Greenwich High Science Research Students Excel In Competitions

Greenwich CT

09 March, 2021

6:12 PM

Description

Information via Greenwich Public Schools GREENWICH, CT — Several members of Greenwich High School's science research seminar have made impressive strides with their research, presenting at state and national conferences and winning prize money for their accomplishments in advancing science research, according to a news release. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.) 2021 CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium This past weekend, six students presented their research at the 2021 CT Junior Science and Humanities (JSHS) Symposium, normally held at UCONN Medical School. This year, however, it was held virtually. CT JSHS is divided into two sessions: first a poster session, where a student defends his/her research in poster format, and second an oral session, where a student presents her/his research in a Ted Talk format. This year, Madeline Minichetti, Uma Pendkar and Alexander Patti each took part in the poster session, with their respective research entitled: Madeline Minichetti: Solar-powered Cu2O Nanowire Wastewater Microbial Algae Photosynthetic Bioreactor Hybrid for the Creation of a CO2-free EnergyUma Pendkar: Low-pressure Application of Metal Nanoparticles to Soybean Seeds to Provide Increased Resistance to Fusarium virguliformeAlexander Patti: Plant Growth Enhancement & Fungal Disease Suppression via Copper, Zinc, and Manganese Nanoparticle Foliar Sprays Alexander won first place in the poster competition, $100, and an opportunity to present his research at the National JSHS competition in April. For the oral competition, Sofia Pronina, Alex Nakanishi, and Ambika Grover each presented a 12-minute talk on their project, entitled: Sofia Pronina: Rapid, Low-cost, Visual Lyme Disease Diagnosis via Lab-on-Chip, Chemiluminescent Detection of Borrelia-induced AntibodiesAlexa Nakanishi: Multi-component Fixation Tracking in Gaze Interaction for Rapid, Non-invasive Diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorders Ambika Grover: Rapid, Noninvasive, Fluorescence-based Detection for Elevated Levels of Nitric Oxide in Exhaled Breath, as a Marker for Hazardous PM2.5 Exposure These GHS students won three of the top five awards at the oral session. Sofia finished in fifth place, and was awarded $350. Alexa finished in second place, and was awarded an opportunity to compete at the National JSHS in April, $1,750, and a $30,000 UCONN scholarship. Ambika won first place overall, $,2250, and an opportunity to compete at the National JSHS. "I am so proud of each of these amazing young scientists who tackle such important problems," GHS Science Research Advisor Andrew Bramante said in a news release, "including renewable energy, global food supply, early detection and sharing of debilitating disease, disease-causing air pollutants, and early, simple identification of children's reading difficulties, which is so critical for implementation of much needed interventions." Regeneron Science Talent Search Additionally, Edgar Sosa and Hannah Goldenberg will be competing this week as finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, for a grand prize of $250,000. Related to that competition, Hannah was interviewed by the American Lung Association regarding her e-cigarette research, and Edgar was interviewed by NBC Nightly News for Kids (with Lester Holt), and he will be appearing on NPR Tuesday, March 9, in the 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. time slot for his work on coffee rust. "Edgar and Hannah continue to shine on the most prestigious stage for pre-college science research," Bramante said. "Not only is each of their research projects ground-breaking, but the reach and benefit that follow are incredibly compelling for so many. I'm so excited for their upcoming participation as STS finalists." CT Science and Engineering Fair Finally, in the next two weeks, 14 science research students will be competing in the CT Science and Engineering Fair with projects that range from discovery of a new drug candidate to prevent inflammation and respiratory complications of COVID-19, to a new computer model to correct errors that are inherent in quantum computing. "It's an exciting bunch of students with fascinating projects," Bramante said, "and I look forward to seeing their experiences in the coming weeks."