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Meet
the Young Scientists (In their own
words)
 SOFIA
BAJWA (Townsend Harris High School)
PROJECT- Computational
Analysis of Membrane Targeting Functions of MA and C2 Domains (team
Project with Angela Nguyen)
I would
definitely say I'm hard-working. I think I've gotten where I am is
probably because I'm really persistent. I like to end what I begin.
I'm very curious. And that's probably why I like science so much.
It's because I think there's a lot of curiosity involved.
FIRST INTERESTS- In elementary school we had science fairs every year.
And every year we wanted to do a fascinating science project, because
then it got to go down to a science fair, and that was held in our
gymnasium. So every year you were sort of like the lucky kid, if your
project went down. Because we had a class of 30, and only five projects
would get selected to go down. And every year my project made it.
And then in the 8th grade, I did a project on my own, which was like
the heart rate and like the grading(?) of a hill, and I won first
place in my school for biology.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED- I've learned a lot of new techniques. I learned
a new computer language. In general it  was
just a new field out there that I think without having this high school
experience, I probably would not have had that opportunity when I
go off to college now.
JIN HWAN CHOI (Townsend Harris
High School)
PROJECT- The Effect
of Viscosity and Evaporation on the Thickness of Spin Coated Polymer/Clay
Nanocomposite Films
FIRST INTERESTS- Well, when I was little, I used to be like fascinated
by like technology and I would always wonder about how things worked.
(Laughs) It always puzzled me. So when I was a little kid, like I
thought like the computer screen ... it was like an abstract thing.
And now that I learned in a school (Inaudible) I know like the truth.
OTHER INTERESTS- I play the piano.
 MARISA
COHEN (Townsend Harris High School)
PROJECT- Effect
of Drugs on Macrophage Phagocytosis
I'm goal oriented, hard working, optimistic. If there's a problem,
I'll always look for the best in something. And I'm definitely a very
focused person.
FIRST INTERESTS- When I was in first grade, second grade I was already
entering science contests and I won the class. Like, you know, the
science fair things ... like growing rock crystals or whatever it
was. But I mean, that was the beginning.
RIO MAY DEL ROSARIO (Townsend
Harris High School)
 PROJECT-
The Effects of Normal p53 Function of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-
Induced Apoptosis in Osteoblasts
I was born in the Philippines and I came here when I was two. My father
and my mother were first generation. They came here first and it was
probably one of the most difficult things I had to endure in life.
Moving from a different country into America was a big shock. But
I've grown to love it here. I love America. I mean, who wouldn't say
they loved America?
FIRST INTERESTS- Probably when I was younger and flipping through
the channels on television, seeing maybe an operation show where you
know, you saw the brain and they were doing some sort of operation.
I guess that's how I became interested in it.
FUTURE PLANS- If I do go into the medical field or any type of science
field, it's very possible to see myself as a scientist.
VITO DiIENNA (Townsend Harris
High School)
 PROJECT-
Molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus and a comparison of
molecular typing methods
I'm the type of person that likes to question things more than just
nod my head and say okay and sit back, so I have to find out. You
can't just sit there and say, what are they doing? I don't understand
this? If you don't know for yourself you're ignorant of things.
FIRST INTERESTS- When I was a little boy, I liked auto racing. Yeah,
that was always my thing, auto racing. So I would watch all sorts
of things, from Formula One car races, you know, all sorts of races.
And then I started realizing if I wanted to understand what they're
talking about, I'd better get involved in the science.
LINDSAY FOURMAN (Plainview
Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- The Effects
of Coal Tailings On Soil Ph (Team Project with Chris
Lane)
I'm hard working, conscientious. I'm a caring person, I'm very studious
and I'm fun.
FIRST INTERESTS- I think I've always been interested in science. Even
from elementary school, I liked science. And there were like science
fairs in elementary school got me involved in doing it in middle school
and in the sixth grade, I won the science fair.
