Ten Science Outreach students reach semifinals of Intel Science Talent Search

Bonnie Kaiser (center) and the semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. Photo by Ann-Marie Blaber

Ten out of the 60 high school students who participated in RU’s Science Outreach Programhave been named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (formerly the Westinghouse Science Talent Search). This program, now in its 59th year, is one of the most prestigious science awards for high school students in the country. More than 70 percent of the former finalists have gone on to earn Ph.D.s or M.D.s; five have won Nobel Prizes.

“The performance of our students is incredible. Ten semifinalists is a new record for our program. The dedication and hard work of these students and their mentors really shows,” says Bonnie Kaiser, director of the Science Outreach Program.

The lab mentors have high praise for their students. Stefan Heller calls his student, Evan Fink, a “math wunderkind.” Ethan Marin admires the way his student, Eugene Simuni, wrote what amounts to a mini-Ph.D. dissertation.

Of her experience in the program, Cara Wolfish says, “I have a strong yearning to be part of the scientific community in the future, and the Science Outreach Program contained much of the needed background for future attainment of these goals.” Elizabeth McKenna says, “The writing component of the program helped a great deal in preparing my research paper.”

Professor Mary Jeanne Kreek, who was herself a winner of the contest, notes that the contest provides students with a wonderful opportunity to meet other like-minded students and senior scientists. She recounts how she met Detlev Bronk (RU president from 1953 to 1968) when she was a finalist, and Bronk remembered her years later when she came to Rockefeller.

This year’s winners from RU’s Science Outreach Program are Timothy Kyusik Cha, of Garden City Senior H.S., mentored by Professor Emeritus Robert Schoenfeld; Evan Fink, of Stuyvesant H.S., mentored by Postdoctoral Associate Stefan Heller in Dr. A. James Hudspeth’s lab; Adam Kahn, of the Hackley School, mentored by Schoenfeld; Chrisann Kyi, of John Jay H.S., mentored by Associate Professor Jonathan Smith in Dr. Jan Breslow’s lab; Evan Mandel, of Stuyvesant H.S., mentored by Research Associate Penio Penev in Dr. Mitchell Feigenbaum’s lab; Elizabeth McKenna, of Stuyvesant H.S., mentored by Associate Professor Sonoko Ogawa in Dr. Donald Pfaff’s lab; Raymond Raad, of Stuyvesant H.S., mentored by Associate Professor Marcelo Magnasco; Marianna Shnayderman, of Midwood H.S., mentored by Postdoctoral Associate Hayes Dansky in Dr. Jan Breslow’s lab; Eugene Simuni, of Midwood H.S., mentored by Biomedical Fellow Ethan Marin in Dr. Thomas Sakmar’s lab; Cara Wolfish, of Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, mentored by Graduate Fellow Dvora Shmulewitz in Dr. Jeffrey Friedman’s lab.