2011 Symposium
April 1, 2011
Ninety students from thirty-five Long Island high schools competed in the 2011 JSHS event held in the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University. The event was also attended by 200 guests including high school teachers and other students. Dr. Steven McKnight, Director of the Civil, Mechanical, Manufacturing, and Innovation Division of the National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate, and former Materials Division Manager at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, one of the three sponsors of the National JSHS, was also there to observe the presentations and provide a keynote address to the students. Nine students were selected after the morning presentations as the Regional Finalists.
Left and right: Symposium lunch speakers, Keynote Address by Dr. Steven McKnight (National Science Foundation); Stony Brook Dean of Admissions Judy Berhannan.
2011 Award Winners
Scholarship awards are given to the following five students who comprise the Long Island regional delegation:
1st Place $2,000
Hilary Mogul, Paul D. Schreiber High School (Mathematics and Computer Science)
Title: "Some Consequences of Dumas' Theorem of Irreducibility"
Mentor: Dr. Sylvia Silberger, Hofstra University
Teacher: Ms. Tina Gallagher
2nd Place $1,500
Samantha Phillips, Great Neck South High School (Behavioral Science)
Title: "Strategies Utilized by People with Autism and Neuro-Typical Individuals to Determine Emotion in Faces"
Mentor/Teacher: Dr. Carol Hersh
3rd Place $1,000
Yifan Li, Great Neck South High School (Medicine and Health)
Title: "Decreased Density of NOS Interneurons in the Striatum of Individuals with Tourette Syndrome"
Mentor: Dr. Flora Vaccarino, Yale University
Teacher: Dr. Carol Hersh
4th Place – Department of Mechanical Engineering Award $500
Sage Mandel, Great Neck South High School (Medicine and Health)
Title: "Analyzing the Effectiveness of Certain Diphenyl Ether Inhibitors on saFabI, the Enoyl Reductase from Staphylococcus aureus, to Gain Insights for New Drug Development"
Mentor: Dr. Peter Tonge, Stony Brook University (Chemistry)
Teacher: Dr. Carol Hersh
5th Place - Department of Mechanical Engineering Merit Award $500
Ari Turkiewicz, Plainview – Old Bethpage JFK High School (Environmental, Earth and Space Sciences)
Title: "Preparation and Characterization of PEGDA-Methacryl POSS and PEGDA-CNF Hydrogels as Nanofiltration Coating Materials"
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Chu, Stony Brook University (Chemistry)
Teacher: Mrs. Mary Lou O’Donnell
The above winners will also receive expense-paid travel to the 49th National JSHS Symposium in San Diego, CA, scheduled between April 27 and May 1, 2011. The first and second place finalists are invited to present their original research for additional scholarships on the national level.
2011 Long Island JSHS Regional Delegation
Left to right: Ari Turkiewicz (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK), Sage Mandel (Great Neck South), Yifan Li (Great Neck South), Samantha Phillips (Great Neck South), Hilary Mogul (Paul D. Schreiber), Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS).
Left to Right: Department of Mechanical Engineering Awardees, Dr. Fu-pen Chiang (Distinguished Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering), 5th Place delegate Ari Turkiewicz (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK), and 4th Place delegate Sage Mandel (Great Neck South).
The following Regional Finalists also presented in the 2nd round competition:
(listed in alphabetical order)
Kathreen Mangaluz, Sayville High School (Life Sciences)
Title: "A comparative analysis of haplotypes found in the Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) using cytochrome oxidase I gene"
Mentor/Teacher: Mrs. Maria Brown
Elon Packin, Lawrence High School (Behavioral Science)
Title: "'Is She Really Going Out with Him?': Facial Symmetry and the Cross-Cultural Perception of Beauty"
Mentor/Teacher: Mr. Stephen Sullivan
Neil Pathak, Herricks High School (Physical Sciences)
Title: "Polyfunctionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Novel Scaffolds for Multimodal Tumor-Targeted Therapy and Biological Imaging"
Mentor: Dr. Iwao Ojima, Stony Brook University (Chemistry)
Teacher: Mrs. Renee Barcia
Shyam Venkateswaran, Herricks High School (Engineering)
Title: "Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Evaluation of a Novel Biomaterial for Post-Lumpectomy Breast Reconstruction"
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin Chu, Stony Brook University (Chemistry)
Teacher: Mrs. Renee Barcia
They received signed JSHS certificates and $200 gift certificates for their accomplishments on being selected as finalists.
2011 Long Island JSHS Regional Finalists
Left to right: Dr. Fu-pen Chiang (Distinguished Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering), Shyam Venkateswaran (Herricks), Neil Pathak (Herricks), Kathreen Mangaluz (Sayville), Elon Packin (Lawrence), Ari Turkiewicz (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK), Sage Mandel (Great Neck South), Yifan Li (Great Neck South), Samantha Phillips (Great Neck South), Hilary Mogul (Paul D. Schreiber), Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS).
