2023 Science Fair Judges

The Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF) encourages students to participate in hands-on science and showcases the research of high school students in Westchester and Putnam Counties.

Qualified volunteers are needed to serve as judges for the science fair. This is an ideal role for medical and mental health professionals, biochemists, pharmacists, engineers, environmentalists, veterinarians, and computer scientists. Science Fair Judges will watch students present their research (via posters the students design) and follow a rubric to grade the presentations. The top-rated students will represent the region at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Each judge will receive a "thank you" gift from WESEF.

Judge qualifications:

• Must be currently enrolled in a graduate program (M.S., M.A., M.Ed, D.O., Ed.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., Ph.D, M.D, etc.)
  OR
• Have a Bachelor's degree + 2 years of job-related experience
  OR
• Be a current professional holding an advanced degree and working in any of the scientific fields represented at WESEF. This includes school psychologists, social workers, registered nurses, EPA, DEA professionals, etc.

NOT eligible to judge:

• Current K-12 teachers

Judging process:

• Projects will likely have 3-5 official judge interviews. The students should be prepared to give a 7-minute uninterrupted summary of their research. Judges are then permitted 5 minutes for Q&A
• There will be official judging periods, indicated by a tone which will signal the start and finish of each judging session. Judges will then have a 5-minute window to score rubrics and move to the next presentation
• In some cases, Special Awards Judges will also meet with and interview students
• Under no circumstances should a Judge review a student project for which there may be a conflict of interest. Judges are asked to recuse themselves from any projects where they do not feel they can fairly assess a student project

This activity requires volunteers to register on a separate website:

1. Express interest below to record this opportunity in your Volunteer New York! profile and to alert the coordinator.
2. Click here to complete your registration with WESEF. You will not be registered if you do not complete this step! Read more about the judges' role here.