Duquesne Light Co.
Center for STEM Education and Career Development

Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair

March 29–30, 2019 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh

Judges and Volunteers

Covestro PRSEF is one of the largest ISEF affiliated science fairs in the county. An event this size requires the efforts of many individuals. We couldn’t provide this opportunity for our students without the help of our many volunteers.

There are so many ways to help out - one of them is sure to fit your skills!

Volunteer registration will open in December. If you would like to be added to our email list, please email the Covestro PRSEF office at [email protected] or visit our registration page to sign up.

Become A Science Fair Volunteer

The Science Fair is looking for volunteers to help on Competition Day, Friday, March 29, 2019 and at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, March 30, 2019. The competition takes place at Heinz Field, Club Levels. Refreshments and a Science Fair t-shirt will be provided FREE!

Set-up Assistants - 6:30 am - 9:30 am - 45 needed

During the Science Fair, you will serve as the students' first point-of-contact on the project floor. You will help students find their project's location and help with larger or multi-piece project displays. More than 1,000 students are expected, and that means over 1,000 projects will need to be set up between 7:00am and 9:30 am. Wear your running shoes! Plan to be busy, busy, busy! You will no doubt have FUN in what will seem like chaotic confusion.

Inspectors - 6:30 am - 9:30 am - 45 needed

You are the most powerful volunteers. You will receive a list of requirements and an inspector checklist to assist in your review of student projects. After they’ve completed set-up, each student will raise an ORANGE inspection sheet; your cue to do your thing. Over 1,000 students are expected, and that means more than 1,000 projects will need to be inspected between the hours of 7:00am and 9:30am.

Student Guides / Floor Managers - 6:30 am - 10:30 am, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm or 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

You will be strategically placed within Heinz Field and outside Carnegie Science Center to assist with student flow, ensuring movement is done in a safe and timely manner. All shifts are available. Pittsburgh Police will be available to help students cross the street. Have FUN!

Sponsor Award Runners - 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Wear your running shoes. You will be in all club levels of Heinz Field distributing awards for our sponsors to present to the winning students or assisting the Information Hub with dismissal of students.

Award Ceremony Assistants - Sat., Mar. 30, 2019 from 8:30 am - 11:30 am

You will be in all club levels of Heinz Field directing attendees to the awards ceremony.

Volunteers are VITAL to the success of the Science Fair. The region's future scientists and engineers depend on your valued help, enthusiasm and support.

All volunteers must submit the Off-site Service Event/Release&Waiver

Become a science fair judge

The Science Fair is looking for judges to award a variety of prizes on Competition Day, Friday, March 29, 2019. The competition takes place at Heinz Field, Club Levels. Refreshments will be provided FREE! Visit our registration page to sign up! For more information about judging, see below, or download our Judges’Handbook.

Category Judges

A Category Judge will judge students in a particular project category and will award a 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and 4th place winner in that category.

The Senior (9th-12th grades) and Intermediate (7th-8th grades) Division categories are Behavioral & Social Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computers/Math, Earth/Space/Environment, Engineering/Robotics, and Medicine/Health/Microbiology. The Intermediate Division also includes Consumer Science category. The Junior Division (6th grade) categories are Behavioral & Consumer Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physical Sciences & Engineering.

Judges must have a bachelor’s degree in the field in which they are judging or related experience. In the junior or intermediate levels (Grade 6-8), a non-science degree may be acceptable. If you are in doubt of your eligibility to judge, inquire to the chair of Judge Advisory Committee ([email protected]). Active K-12 educators are not eligible to judge.

If you have understanding of a field of Science or Engineering and confidence in your ability to chat with a bright young person and you meet the qualifications above, then you can judge! A large percentage of our judges return every year. They love doing it and look forward to theFair.

Affiliate Sponsor Judges & Awards

Affiliated Sponsor awards (certificates, medallions as determined by sponsors) are awarded at Covestro PRSEF because of its affiliation with Intel ISEF. 16 different organizations including: American Meteorological Society, American Psychological Association, ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, Association for Women GeoScientists, Broadcom MASTERS Middle School Program, Intel Excellence in Computer Science, Mu Alpha Theta, NASA Earth System Science Award, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ricoh Americas Corporation, Society for In Vitro Biology, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Metric Association,U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps – Office of Naval Research, Stockholm Junior Water Prize/Water Environment Federation, Yale Science and Engineering Association require judges to award prizes on their behalf.

Affiliate judges will review student projects, interview students and decide upon the recipients of each award. They will need to be present at the Covestro PRSEF competition Friday, March 29,2019 from 9 am until 4 pm at Heinz Field – Club Level. Presentation of the Affiliated Awards will be from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Scholarship Judges

Senior Division Covestro PRSEF participants (9th-12th grade) are eligible to be judged and receive scholarships. Scholarship judges will evaluate projects for the schools providing those awards. Please contact [email protected] if you represent a school which would like to offer a scholarship to PRSEF students.

Collegiate Award Judges

Collegiate award judges are college students from area schools who interview and present awards at the Junior (6th grade) and Intermediate (7th-8th grade) levels the afternoon of the fair. Volunteers must have strong communication skills and enjoy interacting with middle school students. Training will be provided on-site.

Sponsor Judges

Sponsor Judges represent a Covestro PRSEF sponsor and choose exhibits that address the particular field ofinterest of that sponsoring organization. Please see Sponsors and Awards for a list of all sponsor awards expected to be available in 2019.

ISEF Judges

As an affiliate fair of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Covestro PRSEF can advance up to four Senior Division students to Intel ISEF.

The ISEF Judges are experts from local universities and organizations who read the papers submitted by the student researchers, examine their exhibits, select and interview the ISEF candidates. These judges may or may not be part of the category award selection committee.

Don’t see a judging job which works for you? Check out our volunteer opportunities above!

Contact Us

Email questions or comments to [email protected] or call the Science Fair office at 412.237.1534.