Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino celebrated the achievements of 19 county students selected as semifinalists in Intel's 2011 Science Talent Search at a reception held on Monday, Jan. 24 at the County Office Building.
The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is the nation's most prestigious pre-college science competition. This year, 19 Westchester County high school students were selected as semifinalists for their outstanding research. Westchester's semifinalists represent 6 percent of the nation's semifinalists.
Astorino congratulated the aspiring young scientists and thanked their teachers who were also in attendance. A photo album of the reception is available on Facebook. (While you're there, don't forget to "like" us.)
"We are extremely proud of your achievements and we look forward to your continued success," said Astorino. "As Westchester County Executive, my job is to encourage you to continue to learn and grow. When you're ready to start your own business, I want you to do it here in Westchester County."
Past Intel Science award recipients have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors, including seven Nobel Prizes and four National Medals of Science.
Semifinalists receive a $1,000 award from Intel Science for their outstanding research. Finalists will be selected later this week and will travel to Washington, D.C. to display their work, meet with scientists, and compete for the top award of $100,000.
Westchester's semifinalists are listed below by hometown and high school:
Armonk
Byram Hills High School
Madelyn Fay Klugman, 17
The Effect of Adolescent Obesity on Knee Joint Powers and Double Limb Stance Time During Walking: A Pilot Study
Yonkers
Riverdale Country School
Pavithra Vijayakumar, 17
A Novel DNA Logic Gate Automaton for the Rapid Detection of Rabies and Other Lyssaviruses
Chappaqua
Horace Greeley High School
Merry Xuan Sun, 16
The Crossover of Osteoporosis Drugs Bisphosphonates to Treat Cancer
Croton-on-Hudson
Croton-Harmon High School
Christina Elizabeth Lewis, 17
FOXO3: Potential Target for Oncolytic Viral Therapy in Colon Cancer and Colon Cancer Tumor Initiating Cells
Mamaroneck
Mamaroneck High School
Anirudh Krishna Gorti, 17
Determining Molecular Interactions between BK Channel a and b1 Subunits Using Disulfide Crosslinking
Grace Eleanor Phillips, 17
A Study of HCAA Conjugates in the Context of the Evolutionary History of S. Melongena
Ossining
Ossining High School
Jessica Maia Brill, 17
Development and Function of Extrathymic T-Cells in Athymic Bone Marrow
Transplantation Recipients
Alexander Stefan Cana, 17
Interplay of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3b and GABA Signaling in the Pathogenesis
of Infantile Spasms
Sarah Hardtke, 17
A Socio-Cognitive Model of Adolescent Depression: Underlying Mechanisms of Competency
Apryl Phyllis Jimenez, 17
Correlates and Consequences of Responding, or Failing to Respond to Thermoregulatory Signals for Sleep in Adolescents
Hannah Mae Kamen, 17
A GIS Investigation: Watershed Land Cover Effects on Juvenile American Eel Populations
in Tributaries of the Hudson River
Charlotte Kleiman, 17
Conflict Adaptation Is a Transient Mechanism for Conflict Reduction
Madeline Leigh Nocero, 17
Evaluating Nasal Midazolam as a Home Treatment for Acute Epileptic Seizures in Adults Using Novel Questionnaire Data
Hayley Jessica Zullow, 18
Ecat11 Plays a Role in the Epigenetic Regulation of Retrotransposons
Scarsdale
Edgemont High School
Quanquan Liu, 18, Hartsdale
Modeling the Cooperative Role of Growth Factors Among Partially Transformed Tumor Cells Using Evolutionary Game Theory
Lawrence Wu, 17
The Effect of PPAR Gamma Agonists on Astrocytic Neuronal Protection
Scarsdale High School
Ruth Dorothy Kagan, 17
Limbic Areas Influencing the Posterior Thalamic Nucleus May Explain Aspects
of Migraine Headache
White Plains
White Plains High School
Evin Samuel Feldman, 17
Pathogenesis and Molecular Mechanism of Spondyloarthropathies
Yorktown Heights
Yorktown High School
Michael Anthony Cerabona, 17
Solar Tracking Systems with Muscle Wire