A classroom assignment will take two St. Joseph High School students to the state capital this weekend.

Saturday, Subhashkumar Kadim, 16, and Crosby Clyse, 15, will represent their school at the 55th Annual State Science Day at The Ohio State University.

Nearly 1,000 students in grades 7-12 from across the state will exhibit their science research projects at OSU's French Field House, and will compete for nearly 100 scholarships and awards valued at $654,000. The students competing will be evaluated according to their research and communications skills.

According to a release from OSU, this year's event is the largest of its kind in the nation. Thirty-five thousand students participated in more than 1,000 local science fairs, and the state science day participants come from nearly 300 schools.

Kadim, a sophomore, will be attending State Science Day for the fourth time. For his project, he compared the electromagnetism of various metals, discovering that copper had the largest field and strongest magnetism. At Shawnee State University's District Science Day on March 29, Kadim received a superior rating, which allowed him to compete at the state level. At SSU, he also received first place in the Physics category and the Governor's Award for Energy Research.

"I'm very excited. It's a good experience, and I'm proud to go," Kadim said.

Kadim plans to enter a science-related occupation in the future - medicine. He will follow in the footsteps of his father, Dr. V.S. Kadim. His father said he is honored to have his son competing at the state level.

Clyse, a freshman, will be competing for the second time with his project on the sublethal injury of e-coli. In his experiment, Clyse grew bacteria to figure out which process, heating or freezing, would damage the most bacteria cells. Heating is the most damaging, according to his research.

"There were 800 people last year, and the governor (Bob Taft) was there," Clyse said. "There are tons of scholarships and awards."

Nevertheless, Clyse said he is not nervous about attending the fair. After high school, Clyse plans to have a career in forensic science or architecture.