Students From Three Village Named Intel Semi-Finalists

Ward Melville High School seniors Eleni Aneziris, Sophia Chen, Ariel Leong, Harriet O’Brien and Fangrui Tong have been named semifinalists in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search, according to a school news release.

As semifinalists, each student will receive a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation, with an additional $1,000 going to their school, the release states.

“I am thrilled that five of our students were named Intel Semifinalists,” said Principal Dr. Alan Baum in the news release. “It is so rewarding to see the look on their faces when they find out, but most importantly, it is great to know that the hard work and dedication of these students is rewarded with this level of recognition. They certainly deserved it. It is also incredibly satisfying to me to know that these five semifinalists are all female students! What a wonderful thing to have female students so involved in STEM. I think it speaks volumes about the quality of our student population and the educational opportunities we offer all students at Ward Melville High School.”

“These honors could not have been achieved without the commitment the girls made to themselves, the projects and the endeavor of science research,” said InSTAR school research director Dr. Marine Kula in the news release. “Their projects were the culmination of hours of work outside the regular school day under the guidance of a research mentor. The wide range of topics the girls pursued reflects their diverse interests, and their successes in this prestigious competition are a testament to their perseverance. Their efforts should be commended and it is thrilling that the review committee recognized them as semifinalists. I so admire their dedication and desire to do the hard work and am pleased that they have been honored.”

The Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition, has been bringing together the best and brightest young scientific minds in the United States for 75 years, the release states.

Each year, 300 Intel STS semifinalists and their schools are recognized. From that select pool of semifinalists, 40 students advance as finalists and are invited to Washington, D.C. in March to participate in final judging, display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists and compete for awards, including the top three awards of $150,000 each, according to the release.

Below are the subject matters the students studied, according to the release:

Eleni Aneziris – Effects of Predictability on the Startle Reflex in Anticipation of Emotionally-evocative Pictures

Sophia Chen – On Steady Super-Kähler Ricci Solitons

Ariel Leong – Systematic Discovery of Genes and Networks in Colon Cancer Stem Cells Implicated in Chemoresistance

Harriet O’Brien – The Characterization of Immunomodulatory and Remyelinating Agents on Microglial Polarization

Fangrui Tong – A New Approach to Chemical Sensing Using Tunable Optical Properties of Unique Nanostructures of TiO2 Coated Morpho peleides Butterfly Scale

[Photo Caption: (left to right) Ward Melville High School seniors Sophia Chen, Ariel Leong, Harriet O’Brien, Fangrui Tong, Eleni Aneziris were named Intel Semifinalists.

[Photo courtesy of the Three Village Central School District]