A team of five state high school students, including two from Detroit, won the Civility Award at the recent U.S. Department of Energy 2002 National Science Bowl. The award includes a trip to a Native American archaeological preserve in Colorado, palm pilots for each team member and a trophy.

Keith B. Williams, director of the office of Minority Student Initiatives in Wayne State University's chemistry department, accompanied the team to Washington D.C. Williams, who is also a state coordinator for the Department of Energy Science Bowl, assembled the team for the competition and said he was proud of their achievements.

The DOE Science Bowl features fast-paced questions-and-answers on categories that include: astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, current events in the science community, computer, earth and general sciences. Each team is composed of five students. A total of 65 teams competed. The event was held from May 3-6.

The state team, which was sponsored by Wayne State, will be heading to the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colo. from July 28-August 3.There the students will learn about the Puebloan people and Native American culture, cultural resource preservation and archaeology research - they'll even get to do a simulated excavation. The experience will also allow the students to incorporate disciplines such as science, social science, math, physics, art and environmental studies.

The two students from Detroit are: Kevin Morton, a junior at Pershing High School and Marc Spight, a senior at Highland Park Senior High School. Both Morton and Spight, were chosen by Williams from their participation in Wayne State's free ACT preparation program.

The other three team members are: Jacqueline Leapheart and Nicole Smith, both sophomores at Dow High School in Midland and Tiffany Lewis who is a senior at Saginaw Arthur Hill High School.

The three students participated as a team from Midland in a regional Science Bowl competition held at Wayne State in February. That competition was sponsored by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). The Midland team then advanced to participate in NOBCChE's championship Science Bowl competition in New Orleans in March.

The Science Bowl and ACT preparation program are among five other programs that Williams works with at Wayne State's chemistry department in partnership with Detroit Public School's middle school and high school students.