Four students from Manhasset Secondary School have been named Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars for 2020. This represents the largest number of Regeneron Scholars selected from the school in a single year and the largest number from one school on Long Island this year.
Congratulations to Kevin Carratu, Kevin Gauld, Ella Wesson and Elizabeth Wu for being selected from among 300 national Regeneron Scholars who are eligible to be invited to Washington, D.C., in March to participate in final judging. While in the nation’s capital, finalists will display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists and compete for awards, including the top award of $250,000. Finalists will be announced Jan. 22.
Carratu earned scholar status for his project, “Supplementation of Antioxidants with Curcumin, Quercetin and L-glutathione to Reduce Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration, Alpha-synuclein Accumulation and Decreased Motility Associated with Parkinson’s.” Carratu examined the effectiveness of natural antioxidants in treating Parkinson’s disease in a caenorhabditis elegans model.
Gauld’s project, “Optimizing Neural Image Classifiers Through the Usage of Neural Style Transfer in Image Preprocessing,” developed a way to improve a computer’s ability to accurately recognize images, which could be used to improve tumor identification.
In Wesson’s project, “Engineering One Layer of a Two-Dimensional Acoustic Band Gap Material and Reconstructing the Sound Pressure Field Using Acoustic Holography,” she recorded the movement of sound waves by using a microphone to create hologram imaging to develop applications for sound waves similar to how light waves are used for cameras and screening procedures.
Wu’s project, “Developing Algorithmic Machinery to Explore the Cosmological Horizon Problem by Numerically Solving Maxwell’s Equations in the Kasner Metric,” identified a calculation for light rays to match the behavior of light waves to gain insight into the early universe and unsolved Horizon Problem that prevents temperatures from evening out across areas of the universe.
“I have always admired past Science Talent Search alumni because they are so talented, they have achieved the fame and fortune and have really changed the world,” Wu said. “I’m like ‘Wow, I want to be like them.’ It’s such an honor, and I am super flattered to be recognized.”
The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. Alumni have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world’s most coveted science and math honors, including the Nobel Prize and the National Medal of Science.
All four students developed their projects through the Manhasset Secondary School science research program under the guidance of Manhasset Secondary School research coordinator/teacher Alison Huenger. Wesson also worked under the mentorship of David Grier, professor of physics and director of the Center for Soft Matter Research at New York University, and Wu worked under Brett Bochner, professor of physics and astronomy at Hofstra University.
“It has been an honor and privilege working with these students for the past 3-5 years,” said Huenger. “I am incredibly proud of their hard work, dedication and passion that they display towards their research. These research students exhibit the qualities that will make them great future leaders in STEM.”
“I’d like to give a shoutout to Ms. Huenger for guiding us through all three years of science research,” Wesson added. “We could not have done this without her.”
Each Regeneron Scholar, selected from 1,993 entrants, will receive a $2,000 award, with an additional $2,000 directed to his or her respective school.
Story submitted by Syntax and the Manhasset School District.