OTHER INTERESTS- I take tennis lessons and I play golf at school,
and I'm involved in a lot of different clubs at school.
OMAR
GHANI (Plainview Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Biological
Control And Bait Station Design For Common Nuisance Ants (Team Project
with Eric Klein and Samuel John)
FIRST INTERESTS- I remember studying about dinosaurs and dinosaur
bones and like the fun projects that we used to do, like the little
poster boards and making fake dinosaur bones.
FUTURE PLANS- I want to be either a surgeon or a forensic scientist.
SAMUEL JOHN (Plainview Old Bethpage
High School)
PROJECT- Biological
Control And Bait Station Design For Common Nuisance Ants (Team Project
with Eric Klein and Omar Ghani)
FIRST INTERESTS- I remember in second grade, we each uh, like we got
a ... we got a box of crayfish. And then we used to pick one. And
then, like, it was two persons to a ... two people to a crayfish,
and uh, you picked the crayfish, put a little mark on it, indicating
that was yours. Then you watched its eating habits, and it's uh, which
one was dominant. That's what we were doing. Dominant uh ... which
one is stronger.
FUTURE PLANS- My goal in life is to be a doctor.
AKSHTA KALLA (Townsend Harris
High School)
 PROJECT-
Separating the novel from the normal: memory for perceptually, conceptually
and emotionally novel events
FIRST INTERESTS- I just loved biology for some reason, just learning
about the human body and all the other aspects, and the diseases,
and things like that.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED- I would have started earlier. I just felt like
I didn't have enough time and I wasn't able to present all of my research.
So I would definitely start at least two months before, so that all
the paperwork that had to be done, especially a lot of the signatures
and things like that weren't waiting until the last minute.And you
don't have to necessarily know how to do something, you just have
to be able to go in there and be mature enough to understand that
this is a lab environment, and you have new things to learn. It's
not like you're going to learn it on the first day. But you definitely
need to go in there with that kind of attitude, that I want to learn
something, and if I really want to do this, I have to start early
and put in the effort, and learn from my mentors.
OTHER INTERESTS-I dance. That's my other half. And I also write a
lot, poetry and play basketball. It's my favorite sport.
 STACEY
KALLEM (Plainview Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Stress
Test For Teenagers (Team Project with Tara Kelly)
I'm responsible, because I always have a lot of work that I manage.
I do what I have to do and get it done. And I'm friendly. I like to
be with people, talking to people.
OTHER INTERESTS- I like going to the movies, going to the mall, hanging
out with friends. The normal stuff. There's only so much to do when
you can't drive.
TARA
KELLY (Plainview Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Stress
Test For Teenagers (Team Project with Stacey Kallem)
I'm focused at school and I'm ambitious with school work and wanting
to get things done and right on time. I'll always do the best can,
try my hardest. But I also like to enjoy myself and other things besides
just my school work. I guess there is a stereotype that if you're
smarter, you like to do science, you enjoy it, that's a nerdy or a
dorky thing to do. But I mean it's fun and you enjoy it and it can't
be like the only thing in your life. You have to have other goals
and other things that you're interested in besides one thing.
FIRST INTERESTS- I'd always enjoyed it in middle school. I liked to
do those little science projects, the ones you did at home.
OTHER INTERESTS- I play two varsity sports; basketball and tennis.
I'm secretary of a club called Peer Leadership, and I'm the Treasurer
of a barn culture club. And then I hang out with my friends, have
fun.
ERIC KLEIN
PROJECT- Biological
Control And Bait Station Design For Common Nuisance Ants (Team Project
with Samuel John and Omar Ghani)
I'm dedicated, hardworking and intense when it comes to things I like
and enjoy.
FUTURE PLANS- I have several things that I'm interested in, but I
can't really decide. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. But after
working in my dad's office this year, and doing paper work during
the summer, it didn't really appeal to me too much. There's too much
paper work.
