Louis Rancour, a sophomore from Wall High School,
took home the top honors at this year’s High Plains Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at South Dakota Mines. His project, titled Stealthy
Shapes, won the chance to compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas,
Texas this coming May.
“When they announced the final, first place overall,
I was shocked,” says Louis. His experiment used equipment in his families own
military museum, located near Wasta, SD, to test the reflectivity of
a variety of aircraft shapes to better understand and demonstrate stealth
technology.
Louis followed directly in his father’s footsteps. In
1986, Tom Rancour won the same regional science fair at South Dakota Mines as a
high school sophomore. Tom’s first place project, titled Solar Cell
Efficiency Enhancement Using a Fresnel Lens, also won first place overall,
and he traveled to the international science fair, held coincidentally in
Dallas, Texas.
“It's a little like ‘Groundhog Day,’ but he is in my
place repeating the same steps,” says Tom with a laugh. “I am looking forward
to having some of the same experiences my dad did down in Dallas at the
international fair,” Louis adds.
Tom went on to finish a degree in civil engineering
in 1994 from South Dakota Mines and then added a master’s degree at Mines in
the same field a year later. Today, he works as a forensic engineer examining
the causes of various structural collapses, often in grain bins. He says the
experience at the international fair in high school was an important part of
his overall career in engineering.
“Traveling to Dallas as a high school kid exposed me
to people from other parts of the world and, most importantly, ideas from all
around the world and people who have ways of thinking different from our own,”
says Tom. “Louis was in the engineering category just like I was back then, and
I’m so pleased he will get to see this event.”
This year, Wall High School did not hold its own
science fair and did not send any students to the regional fair at Mines, so
Tom entered Louis on his own. “I registered as
our own school so we could attend this fair,” says Tom. “Louis was working on
this project for over a year, but he was unable to attend previous fairs due to
the pandemic. I told him, do not worry about winning an award. Just concentrate
on thoroughly knowing your project and be able to clearly explain it to anyone
in simple and technical terms. That is how a judge will recognize the project
is the student's own work.”
Tom adds that science fairs are an important way to
inspire future generations of scientists and engineers. Louis agrees. “The
science fair teaches you how to talk and communicate about your project; this
will help you in the future with professional and public speaking,” says Louis.
Head judge, Tom Durkin of the NASA South Dakota
Space Grant Consortium at Mines says, “Louis did a tremendous job on his
science fair project which included a lot of experimentation and testing, and
he presented the results so well, both verbally and graphically. What impressed
our final selection team so much was his thorough understanding of the subject
and the science behind it, as well as making sure that he really understood our
questions before answering.”
Louis is planning to continue to follow his father’s
footsteps by attending South Dakota Mines. His passion may focus on mechanical
engineering, rather than civil, but Louis sees a positive future in these
fields.
“Engineering and science drive our economy.
Everything in our modern lives comes from these disciplines,” says Louis. “I’m
very glad to hear that Louis is considering Mechanical Engineering at Mines. We
now have an Aerospace Engineering minor in that department. We wish him the
best at the international fair,” says Durkin.
The Regeneron International Science and Engineering
Fair takes place in Dallas, Texas on May 14-19, and the Rancours are making
travel plans for the event. Tom’s advice for Louis, "Enjoy the experience
and do whatever activities you want to take part in at the international fair."