Mike Nyberg
Lyme/Old Lyme High School
Old Lyme, CT

Biography
Michael H. Nyberg lives in Old Lyme, Connecticut, where he attends Lyme, Old Lyme High School as a Freshman honor student.  Michael participates in cross-country where he received his varsity letter, and crew.  He is currently working on his Eagle Scout badge and will be receiving it over the
summer.

Research
The Analysis of the Passivity of Iron in Aerated Distilled Water

I discovered that iron will not rust in aerated distilled water.  My project was to determine why this occurs.  I varied the amounts of dissolved oxygen and introduced agitation.  I found that only constant aerated water stopped rusting.  I concluded then that continued aeration evenly distributed oxygen over the iron, which eliminated different oxygen concentrations, which is required for rusting.  I have applied for a patent.

Bobby Mulcare
Greenwich High School
Greenwich, CT

Biography
Robert W. Mulcare is a senior at Greenwich High School who, in participating in the Science Fair program for his first time, earned first place honors in the Senior Physical Division at the Connecticut fair for his work with laser-induced fluorescence. He is a member of three varsity athletic teams at Greenwich High School, including captaining and earning all-state honors in soccer, and is the school male scholar-athlete. He has been named a National Merit Finalist and an AP Scholar, and will attend Princeton University next fall. Robert lives with his two parents and a sister.

Research
Laser-Induced Fluorescence to Detect and Quantify Motor Oil Contamination in Soil and Water

     In this research, a device was developed which detected and recorded the fluorescence spectrum of various materials when they were placed in the path of a green helium-neon laser. It was found that common motor oil of all types and brands has the same unique fluorescence spectrum, one unlike any other material tested. Therefore, that spectrum could be used as a signal to detect motor oil present in any other substance. A procedure was developed using the chemical hexane in which motor oil was removed from various environmental mediums such as soil and water. The research demonstrated that the spectral device could then detect whether significant levels of motor oil contamination were present, and provide an approximate quantity of motor oil based upon the intensity of the fluorescence spectrum. This research has shown that a practical and portable device based on this technology is feasible for an on-site motor oil detection instrument.

Alex Mittal
Greenwich High School
Greenwich, CT

Biography
I am freshman at Greenwich High School, located in Greenwich, Connecticut. My interests vary, ranging from participating in cross country/lacrosse to researching in science. I am a member of student government, and am the current treasurer for the freshman class.

Research
Patients with ovarian serous tumors of low malignant potential, a type of epithelial ovarian tumor, generally have an excellent chance of long term survival when the cancer is confined to the ovaries. However, when extra-ovarian tumor growths are present, the prognosis is worsened, particularly if these growths, called implants, are invasive, rather than non-invasive. The current method to diagnose these implants, based on morphological structure, is not extremely accurate. This project found that, by detecting the levels of the Ki-67 antigen in the tumor and implant cells by using the immunostaining process, it is possible to diagnose the implants as invasive or non-invasive. This alternative diagnostic method can be used to determine the appropriate level of treatment for patients. The results of this project also imply that tumors and implants are the same growth, as
opposed to separate, unrelated growths, a mystery that has been much debated about among researchers in recent years.

Mike Casino
Danbury High School
Danbury, CT

Biography
I am a very busy sophomore at Danbury High School who enjoys, outside of science, playing tennis in the spring and participating in school clubs such as math team, the schoolıs literary magazine, and the key club. Science fairs have been a part of my life since I completed my first science project for Skyıs the Limit in 5th grade, and they have continued to be a great source of fun and competition through middle school and high school as I have participated, with terrific success, in Science Horizons. My real love for science is born out of a mind that constantly questions the world around me. Therefore, even when I can no longer participate in wonderful competitions like Science Horizons, science will still, and always, play a vital role in my life. 

Research
The project, which I completed for this yearıs competition, is titled "The Production and Application of Ethanol as a Synthetic Fuel."  It is an investigation into ethanol as a fuel alternative for the future. The purpose is to determine the effects of ethanol, and ethanol mixture, fuel on an engineıs power output and fuel economy as compared to gasoline. The information is then used to draw the conclusions about fuel costs and factors of conversion.

John Shedletsky
Brewster High School
Brewster, New York

Biography
John Shedletsky is a junior at Brewster High School. He is an editor for the schoolıs literary magazine, Ursus. One of his hobbies is computer game programming, although, distressingly, he has not had time to do that for a long time now. John Shedletskyıs research is a product of Brewster High Schoolıs Foundations of Research class, in which students choose a scientific topic and research it over the course of three years. Over the past few months, John has participated in many science competitions, including Science Horizons 2000, the Connecticut State Science Fair, and the BioGeneius Awards. John hopes to attend college at either MIT or Stanford University.

Research
The question of how a simple ball of cells becomes a complex and structured being has puzzled scientists for decades. One of the reasons for this is that it is often difficult to design experiments to allow for the observation or experimentation of the process. Taking a different approach to the problem, instead of doing research on living tissues in a lab, John Shedletsky has built a computer program that simulates the development of organisms in the embryonic stage. His work is loosely based on that of British mathematician Alan Turing, who, in 1951, proposed that chemicals known as morphogens, and the interactions between them, are responsible for the development of a structured organism. In his simulation, John has isolated several variables and determined their effect on the final state of the organisms which that simulation produces. Work in this field of study is ongoing due to the great advances in medicine which can be made once scientists understand how life works on a fundamental level.