2015 NYC Intel International Science & Engineering Fair Finalists Over 1700 high school scientists, innovators and mathematicians representing more than 75 countries regions and territories participated in this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from May 10 – 15, 2015. Team NYC – comprised of 18 NYC high school students chosen from this year’s NYCSEF competitions ‐ proudly represented our city and received specialty awards from the ALCOA Foundation, American Mathematical Society, ASU Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, European Organization for Nuclear Research‐CERN, K. T. Li Foundation and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, NIH, and the Friends of NIDA. Eleven students also received grand awards in their respective categories – one First Place Award, five Second Place Awards, three Third Place Awards. A complete list of NYC Finalists and their awards are listed below. Back Row, L‐R: James Savoldelli, Hugh Savoldelli, Drew Tomback, Axel Feldman, Jaison Jain, Yi Chen, Stefan Colton, Glenn Yu, Syeda Wahid, George Drimba, Brian Zhao, Anmolpreet Kandola Front Row, L‐R: Julia Sakowitz, KerCheng Chen, Nelly Lin, Lucy Lin, Simone Braunstein and Kevin Lin Simone Braunstein ‐ Junior (Engineering) High School: Dalton School Project Title: A Novel Controller for Soft Robots: An Experimental Usage of Linear Temporal Mission Planning (LTLMoP) with an Optimized Elastomeric Actuator Mentor/Worksite: Hadas‐Kress‐Gazit, Cornell University ISEF Award: K. T. Li Foundation ‐ 1st Award NYCSEF 2015 ISEF FINALIST RESULTS (MAY 2015) PAGE 1 Yi Chen ‐ Junior (Cellular & Molecular Biology) High School: Bronx High School of Science Project Title: IL‐2 Receptor Mediated Signaling in T cells in Alopecia Areata Mentor/Worksite: Spandan Shah, Columbia University ISEF Award: 2nd Place Category Award KerCheng Chen ‐ Senior (Medicine & Health Sciences) High School: Bronx High School of Science Project Title: Characterization of Novel Groundbreaking Radioresistance Pathways in the Endometrial Cancer Stem Cell Niche: The Interplay of WNT, Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), and Hypoxia‐Inducible Factor‐1 (HIF‐1) Mentor/Worksite: Christopher Lange, SUNY Downstate Stefan Colton ‐ Senior (Mathematical Science) High School: Hunter College High School Project Title: Explicit Equations for the Delta Sets of Numerical Semigroups Mentor/Worksite: Gilana Reiss, Hunter College High School ISEF Award: American Mathematical Society ‐ 2nd Award George Drimba ‐ Senior (Mathematical Science) High School: Stuyvesant High School Project Title: Categorizing Point Sets with No Empty Pentagons Mentor/Worksite: Jason Econome, Stuyvesant High School ISEF Award: American Mathematical Society – Certificate of Honorable Mention Axel Feldmann ‐ Senior (Computer Science) High School: Hunter College High School Project Title: A Novel Computational Method for Subdividing Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients into Uniquely Treatable Clusters Mentor/Worksite: Avi Ma'ayan, Mt. Sinai ISEF Award: 2nd Place Category Award Jaison Jain ‐ Junior (Medicine & Health Sciences) High School: Hunter College High School Project Title: Siglec‐10 Expression and Function in Human B1 cells Mentor/Worksite: Rajenda Damle, Fernstein Institute for Medical Research ISEF Award: 2nd Place Category Award Anmolpreet Kandola ‐ Senior (Animal Sciences) NYCSEF 2015 ISEF FINALIST RESULTS (MAY 2015) PAGE 2 High School: Stuyvesant High School Project Title: Computational Analysis of Neuronal Chromatin Structure and Nuclear PARP‐1 and PAR Expression Provides Novel Marker for Detecting Learning Associated Changes in Mice Mentor/Worksite: Alejandro Ivan Hernandez, SUNY Downstate ISEF Award: 2nd Place Category Award Nelly Lin ‐ Senior (Medicine & Health Sciences) High School: Bronx High School of Science Project Title: Characterization of Novel Groundbreaking Radioresistance Pathways in the Endometrial Cancer Stem Cell Niche: The Interplay of WNT, Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), and Hypoxia‐Inducible Factor‐1 (HIF‐1) Mentor/Worksite: Christopher Lange, SUNY Downstate Lucy Lin ‐ Senior (Earth & Environmental Sciences) High School: Midwood High School @ Brooklyn College Project Title: Degradation of TPH‐ Diesel in Soil through Mycoremediation Mentor/Worksite: Zhong Qi Chang, Brooklyn College Kevin Lin ‐ Senior (Animal Sciences) High School: Staten Island Technical High School Project Title: Diversity of Free‐Living Soil Nematodes in an Urban‐Metropolitan Region Mentor/Worksite: Chris Li, City College of New York Julia Sakowitz ‐ Senior (Physics & Space Sciences) High School: Brearley School Project Title: Pion Condensate in an External Magnetic Field at Finite Isospin Chiral Perturbation Theory ISEF Awards: European Organization for Nuclear Research‐CERN, 3rd Place Category Award Hugh Savoldelli ‐ Junior (Microbiology) High School: Columbia Grammar and Prep School Project Title: BioDissolve Mentor/Worksite: Camille Hamula, Mt. Sinai ISEF Awards: Alcoa Foundation Sustainable Urban Design – 2nd Award, ASU Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, 1st Place Category Award James Savoldelli ‐ Junior (Microbiology) High School: Columbia Grammar and Prep School Project Title: BioDissolve Mentor/Worksite: Camille Hamula, Mt. Sinai ISEF Awards: Alcoa Foundation Sustainable Urban Design – 2nd Award, ASU Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, 1st Place Category Award Drew Tomback ‐ Junior (Microbiology) NYCSEF 2015 ISEF FINALIST RESULTS (MAY 2015) PAGE 3 High School: Columbia Grammar and Prep School Project Title: BioDissolve Mentor/Worksite: Camille Hamula, Mt. Sinai ISEF Awards: Alcoa Foundation Sustainable Urban Design – 2nd Award, ASU Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, 1st Place Category Award Syeda Wahid ‐ Senior (Behavioral & Social Sciences) High School: Bronx High School of Science Project Title: Effects of Bank Loans v. Credit Union Loans on Employment and Firm Creation in the State Level between 1999‐2006 Mentor/Worksite: Robert Seamans, NYU Stern Glenn Yu ‐ Senior (Chemistry) High School: Hunter College High School Project Title: Naturalistic Painkillers: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Fatty Acid Binding Protein Inhibitors Mentor/Worksite: Iwao Ojima, Stony Brook ISEF Awards: National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health & the Friends of NIDA – 1st Award, 3rd Place Category Award Yinge (Brian) Zhao ‐ Senior (Biochemistry) High School: Dalton School Project Title: A Novel Peptide Alters the Alzheimer's amyloid Equilibrium to Protect Against  Oligomer Neurotoxicity Mentor/Worksite: Alexander Birk, Weill Cornell ISEF Award: 3rd Place Category Award
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