participate in science challenges on an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. from October 20 through the 24.

The top student will win a $20,000 scholarship.

The following list includes the twelve Tucson students selected as semi-finalists in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge.

-Eli David Medvescek (Grade 8) Tucson Academy of Tucson

 Investigating Alternative Habitats for Repopulating Desert Pupfish

-Birdie Paula Roberta Coleman (Grade 6) home school

 Caves, Conservation, and Cochise

-Brigg Lowell Jannuzi (Grade 8) Tucson Doolen Middle School

 Kyrillos Bahaa Tawadros (Grade 8) Tucson Doolen Middle School

 Flame’s the Game (Team Project)

-Vaishnavi Lakshmi Vaidyanathan (Grade 7) Tucson Doolen Middle School

 Hydroponics in the Desert

-Matthew James Nanni (Grade 8) Emily Gray Junior High School

 Gnathamitermes perplexus: The Fertilizing Termite of the Sonoran Desert

-Alex John McNemey (Grade 5) Fruchthendler Elementary School

 Beetle Juice: Extracting Dye from Cochineal Beetles

-Rachel May O’Brien (Grade 5) Manzanita Elementary School

 Tuning Time

-Peter A. Angeli (Grade 6) Orange Grove Middle School

 Measuring the Height of the Moon Mountains with a Simple Telescope

-Jared Ross Agron (Grade 5) Painted Sky Elementary School

 The Nose Know, or Does It?

-Christina Helen Hoyer-Kimura (Grade 7) Satori Charter School

 View It

-Joshua Mark Robert Gleason (Grade 8) St. Michael’s Parish Day School

 Cooling Photovoltaic Cells: A Two for One Deal