Siemens recognizes eight Five Towns school scientists

Lawrence and HAFTR students are regional finalists

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Eight students from four Five Towns schools were recognized for their research projects submitted to the 2014 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.
Lee Blackburn and Arthur Chen, of Lawrence High School, and Justin Lish, of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) High School — all juniors — were named regional finalists on Monday, as was Russell Charnoff of HAFTR.
Three Hewlett High School students, senior Meghan Bialt-Decelie and juniors Benjamin Golbin and Levy Sominsky, were honored as semifinalists, along with Adina Singer, a senior at Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls.
“I was skeptical about becoming a semifinalist, let alone a regional finalist,” said Blackburn, who learned that he, Chen and Lish had been named semifinalists on Oct. 16. “When I received the [regional finalist] phone call on Saturday, I couldn’t believe what I heard. The first thing I did was pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”
Their project is titled “Optimization of Catalytic Activity in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Utilizing Functionalized Graphene Oxide/Partially Reduced Graphene Oxide Coatings.” Blackburn, Chen and Lish found a way to increase fuel cell efficiency as an energy source and decrease its production cost by reducing carbon monoxide, which poisons fuel cells.

The team conducted a portion of its research at Lawrence High under the guidance of Rebecca Isseroff, a chemistry teacher and the district’s science competitions coordinator, and they spent weekdays this summer doing experiments at Stony Brook University’s Garcia Research Center.
“My research experience during the summer was the best summer I’ve ever had,” said Chen, adding that his older brother, Andrew, was a 2011 Siemens semifinalist. “Not only was the research really enjoyable, but the people I met and lived with was an incredible experience, and I’d love to do it again.”
Lish also has family ties to
scientific research: Both his parents are doctors, and his sister has also conducted research. “I’ve always wanted to study and conduct research to find solutions to modern scientific problems,” he said. “Successful scientific research is the first step in the complex process of making change to benefit the world.”
Next up for the team is the regional competition at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, on Nov. 21 and 22, where they will present their project before a committee, as will four other teams. The winner there will advance to the national competition in December. Charnoff will also present his project there.
“It’s very, very exciting,” Isseroff said. “We never expected this because it’s very selective. They’re all great projects, and it must be very hard to judge.”

Hewlett semifinalists
Bialt-DeCelie, Golbin and Sominsky, who worked together under the guidance of science teacher Dr. Terence Bissoondial, developed a project at Hewlett High, and completed it this summer at Stony Brook.
“I’m quite delighted with the results, considering the changes that occurred to the research program,” said Bissoondial, referring to the staff reductions that have forced him to teach more classes and left less time for research. “It’s good to have the support of the Hewlett-Woodmere administration, the parents and, of course, devoted students who followed me to Stony Brook University for the summer to finish their research project.” Bissoondial oversees the high school’s research program, which in the past two years has produced two Siemens grand prize-winning teams.
Bialt-DeCelie, Golbin and Sominsky’s project, “Investigating the Phytotoxity of ZnO Nanoparticles and the Mechanism of Transports in the Prothallial Cells of Ceratoperis richardii,” focused on the toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles, which are widely used in many consumer products like cosmetics, textiles and skin lotions. Nanoparticles are one to 100 nanometers in size; a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Studies of the phytotoxity (toxic damage) of nanoparticles, and their impact on the food chain, are uncommon.

Learning from their projects
Charnoff’s project, “Synthesis and Characterization of Graphene Nanoparticle Infused Polyethylene Nanocomposite Material for Enhanced Mechanical and Thermal Properties,” sought to create a material that improved the thermal properties of a plastic to conduct heat more efficiently for use in ventilation technology.
“I hadn’t realized beforehand how many objects used in our daily lives are made out of different types of plastics,” Charnoff said. “The fact that the Siemens judges had recognized our project as one of the top projects in over 1,000 made me realize the importance of the research we conducted.” There were more than 1,780 submissions this year, the most ever, according to Siemens officials.
Singer was recognized for her work in DNA sequencing, where she developed an efficient protocol for cutting large-scale samples under the guidance of Stony Brook Professor Dr. Jonathan Socolov.
“Doing research at Stony Brook was a great experience,” Singer said. “I spent long hours in the lab, but the work was so exciting that it didn’t feel like work.”