Emma Kearney, a freshman at McIntosh High School, was named a semi-finalist in the 2006 Georgia Junior Science and Humanities Symposium which took place Feb. 26-28 at the University of Georgia. She was the only 9th-grader selected as one of the 12 semi-finalists.

Kearney was selected to present at the symposium based on a 20-page research paper and abstract on the science project she conducted with her twin brother, Will. The project investigates emotional and physical responses to color and how colors enhance memory.

The Junior Science & Humanities Symposium is a program in which high school students present original scientific research orally in front of judges and observers. Georgia participates as a regional sponsor in one of 50 state symposia supported by the U.S. Army/Navy/Air Force Research Programs. Every year, more than 10,000 students from secondary schools in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and schools of Europe and the Pacific, in cooperation with the Department of Defense, participate in the Regional Symposia administered by universities.

Each year, 50 Georgia students are selected by science professionals to present their work in front of judges at the Georgia regional competition in Athens. Fifty additional students are invited to participate as observers and to present their science in poster form. Students are selected for competition based on submitted paperwork.