Fourteen students from Great Neck North Middle and North High Schools won top awards at the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair, held at Hofstra University. Contestants were required to do extensive research and write papers on an advanced mathematical topic, and then persuasively defend and explain their research before a panel of judges.
North High Winners
Gold Medal individual winners and their topics: 10th grader Nathaniel Libman, “Ramsey Theory”; and ninth-graders August Chen, “The Chaotic Nature of Non-Linear Dynamic Systems,” and Yael Lissack, “Non-Uniform Distribution of Naturally Occurring Numbers.” Gold Medal Team winners: Gabrielle Berger and Ariel Uzan, “Magic Squares.”
Silver Medal team winners: Zachary Han and Jason Lam, “Fractals”; and Ailin Elyasi and Melanie Katz, “Exploring Fractal Dimensions in Cookies.”
Bronze Medal winners: Olivia Descorbeth, “Projective Geometry;” Michael Hsiao, “Using Euler’s Polyhedron Formula to Solve Polyhedrons”; and Graelin Mandel, “Audible Golden Spiral: Putting Polar Coordinates to Music.”
North High Math Fair faculty advisers were science teachers Alan Schorn and Marie van Nieuwenhuizen.
North Middle Winners
Eighth-grader Scott Rothbaum earned a Gold Medal for “Euler’s Constant,” and seventh-grader Bradford Lin took a Silver Medal for “Zero.” Their faculty adviser was science teacher Paul Roach.
What the Contest Entails
Math Fair project research is done over a period of months, giving students an opportunity to investigate and thoroughly develop a topic. Entrants defend their work before a group of judges. Judges are typically teachers, college professors, or professionals in math-related fields. They have years of contest experience and possess an outstanding knowledge of mathematics.
