Commack High School Students Win at Invitational Science Fair

Commack High School Students won awards at the WAC Lighting Invitation Science Fair, which was held recently at Herricks High School. For the past 15 years, the Science Fair has offered over 350 Long Island students the opportunity to present their research experience to esteemed judges from leading institutions and businesses.  Below are the winners from Commack High School…

1

Scott Massa

Alzheimer’s Disease: The Effect of Neuregulin1/ErbB4 Back Signaling on γ-secretase Production

1

Vincent Pennetti

An Investigation Into Clover Mutations

1

Greta Huang

Functionalization of Gold Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Agents for Treatment of Cryptococcosis

1

Daniel Hosseinian, Jason Bak, Colleen Flynn

An Investigative Analysis of the Accuracy of the Encased Thermometer Used Aboard the HMS Plover during the Years 1852-1854

2

Brianna Delgado, Vraj Shah, Peter Yu

Folding Thirds: A Device Designed to Help People with Disabilities in the Workplace

2

Andrew Kim

Highly Efficient Sponge for the Absorption of Contaminated Oil

3

Eric Bass, Gabriel Green

An Analysis of the Effect of Environmental Factors on the Diel Vertical Migration of Zooplankton

3

Eric Rizzo, John Voiklis

An Analysis of the Movement Patterns of Juvenile and Mature Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Merit

Jianna Cressy

The Effects of Various Homeopathic Remedies on Huntington's Disease in Drosophila melanogaster

Merit

James Whittaker

Modeling an Energy Efficient House Influenced by a Natural Design

Merit

Ibrahim Khan

The Effect of Distance Between WiFi Antennae on Signal Strength

Merit

Christina Cabana

The Use of Genetic Spike-in Controls to Quantify Absolute Population Abundances in the Bacterial Microbiome

Merit

Noah Tollin

Dispersal of Resistant Bacteria (Escherichia coli K-12) among German Cockroaches (Blattella germanica)

Merit

Claire Drotman

An Innovative Method of Reducing Food Contamination in Restaurants

Merit

Amy Uthup, Tara McCaffrey, Olivia Dubi, Cassie Onal

Layers: A Device to Create Multi-Layered Cupcakes

Honorable Mention

Brian Huang

Prognosticative Biomarkers in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Honorable Mention

Marissa Mathew

Transcriptional Regulation of miRNA Expression

Honorable Mention

Thomas Vetere

An Analysis of OCD Perceptions and the Stigma that Surround Mental Illness.

 “This science fair lets students know that it’s OK to be great in science. These students are really talented young people, and we understand that the future needs them,” said WAC Lighting President Shelley Wald. “That’s why it was really important for us to support our local community this way.”

The fair included eight major categories with winners selected from projects developed and completed by high school seniors and underclass students (grades 9-11). Awards and scholarships will be presented to winners of First, Second and Third Places, as well as Honorable Mentions.  Participating students have spent months, and even years, in school or local university labs exploring a wide range of topics including: Environmental Science, Prototype Engineering; Biochemistry; General Biology; Behavioral Science; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy; and Computer Science.

“Many of these students will go on to be the future researchers in science,” said Richard Kurtz, a science teacher at Commack High School and President of the Research Association. “It’s fairs like these that gives students the experience of interacting professionally about their research.”

The Research Association is a consortium of 13 Long Island high schools represented by dedicated teachers that advise students that science research is an active gateway into the understanding of the true nature of science.  The members of the association understand that future leaders in science, technology and business begin to focus their skills in the challenging classrooms of today.

“We were honored to sponsor this year’s Invitational Science Fair,” continued Ms. Wald.  “Investing in science today will help develop business and industry leaders of tomorrow.  And perhaps, some of these young scientist will help solve some of the world’s problems and contributed to a better life for all.”

Participating students have gone on to pursue advanced studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Stony Brook University, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, the University of Rochester and many other top universities.

Judges included over 120 academicians and professionals, with affiliations with leading institutions: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Long Island University, New York University, North Shore University Hospital-LIJ Medical Center, Wiell Cornell Medical College, Hofstra University, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and other prestigious institutions.