Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Holds Second Annual Regional Science Bowl

Team members from Roswell’s New Mexico Military Institute celebrate their second year of victory in the second annual Southeastern New Mexico Regional Science Bowl as Salado Isolation Mining Contractors President and Program Manager Ken Harrawood, far left, and U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Carlsbad Field Office Manager Mark Bollinger, far right, present a trophy and gift certificates to the students and coach.

CARLSBAD, N.M. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management Carlsbad Field Office and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) recently held the second annual Southeastern New Mexico Regional Science Bowl, one of the nation’s leading academic science competitions.

The event saw a significant increase in participation, with almost double the number of teams compared to last year’s inaugural competition.

Students compete for first place at the second annual U.S. Department of Energy Southeastern New Mexico Regional Science Bowl hosted by Southeast New Mexico College.

After hours of intense competition, the team from Roswell’s New Mexico Military Institute showcased outstanding expertise in math and science and took first place for the second year in a row, earning a coveted spot at DOE’s National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., set for April 24-28.

Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), the management and operations contractor for WIPP, Navarro Research and Engineering and others sponsored the event. Ten area high school teams participated, including Carlsbad, Hobbs and Carlsbad Early College high schools. They were joined by community members, organizations and many volunteers at Carlsbad’s Southeast New Mexico College for the exciting and challenging event.

-Contributor: Joy James-Foster