South Side High School student named Siemens semifinalist

One of Rockville Centre’s own earned a spot as a regional semifinalist in the celebrated 2010 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. 

Kelsey McKenna, a senior at South Side High School who is enrolled in the school’s Science Research class, worked at Stony Brook University’s Garcia lab on strategies to fight the flu virus. 

Kelsey’s science research teachers, Herb Weiss and Todd Russo said they are very excited for Kelsey, as the nomination is a huge accomplishment, considering the vast number of student projects entered (over 6,200 projects) and the fact that only 308 semifinalists were chosen nationwide. 

Her project is titled “Three-Dimensional Molecular Imprinting and Potentiometric Detection of Proteins and Viruses.” Kelsey developed a biosensor for the detection of the flu virus and critiqued the traditional model of molecular imprinting. She intends on continuing her work on biosensors, and hopes to develop a consistent biosensor of the polio virus.