History
Science Olympiad began when Dr. Gerard J. Putz, Regional Science Consultant for Macomb County Intermediate School District in Michigan, invited John C. "Jack" Cairns, State Science Supervisor for Delaware Department of Instruction, to share the Science Olympiad program with Macomb County educators on March 29, 1982. The invitation was prompted by an article on the Delaware Science Olympiad (The Science Teacher, December 1977) written by Douglas Macbeth, past Delaware State Science Supervisor, that was brought to Dr. Putz's attention by Michigan Science Teachers Association President David Larwa. The Delaware Science Olympiad was patterned after similar events in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. After two successful workshops at the Macomb Intermediate School District (March 1982) and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Estate (January 1983), science education leaders in Southeastern Michigan planned two very successful tournaments at Lawrence Institute of Technology (April 1983) and Oakland University (May 1984).
These two tournaments were so successful that Dr. Putz convinced Mr. Cairns that they should share the program with the rest of the nation. The Science Olympiad program was presented to the Council of State Science Supervisors at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference in Boston in 1984 and sponsors were solicited from the conference exhibitors. Dr. Putz's experience with the Army (Lt. Col. Air Defense Artillery, retired) and the understanding of its continued need for a high-tech modern work force led him to the Army's booth. After much discussion, the Army decided to sponsor a National Leadership Seminar to determine the level of interest before they committed to sponsoring the first Science Olympiad National Tournament. Leaders from all 50 states and Puerto Rico were invited to this first seminar at the St. Clair Inn in Michigan in the summer of 1984. Event supervisors, coaches and students so impressed the United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) executives and the N.W. Ayer advertising agency that the Army decided to sponsor Science Olympiad's national founding. Ms. Sharon Putz was brought on as the Executive Administrator of Science Olympiad, a position she has held since 1984. The first annual Science Olympiad National Tournament was hosted by Michigan State University in May, 1985, with 18 states participating. Currently, there are nearly 7,800 secondary schools from 50 states participating, with an additional 10,000 or more elementary schools holding Science Olympiad tournaments or hands-on events. The following states have hosted previous Science Olympiad National Tournaments:
Year | Institution | Tournament Site Coordinators |
1985 | Michigan State University | Dr. Harold Stonehouse |
1986 | Michigan State University | Dr. Harold Stonehouse |
1987 | Ohio State University | Linda Roberts |
1988 | Delaware State University | Dr. William Macintosh |
1989 | University of Colorado, Boulder | Sue Brandon & Dan Michaels |
1990 | Clarion University | Sue Zamzow |
1991 | Penn Valley Community College | Charles Gosselin |
1992 | Auburn University | Dr. Marlin Simon & Dr. W.D. Perry |
1993 | University of So. Colorado, Pueblo | Dr. Harold McConnell & John Reinert |
1994 | University of Arizona, Tucson | Mary Lou Rankin & Gil McLaughlin |
1995 | Indiana University | Lisa Townsend & Tina Gilliland |
1996 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Dr. Milton Stombler & Ray Vito |
1997 | North Carolina State University | Phil Dail |
1998 | Grand Valley State Univ., MI | Mary Ann Sheline, Sandi Bacon & G. Eacker |
1999 | Chicago Museums & Univ. of Chicago | Brent Williamson & Museum & University Host Presidents |
2000 | Eastern Washington Univ., Spokane | Jean Cavanaugh & Heather McKean |
2001 | Univ. of Colorado, Colorado Springs | Dr. Dan Dandapani & Linder Winter |
2002 | University of Delaware, Newark | Lyn Newsom, Peggy Vavalla & Fred Siegel |
2003 | Ohio State University, Columbus | Sarah Sieling, CeAnn Chalker & Tim Taylor |
2004 | Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA | Dr. Ron Pauline |
2005 | University of Illinois, Urbana, IL | Howard Guenther & Kris Campbell |
2006 | Indiana University, Bloomington, IN | Tina Gilliland |
2007 | Wichita State University, Wichita, KS | Greg Novacek & Harry Gregory |
2008 | The George Washington University, Washington, DC | Kathy Melvin, Robert Snyder & Fred Siegel |
2009 | Augusta State University, Augusta, GA | Dr. Bill Wellnitz |
2010 | University of Illinois, Urbana, IL | Howard Guenther & Joe Simmons |
2011 | University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI | Van Valaskey & Gary Graper |
2012 | University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL | Mike McKee & Dr. Sam Richie |
2013 | Wright State University, Dayton, OH | CeAnn Chalker & Terri Mileo |
2014 | University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL | Mike McKee & Dr. Sam Richie |
2015 | University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE | Dr. Jon Pedersen & Jim Woodland |
2016 | University of Wisconsin, Stout, Menomonie, WI | Dr. Forrest Schultz |
2017 | Wright State University, Dayton, OH | CeAnn Chalker |
2018 | Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO | Dr. Steve Lovaas |
2019 | Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | Jamie Cucinotta & Savvas Papadopoulos |
2021 | Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ | Reina Gomez |
2022 | Caltech, Pasadena, CA | Dr. Peter Hung |