2011 Teacher Award
A $500 award sponsored by JSHS was given to one teacher who was nominated by their students. Five teachers were nominated this year, and students wrote an essay to nominate their teachers. This award honors the individual teacher and his/her school's contributions to advancing student participation in research. This year’s awardee is Mr. Richard Kurtz from Commack High School, for his infectious excitement and encouragement to his students to follow their dreams, his assistance to develop their own ideas, and helping his students realize how exciting and rewarding science research is. Congratulations to Mr. Kurtz and Commack High School!
Above: Mr. Richard Kurtz (Commack High School), 2011 LI-JSHS Outstanding Teacher Awardee.
2010 Symposium
March 5, 2010
Eighty-nine students from thirty-three Long Island high schools competed in the 2010 JSHS event held in the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University. The event was also attended by approximately 200 guests, including high school teachers and other students. President Stanley gave a welcome address at lunch, and Dr. Bruce LaMattina, Program Manager at the US Army Research Office, one of the three sponsors of the National JSHS, was also there to observe the presentations and provide a keynote address to the students. Nine students were selected after the morning presentations as the Regional Finalists.
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Left to right: Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley, Jr.; Dr. Bruce LaMattina (Army Research Office); Stony Brook Dean of Admissions Judy Berhannan
2010 Award Winners
Scholarship awards are given to the following students who comprise the Long Island regional delegation:
1st Place $2,000
Alyssa Blumenthal, Long Beach High School (Engineering)
Title: "The Manipulation of Piezoelectric Film for Energy Harvesting"
Mentor/Teacher: Mr. Cody Onufrock
2nd Place $1,500
Celline Kim, Manhasset High School (Environmental, Earth and Space Sciences)
Title: "Environmental Toxin 4-Nonylphenol and Autoimmune Diseases: Using DNA Microarray to Examine Genetic Markers of Cytokine Activity"
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Cadet, SUNY-Old Westbury
Teacher: Mr. Peter Guastella
3rd Place $1,000
Amit Vora, Manhasset High School (Mathematics and Computer Science)
Title: "A Variation of Elliptic Curve Cryptography"
Mentor/Teacher: Mrs. Vivian Walker
4th Place, CESAME Merit Award $500 Alexis Tchaconas, Commack High School (Life Sciences)
Title: "A Genetic Investigation of Autism: The Role of Type III Neuregulin-1/ErbB4 Signaling and Contactin4 Expression in Neurodevelopment"
Mentors: Dr. Lorna Role and Dr. David Talmage, Stony Brook University (Center for Molecular Medicine–Center for Neurological Disorders)
Teacher: Mr. Richard Kurtz
5th Place, CESAME Merit Award $500
Ghazal Erfani, Plainview–Old Bethpage JFK High School (Medicine and Health)
Title: "Surface Modified pH-Sensitive Liposomes for Targeted Cancer Therapy"
Mentor: Dr. Stavroula Sofou, Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Teacher: Mrs. Mary Lou O’Donnell
The above winners will also receive expense-paid travel to the 48th National JSHS Symposium in Bethesda, MD, scheduled between April 28 and May 2, 2010. The first and second place finalists are invited to present their original research for additional scholarships on the national level.
2010 Long Island JSHS Regional Delegation
Left to right: Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS), Dr. Oscar Lopez-Pamies (Co-Director, LI-JSHS), Alexis Tchaconas (Commack), Ghazal Erfani (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK), Alyssa Blumenthal (Long Beach), Dr. Keith Sheppard (Assoc. Dir., CESAME), Celline Kim (Manhasset), Amit Vora (Manhasset), Dr. Toshio Nakamura (Co-Director, LI-JSHS).
1st Place delegate Alyssa Blumenthal (Long Beach) and Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS)
CESAME Merit Awardees, 4th Place delegate Alexis Tchaconas (Commack), Dr. Keith Sheppard (Assoc. Dir., CESAME), and 5th Place delegate Ghazal Erfani (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK)
2010 Long Island JSHS Regional Finalists
The following Regional Finalists also presented in the 2nd round competition:
(listed alphabetically )
Kimberleigh Costanzo, Plainedge High School (Social and Behavioral Science)
Title: "The Eye of the Beholder: Body Language and Its Influence on Political Speeches"
Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Stony Brook University (Political Science)
Teacher: Mr. William Bertolotti
Brandon Li, Jericho Senior High School (Physical Sciences)
Title: "Pore Size Reduction of Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) Scaffolds for High Performance Microfiltration"
Mentor: Dr. Benjamin S. Hsiao, Stony Brook University (Chemistry)
Teacher: Ms. Serena McCalla
Erica Portnoy, Commack High School (Life Sciences)
Title: "Attachment Factor Secretion in Uropathogenic E.coli Bacteria"
Mentor: Dr. David G. Thanassi, Stony Brook University (Molecular Genetics and Microbiology)
Teacher: Mr. Richard Kurtz
Pooja Rambhia, Jericho Senior High School (Medicine and Health)
Title: "Modification of Fibrinogen Clotting in the Absence of Thrombin: A Novel Surface Chemistry Approach with Biomedical Applications"
Mentor: Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, Stony Brook University (Materials Science and Engineering)
Teacher: Ms. Serena McCalla
They received signed JSHS certificates and Apple iPod Nanos for their accomplishments on being selected as finalists.
