Division D

''For the middle school competition, see Division B. For the high school competition, see Division C.''

Division D Science Olympiad is a recently announced college competition for students in their first four years of college. Since it is in its beginning stages, only 10 events will be held in 2012-2013. It was announced on April 1, 2012, with a promise of more details to come. A short time later, the ten events were revealed.

Later on April 1, it was revealed that at least for the 2012-2013 season, there would only be a national tournament, held at a separate venue from B & C nationals, as it was still uncertain how successful the new division would be.

Astrophysics
Teams must answer questions relating to advanced astrophysics, including stellar dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and applications of relativity. Teams must also perform an experiment and form a hypothesis about the existence of the Higgs Boson and explain its role, or lack thereof, in the formation of the universe based on their data.

Bridges
Teams must build a bridge to cross a river or gap of a certain length that is of use to the general public. Teams must write a report detailing their efforts, take pictures of their work and construction, and compile a log of activity on the bridge after opening. Event supervisors are encouraged to visit the winning bridges afterward to ensure fairness. Bridge efficiency, difficulty of design, and aesthetic effects will be used for scoring purposes.

Combustible Rocket
Teams must build a rocket that can be launched on a standard launching pad that can go into orbit around the Earth. Rockets will be scored based on how high their orbit is.

Earth Science Prediction
Teams must make predictions on a variety of earth science topics, such as weather, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions. Teams will be graded on the accuracy of their predictions.

Environmental Vehicle
Teams must build a vehicle capable of running on different sorts of renewable fuels. At the competition site, the fuel to be used will be revealed, and one team member must steer it through an obstacle course. Time to complete the obstacle course and workmanship will be used as scoring.

Forensics
Teams must conduct an analysis on an actual crime scene, as well as be able to identify all possible powder and polymers. They will then each take turns presenting their cases to a committee that will decide who to prosecute.

Helicopters
Teams must build a helicopter before the competition that one team member must ride in an complete a series of tasks, including, but not limited to, flying through a series of hoops, achieving a certain altitude, and saving a person from a flooded building.

Robot
Teams must build a robot capable of accomplishing a task that will be revealed at the event site. Teams should prepare for a wide variety of potential tasks.

Say It Do It
One team member will be placed in a pretend life-threatening situation, and the other must give them verbal instructions, and verbal only, of how to escape from the scenario.

Science Lab
Teams must conduct a lab relating to chemistry, physics, biology, or any other branch of science. Combinations of these fields are recommended.