Julia Almeda, a 13-year-old attending Sandy Springs Middle School, has won Southern Polytechnic's first annual "Ask the Scientist" Award.

During Earth Science Week in October, students accessed the website of the on-campus Georgia Youth Science and Technology center and asked questions of special guest scientist Dr. Lisa Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University. In all, more than 200 grade-school students throughout Georgia posed questions.

"Selecting the winners was a daunting task, considering the hundreds of questions received," said Rossbacher. "I was very impressed by the nature and depth of the replies."

Almeda's question was "Does the mantle, liquid core, and solid inner core have anything to do with the Earth's climate in any way?" She will be receiving a NASA prize package from NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock on Saturday, December 18 at the Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center's NASA office.

The first runner-up is Vermilion Purser, 13, of Smokey Road Middle School in Newnan. He asked, "Heat speeds up a chemical reaction. Why then does chemical weathering proceed slowly in a hot desert?"

Second runner up is Tashi Zackery, 10, of Cook Elementary School in Adel, with the question "Why does the earth spin without stopping?" Third runner up is Russell Jackson, 11, of Pointe South Middle School in Jonesboro, who asked "Was Stone Mountain formed by a volcano?"

Founded in 1998, Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers, Inc., is a private, non-profit educational organization designed to increase interest and enthusiasm in science and the technologies, particularly among elementary and middle school teachers and students. GYST is affiliated with Southern Polytechnic State University.