2010 Long Island JSHS Regional Finalists
Left to right: Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS), Dr. Oscar Lopez-Pamies (Co-Director, LI-JSHS), Alyssa Blumenthal (Long Beach), Dr. Keith Sheppard (Assoc. Dir., CESAME), Celline Kim (Manhasset), Amit Vora (Manhasset), Alexis Tchaconas (Commack), Ghazal Erfani (Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK), Erica Portnoy (Commack), Dr. Toshio Nakamura (Co-Director, LI-JSHS), Brandon Li (Jericho), Pooja Rambhia (Jericho), Kimberleigh Costanzo (Plainedge).
2010 Teacher Award
A $500 award sponsored by JSHS was given to one teacher who was nominated by their students. Six teachers were nominated this year, and students wrote an essay to nominate their teachers. This award honors the individual teacher and his/her school's contributions to advancing student participation in research. This year’s awardee is Ms. Serena McCalla from Jericho Senior High School, for her outstanding dedication to her students, her willingness to explore new areas and work with students from all backgrounds, and instilling critical thinking in her students. Congratulations to Ms. McCalla and Jericho Senior High School.
Left to right: Dr. Bruce LaMattina (Army Research Office), Ms. Serena McCalla (Jericho Senior High School), Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS).
2009 Symposium
March 14, 2009
Eighty-one students from forty Long Island high schools competed in the 2009 JSHS event held in the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University. The event was also attended by ~200 guests including high school teachers and other students. Colonel Reed F. Young, Chief of the Technology Integration and Outreach Division of the U.S. Army Research Office, one of the three sponsors of the National JSHS, was also there to observe the presentations and welcome the students.
2009 Award Winners
Scholarship awards are given to the following students who comprise the Long Island regional delegation:
1st Place $2,000 Glen Meyerowitz, Northport High School (Physical Science) Uncovering Elusive Ultra High Energy Particles: Development of A Method For Cosmic Ray Detection
2nd Place $1,500 Karson Miller, John L. Miller Great Neck North High School (Engineering) Automated Wired Equivalent Privacy and RC4 Encryption Protection Through 802.11 Wireless Packet Injection
3rd Place $1,000 Melis Emre, Paul D. Schreiber High School (Medicine) Determining the Role of Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase and Cytokines in Gaucher Disease
CESAME Merit Award $500 Shalini Pammal, Commack High School (Medicine) Discovery and Optimization of 2, 5, 7-Trisubstituted Benzimidazole Leads for Antituberculosis Drug Discovery
CESAME Merit Award $500 Karrine Guerrier, Uniondale High School (Life Science) Beat it! A novel approach to eradicate Acrythosiphon pisum using Fungal Bio- PesticidesMelis
The above winners will also receive expense-paid travel to the 47th National JSHS Symposium in Colorado Springs, CO, scheduled between April 29 and May 3, 2009. The first and second place finalists are invited to present their original research for additional scholarships on the national level.
The following Regional Finalists also presented in the 2nd round competition:
Olivia Levine, John F. Kennedy High School–Bellmore (Behavioral Science)
Ruby Monichan, Elmont Memorial High School (Environmental, Earth and Space Sciences)
Trisha Nussbaum, Roslyn High School (Behavioral Science)
Adam Vojdany, Paul D. Schreiber High School (Mathematics and Computer Science)
They received signed JSHS certificates and Apple iPod Nanos for their accomplishments on being selected as finalists.
2009 Teacher Award
A $500 award sponsored by JSHS was given to one teacher who was nominated by their students. Eight teachers were nominated this year, and students wrote an essay to nominate their teachers. This award honors the individual teacher and his/her school's contributions to advancing student participation in research. This year’s awardee is Ms. Rebecca Grella from Brentwood High School, for her outstanding dedication to her students and her fund-raising success to develop a research program at Brentwood High School.
2009 Long Island JSHS Regional Delegation
Left to right: Dr. Chad S. Korach (Director, LI-JSHS), Glen Meyerowitz (Northport), Karson Miller (Great Neck North), Melis Emre (Paul D. Schreiber), Shalini Pammal (Commack), Karrine Guerrier (Uniondale), COL Reed F. Young (Army Research Office).
2009 Long Island JSHS Regional Finalists
Left to right: Ruby Monichan (Elmont), Glen Meyerowitz (Northport), Karson Miller (Great Neck North), Melis Emre (Paul D. Schreiber), Shalini Pammal (Commack), Karrine Guerrier (Uniondale), Olivia Levine (JFK-Bellmore), Trisha Nussbaum (Roslyn), Adam Vojdany (Paul D. Schreiber).