BY M. JUNAID ALAM
The Intel Science Talent Search announced the semifinalists last week, chosen from 1,602 entrants from 45 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the running this round.Six of the Queens semifinalists hailed from Manhattan's Stuyvestant High School. They are: Paula Bu of Little Neck, Arur Dmwoski of Corona, Alice Fok of Oakland Gardens, Olivia Hu of Little Neck, Elizabeth Min of Little Neck and Xiaoyun Yin of Forest Hills.Francis Lewis High School and St. Francis Preparatory School, both in Fresh Meadows, also fielded two winners each.April Chu and Rebecca Long represented Francis Lewis, whereas Eleanor Reilly and Anuradha Singh represented St. Francis Prep. Students entered individual research projects for the contest. The jargon-laden project titles offer little insight for the layman: examples include “Kinetics of Bioremediation and Electricity Production in a Novel Microbial Fuel Cell” and “Synthesis of a Molecular Nanostructure for Applications in Single-Electronics.”Long's project, however, titled “Dating Daklhleh Desert Dwellers and Disasters,” involved the same technology ( an electronic spin resonance spectrometer) she used to climb to the regional round of the Siemens Foundation competition in November.Those chosen as semifinalists were awarded $1,000 scholarships and $1,000 for their schools. They were also provided with a certificate of accomplishment to send in with college applications.Forty finalists will be announced on Jan. 30 and published in the magazine Science News. They will be treated to a paid trip to Washington, D.C. in March for a weeklong event and will also be provided with new laptops. Ten top winners will then be chosen after extra judging sessions and treated to a March 11 banquet. Among them, a top winner will be chosen and given a $100,000 scholarship by Intel.”[W]e are honored to be part of a program that is fostering the talent of America's brightest young minds,” Intel Foundation President Brenda Musilli said in a release. “These students are solving difficult problems that will have a real impact on generations to come.”Intel, a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., has sponsored the competition for 10 years. Its goal, according to a released statement, is to “encourage high school seniors who demonstrate exceptional ability in science, math and engineering.”The company started its sponsorship with $207,000 but has now expanded its awards and scholarship for a grand total of $1.25 million.Reach reporter M. Junaid Alam by e-mail at malam@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 174.
