Three Hewlett High seniors are Regeneron semifinalists

Samuel Bogdanov, Julia Grossman and Siyuan Yue, all Hewlett High School seniors, were among the 300 semifinalists in the 2019 Regeneron Science Talent Search.

The students were selected from 1,964 entries received from 184 high schools in 40 states and two American and international high schools overseas. The scholars were selected on the basis of their exceptional promise as scientists, excellent record of academic achievement and outstanding recommendations from teachers and other scientists.

Bogdanov studied the role of the bacteria Clostrium perfringens in triggering cell death. He showed that the toxin might be a putative environmental trigger for Multiple Sclerosis. He also demonstrated that humans can be exposed to the toxin from this bacteria through the food they eat.

Bogdanov conducted his research at Weill Cornell Medical under the mentorship of Dr. Tim Vartanian. Project title: Elucidating the molecular mechanism of Clostrium perfringens Epsilon Toxin cytotoxicity and the requirement for the Myelin and Lymphocyte Protein.

As earthquakes are difficult to predict and there is no reliable marker that can indicate where and when an earthquake will occur, Grossman’s research focused on using the level of element fluorine to indicate strain in the Earth’s crust and as subsequent predictor of earthquakes.

She conducted her research at Stony Brook University during her summer internship through the Simons Program, under the mentorship of Dr. William Holt. Project title: Use of fluorine as a proxy to determine the effect of geothermal fluids on strain rate, effective crustal viscosity and landscape deformation in the Great Basin.

Yue studied the impact of public infrastructure investment on gross domestic product by creating a model that divides the transmission mechanism into four distinct sectors and calculated the elasticity of each sector.

A normative analysis is then used to show that a region is prone to afford more capital investment should receive more government investment. Project title: A Non-Ricardian Model to Estimate Impact of Public Investment on GDP by Sectors: How and for What Should Public Investment be Targeting.

On Jan. 23, 40 of the 300 semifinalists will be chosen as STS finalists. They received an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. from March 7 to 13, where they will compete for more than $1.3 million in awards provided by Regeneron.