CHRIS LANE (Plainview Old
Bethpage High School)
 PROJECT-
The Effects of Coal Tailings On Soil Ph (Team Project with Lindsay
Fourman )
FIRST INTERESTS- I participated in a science fair in sixth grade and
I got to work with chemicals and plants. And I really enjoyed using
the plants and the chemicals so I just pursued any science class I
could take.
OTHER INTERESTS- I like to write music. And I play for a band. I play
the saxophone and piano.
 GLORIA
LEE (Townsend Harris High School)
PROJECT- Regulation
of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-12 Expression
in Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence
OTHER INTERESTS- I play volleyball at school, after school and I'm
on the team and that's kind of like my escape from all the studying.
But I play hard and I work hard.
ANGELA NGUYEN (Townsend
Harris High School)
PROJECT- Computational
Analysis of Membrane Targeting Functions of MA and C2 Domains (team
Project with Sofia Bajwa)
FIRST INTERESTS-
I was always really inquisitive and I always wanted to go and find
out things, and dig through dirt, and all the stuff like that. My
parents always bought me little microscope kits, and all those things.
And I always wanted to be a doctor. So they got me Dr. Barbie.
ALAN SALAS (Plainview
Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Molecular
Analysis Of A Flight-Impaired Mutant In Drosophila Melanogaster
I'm a normal type of guy, you know. I'm not that athletic, but I like
to watch the sports, play some of them. And I like to build. I like
to use my hands. That's another thing that I like about myself, building
stuff. I guess that's what drives me- using my hands.
OTHER INTERESTS- I play baseball, during weekends. And I was also
on the soccer team until recently. Um, in addition, I go to movies,
I hang out with friends. A normal person, I guess you'd say.
JAVID SORIANO (Plainview
Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Adenosine
As An Angiogenic Mediator: A Two Year Study
OTHER INTERESTS- I play some music, I love watching movies, I love
reading. Uh, play volleyball, play basketball, hang around with my
friends.
LINDA TO (Townsend
Harris High School)
 PROJECT-
Study of Psc-PTB Binding and TRKA Receptor Protein by Fluorencese
Polarization
FIRST INTERESTS- In class my teacher talked about atoms and how everything
was made of atoms. It seemed mind boggling that, you know, how can
I be made of the same things that plastic is made of? You know? So
that to me was just like unfathomable.
There's a movie, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." That made me
think about things also, because it was very interesting how they
shrunk into that tiny, tiny little size, and then they said something,
it had something to do with like their molecular structure. And so
that made me like, "What did they do? Did the machine like take
out molecules to make them shrink?" Just things like that (Laughs)
made me think. I remember actually sitting at my desk, because I was
watching this in school with other kids. I was looking at my table
like, wow! How did that work? I was just like, I wasn't even like
really paying attention to the movie anymore. I was just sitting at
my desk, staring at the table and was thinking, "So wait a minute.
If you take out molecules, you'll make things shrink." It's just
... wow!
WHAT I'VE LEARNED- I have learned more about life than I did about
science. And that is one thing that I can take with me from this Intel
experience. I really did try to do it alone, and tried to take it
on for myself. And I realize that that's not always what you need
to do when you're competing. You need to ask people for help, you
need to ask for opinions, you need to ask for responses, you need
to ask for reactions.
OTHER INTERESTS- I bake cookies and cakes and I tried to bake a pie.
That didn't go very well!
 AMIR
TUSHER (Townsend Harris High School)
PROJECT- Quality
of Life and Resistive Exercise Training in Hypertensive Patients:
A Pilot Study
I would describe myself as an intellectual to some extent. I have
a life. I study when I have to.
MANDEEP VIRDI
(Plainview Old Bethpage High School)
PROJECT- Model
Reactions For The Synthesis Of A Taxoid-Porphyrin Conjugate
WHAT I'VE LEARNED- I’ve grown to be a bit more open now. I’ve
been able to socialize with different types of people, meeting different
people from different countries and saying, "Hi, my name is,"
and trying to make friends with people. It’s given me a totally
different experience. |
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