For more information, practice tests, etc.: http://thinc.web.unc.edu/

On December 1, 2012, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is holding the first annual Tar Heel Innovation Challenge (THInC).  We are a science competition, hosted by the university and run entirely by our most talented science students.  We hope to challenge high school students with our challenging fundamental and applied science problems.  Innovation Carolina boasts a test-writing committee that includes students who have competed and placed highly in such competition as the Siemens Competition, ISEF, Science Olympiad, and ARML.

THInC is unique in many ways, particularly for our emphasis on creative problem-solving and inventive applications for science.  Our competition will exhaustively cover the fields of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics.  Innovation Carolina will be a very difficult competition, in an attempt to identify talented high school science students to recruit to UNC-Chapel Hill’s prestigious academic programs.

High school students will compete in teams of four.  The basic structure of the competition is divided into two rounds: the Innovation and Individual Rounds:

1. Innovation Round – We will pose a challenging and applied problem at the beginning of each academic year.  Teams will have to use an innovative, and preferably interdisciplinary, approach to develop a solution to the problem.  They will then detail their solutions in a paper, submitted before competition, and a presentation at competition.  Also, on competition day, we will pose a standardized set of questions to each team that will challenge their solutions. Teams will have time to plan their answers to these questions at competition and present their modifications during their presentation.
2. Individual Round – This round will consist of four separate subject tests: biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics. Teams will designate a specialist in each field.  The team score on the Individual Round will be the composite of the individual scored on each test.  Individuals will also earn awards based on their placement in their respective fields.

We are proud to say that the North Carolina Science Olympiad endorses THInC.  You can find a link to our website on the NCSO homepage.  Furthermore, we are happy to announce that top seniors at this year’s THInC will be nominated for the Mackenzie Family Foundation Innovation Scholarship, a full tuition, room, and board scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill.  The Mackenzie Scholarship aims to build upon the university’s formidable resources in innovation and entrepreneurship and targets talented high school problem solvers.

Please contact us by email at thincunc@gmail.com  if you have any questions regarding the competition.  Our website can be viewed at www.innovationcarolina.org.  Registration for the competition opens on August 15, 2012, at which time we will post the Innovation Round problem.  Keep in mind that only the first 28 teams to register may participate this year.

We are very excited to hold the first annual THInC on December 1, 2012.  We are looking forward to see you this year at Innovation Carolina!

Sincerely,

The THInC Executive Board