CSF - Connecticut Science Fair

> scrapbook of pictures

Hello Every One,

This is the first edition of the 2001 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) journal published by the students and adults of the Connecticut State Science Fair and Science Horizons Regional Science Fair.

Full details on the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair are available at ISEF's site. More information, including full abstracts are on our students can be found on the ISEF Bound page.

This year's official party:

Student Competitors:
Mariangela Lisanti, Staples High School, Westport
Michael Nyberg, Lyme/Old Lyme High School, Old Lyme
Alex Mittal, Greenwich High School, Greenwich
Rowena Mittal, Greenwich High School, Greenwich
John Shedletsky, Brewster High School, Brewster, NY, Science Horizons Fair Winner

Adults:
Sandra Müller, CT Science Fair President, and ISEF chaperone
Wynn Müller, CT Science Fair Registration Chairman, and ISEF Coordinator
Ron Miller, Danbury High School, CSF Executive Committtee, CSF ISEF Committee
Michael Mostransky, Brewster High School,( John¹s teacher), Brewster, NY, Science Horizons Fair Accompanying Adult
Ernest Gagnon, Chief of Judging, CT Science Fair, and Member, Board of Directors
Bob Wisner, Fair Director
Sue Wisner, Fair Photographer

Events for the Week:
Sunday- Registration, Side trip to San Francisco
Monday- Project Setup, Opening Dinner and Ceremony
Tuesday- Project Setup, Meet Nobel Laureates, Student Celebration at the Tech Museum
Wednesday- Judging Noon to 8:30 p.m., Student and Adult Mixers
Thursday- At projects for public viewing 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. , Society and Corporate Special Awards Convocation
Friday- Government Special Awards Convocation, Grand Awards Ceremony, Project teardown
Saturday- Return Home

Connecticut's Representatives to ISEF discover the lure of the Silicon Valley.
Observations from Sue Wisner:

Saturday, May 5, 2001
There always seems to be enthusiasm and anticipation when the group gathers at the airport and this trip lived up to that expectation. The flights went smoothly and we were glad to get on the ground in San Jose, CA. The duo of white minivans headed the short distance into the city of San Jose only about 15 minutes from the airport. The check-in at the Fairmont Hotel went amazingly smoothly thanks to the planning of Sandy and Wynn Müller. We were all very pleased with the accommodations and the close proximity to all the organized functions.
The first evening we opted to enjoy a dinner at the Fairmont in the Pagoda Chinese Restaurant. It provided us with chance to all eat together and share time to get to know each of the students better and give the accompanying adults more time with them and the other members of the party. Chopsticks were abandoned for forks for the hunger level was too high to learn how to use them, except for Ernie Gagnon who has had the advantage of spending many hours using chopsticks while on his business trips to Japan for United Technologies.

Sunday, May 6, 2001
The next morning was the start of our excursion into San Francisco. Again the two trusty white
vans driven by Ron Miller and Wynn Müller winged their way into one of my favorite cities. The weather was glorious and sparkling. We started by parking at Fisherman¹s Wharf and getting into a cable car to enjoy the hills without having to walk them! We terminated at the Cable Car Museum, which gave us a chance to see the actual workings of the cable car system. As we walked back we took a jaunt through Chinatown and I think it was an eye opener for the students to see the diversity. Heat and tired feet gave in to us taking a bus the rest of the way to our destination. The highlight off the day was tour on the antique vintage 1950¹s beautifully restored firetruck. We were distributed the actual firecoats of previous firefighters and hats if needed to take our tour over the Golden Gate Bridge in the open-air firetruck. We had quite the twosome for a driver and his assistant. They had us singing songs and clanging the huge brass bell as we drove through the streets of San Franciso and over the bridge into Sausalito. We had the opportunity to stop for pictures of the skyline of the city across the bay and looking at the bridge from below. It was a fun way to see the city and enjoyed by students and adults alike. We finished the day with an early dinner at the Cannery and the students found the sweet shop to bring treats back with them.

We returned in time to go to registration and to be sure that the projects had indeed arrived safely and we were not in violation of any rules. We went through that process fairly smoothly with only a snag or two that were quickly resolved. It was a pleasant day for all and we were tired by the time that we called in a day.

Monday- May 7, 2001
Breakfast in the Miller¹s room gave us the opportunity to get an early start on the day of project set up. All dressed in our United Technologies T-shirts we found that the set up went smoothly and in a few hours all were cleared from Rules and Safety and it gave the students a chance to visit with other participants and check out some of the competition.

Lunch was at a restaurant that was reminiscence of the 1960¹sŠright down to the juke boxes, chrome tables and soda straws.

