Hewlett High School junior takes first place

Ariel Slepyan, a junior at Hewlett High School, finished first in the Engineering Material Science category of the New York State Science and Engineering Fair at the New York Hall of Science in Queens on March 23.
Slepyan was also named a finalist in the Intel Science and Engineering Fair that will be held in Pittsburgh May 9-15.
In addition, his research was recognized by the American Society of Microbiology for outstanding exhibit in material science; the Yale Science and Engineering Association, Inc. for most outstanding exhibit in computer science, engineering, physics or chemistry and the U.S. Air Force for outstanding science and engineering fair project.
The research is “The Development of a Microfluidic Device to Assess the Thermotaxis of Bacteria.” Slepyan conducted his research under the mentorship of Dr. Alex Grossman at the University of California, San Diego last summer.
For the project, Slepyan constructed a device that could produce stable temperature gradients — physical quantities that describe in which direction and at what rate the temperature changes the most rapidly around a particular location — that allow researchers to study how cells detect and respond to changes in temperature (themotaxis). It is difficult to measure the gradients and observe thermotaxis quantitatively, according to Hewlett High science teacher Dr. Terrence Bissoondial, who served as Slepyan’s project mentor.
A member of the Hewlett’s research program since his freshman year, he is also a part of the school’s robotics team that took part in the East Super Regionals at the University of Scranton last month.