Semifinalists pursue more competition

Bryan Ahrens

After being named Siemen Foundation semifinalists on Oct. 16, five Herricks High School seniors have now set their sights on the Intel Science Talent Search competition filing applications for the national contest.

The five – Byeongho Jung, Raphael Kim, Jacqueline Lee, Lopa Shah and Jim Tse – were among six Herricks students named as semifinalists in Siemen Foundation competition, tying a New York City school for the most semifinalists in the state.

“It’s a testament to their hard work,” Herricks science teacher Renee Barcia said. “They do great things and they should be proud.”

The sixth Siemen semifinalist – sophomore Bongseok Jung – was not eligible to compete in the Intel competition, which is restricted to seniors.

Bongseok Jung, who’s research involved the causes of autoimmune diseases in the body, was the only sophomore of the six and said he had worked in previous years with his older brother, Byeongho.

“This year I went without him, so I’m honored,” he said.

The five seniors of the group have submitted the same research projects to the Intel Science Talent Search competition that they had submitted to the Siemen Foundation competition.

Bongseok’s older brother Byeongho submitted research involving multi-purpose drugs for cancer patients and says his inspiration came to him after seeing a list of the drugs a patient would have to take.

“I thought, that’s a lot of drugs,” he said.

Byeongho said that each of those drugs carries with it a separate side-effect and that using a multi-purpose drug consisting of salicin and nitric oxide would reduce these side-effects.

Shah’s research involved increased bone formation and ways of dealing with bone loss from surgical procedures, such as hip implants, and bone loss due to osteoporosis. 

“After I read one of my mentor’s papers I found it interesting that it could actually treat the disease,” Shah said.

Kim’s project involved the discovery of new particles through the colliding of other particles at high speeds. Kim created an algorithm to help better analyze the particles at the moment of collision.

“They’re very unstable and you only have a moment to see them,” he said.

Lee’s research involved the study of electronic cigarettes over traditional cigarettes and their effects on the blood. Lee said she chose this research due to the timeliness of it.

“People are always looking for alternatives,” she said.

Lee said that through short term tests she has found electronic cigarettes to be identical in how they affect the blood. 

Tse said he became interested in his research on prosthetic knee braces through his interest in sports.

“Biomedicines are used for sports injuries,” he said. 

Tse’s research explored deviations in knee braces and the prevention of Osteoarthritis. 

Barcia said that the Intel Science Talent Search is one of the oldest competitions offering students money for college and expects her seniors to hear back in January of their placement in the competition. 

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