By Anna Gustafson
Seven Queens students were named as semi-finalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search, one of the oldest and most prestigious science research competitions in the country.
Two of the students, Stephanie Jane Tuminello, 17, of Floral Park, and Manjinder Singh Kandola, 17, of Richmond Hill, are students at borough schools. Tuminello attends St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows while Kandola goes to Queens High School for the Sciences at York College.Tuminello conducted her research project on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and found that parents who give their children formula were more likely to place their children in unsafe sleeping positions than parents who opt to breast-feed.
“I hope that because of this, parents who are more likely to formula feed will get more education about how to properly place their infants to sleep,” said Tuminello, who plans to continue to work in the sciences and do research in college.
The other five semifinalists from Queens are students at schools outside the borough. Cynthia Chen, 17, of Forest Hills, studies at The Brearley School in Manhattan and Flushing resident Soo Kyoung Joanna Kim, 18, and Douglaston resident Ho Chit Hosea Siu, 17, both attend the Bronx High School of Science. Hye-Eun Jeong, 17, of Flushing and Rego Park resident Yang Li, 17, go to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan.
Intel alumni “have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world’s most coveted science and math honors, including seven Nobel Prizes and three National Medals of Science,” the Intel Foundation said on its Web site.
The Queens pupils were seven of 300 semifinalists to be chosen from a pool of about 1,700 applicants. Intel judges annually assess research projects covering a range of scientific and mathematical topics. Each semifinalist and his or her respective school receive a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation.
Intel officials will choose 40 of the 300 students to be finalists, who would then travel to Washington, D.C., in March to compete for the top award of $100,000.
A dozen Queens students last year were named as semifinalists. The students had completed research projects on a wide variety of topics, including cancer research and obesity.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