The evening activities started with a Mexican style buffet at the San Jose Civic Center and then a walk to the San Jose State University for the opening ceremony. This was an upbeat show hosted by Sinbad. There were guest appearances by the President and CEO of the Intel Corporation, Craig Barrett. Intel is the main sponsor for the ISEF. California¹s Governor, Gray Davis, and the Mayor of San Jose, Ron Gonzales were honored guests. The Chairman of Science Service and a 1986 Nobel Laureate himself, Dr. Dudley Herschback , made the introductions of several Nobel Laureates. The 2000 Intel ISEF Glenn T. Seaborg Nobel Visit Recipient and the Intel Young Scientist Scholar, Nazanin Jouei was also present.
The ceremony was concluded with Jim Morris, President of Industrial Light and Magic which showed how his company made the computer simulations that made movies like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Perfect Storm, and may other exciting films.

We hope to continue our update of our next few days here in San Jose and tell of all the excitement of the actual day of judging and the results of the award ceremonies.

Biographies and Project Descriptions of the Connecticut Science Fair and Science Horizons Students

Mariangela Lisanti, Senior, Staples High School, Westport
My parents immigrated to the United States from Italy during the seventies. They met in an Italian neighborhood in the Bronx, and this was the community that my sister and I were brought up in. When I was in fourth grade, we moved to Westport and only four years later, due to an inspiring teacher, I discovered my passion for science. During my years in high school, I was able to pursue my interests full force. I participated in the CT Science Fair as a freshman and then began doing water quality research at The Nature Center for Environmental Activities, a project that eventually led to a presentation given at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. I also founded and led my high school¹s first engineering team, which won the national competition this year. In addition to being valedictorian of my class, a semifinalist in the Presidential Scholar competition, and captain of the math team, I am also the concertmaster of my school¹s orchestra and chamber group.

Mariangela's Research:
This past summer, I began working in Professor Mark Reed¹s lab at Yale University on designing an apparatus that would allow for the fast and easy collection of conductance quantization data. Conductance, which is just the inverse of resistance, is transmitted in packets in wires that are just a few atoms wide. (It is quantized.) The technique that I have developed allows for data acquisition at an unprecedented rate of 86 million data points per day, 3-1000 times faster than other techniques. The device built costs $35, approximately 3000 times less expensive than other devices, and it also enabled me to observe quantization at higher conductance values (up to 50 times the conductance quantum), a phenomenon that had never before been reported. This work, which led to my winning the Intel Science Talent Search and the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, proved to me just how much I enjoy the scientific process and the exploration for new knowledge.

Alex Mittal, Sophomore, Greenwich High School, Greenwich
Alex Mittal is returning to ISEF for his second year in a row as a winner of the Connecticut Science Fair. He and his sister Rowena enjoy science research and have both pursued projects in the biological sciences over their high school careers. Besides following his science interest, Alex also runs cross-country, takes part in student government and the school paper, and spends time with friends. Alex is looking forward to learning and having fun at San José this year with the other students from Connecticut and from around the world.

Alex's Research:
The protective effect of Mangifera indica (mango fruit) extracts on normal non-cancerous cells has been previously studied and the mango plant has been used for treating a variety of ailments in traditional Asian-Indian medicine, but mango has not been previously shown to have a direct anticancer effect. In Alex¹s research, he found that extracts of mango inhibit the growth of lymphoma cancer cells in the laboratory. Currently, Alex is working on isolating the cancer inhibiting compound(s) in the peel of the mango fruit, which he hopes may have implications in the future treatment of cancers such as lymphoma.

Rowena Mittal, Senior Greenwich High School, Greenwich
Rowena Mittal has participated in the Connecticut Science Fair for three years, and is an ISEF Œ99 alum. She is an executive officer of the GHS Student Government, president of the French Honor Society, member of the National Honor Society, and plays the bass clarinet on the GHS Symphony Band. Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering in various programs, in particular the Red Cross First-Aid Standby Team. Recently, Rowena placed first with this year¹s project at the Connecticut Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and then won 3rd place in her category at the National Junior Science and Humanities, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, held in Orlando, Florida last month.

Rowena's Research:
Rowena applied microwave irradiation to the immunostaining incubation periods of tissue sections,to shorten immunostaining processing-time and achieve a diagnostic procedure that can be performed during surgery. Routine staining of frozen sections takes ten minutes and allows for diagnosis and appropriate treatment of cancer during surgery. However, in approximately 5% of cases, an accurate diagnosis can only be determined after surgery with additional immunostaining: a three-hour process which stains for the presence of specific antigens (biochemical differences rather than simply morphological differences). Microwave irradiation is known to increase diffusion rates and affect protein conformation, which may accelerate the rate of reaction between antigens and antibodies. With the reduction of the immunostaining processing-time for frozen sections to approximately 10-15 minutes, this MWI method has great potential for intraoperative tumor diagnosis.

Michael Nyberg, Sophomore, Lyme/Old Lyme High School, Old Lyme
Michael Nyberg is a second year ISEF participant (ISEF ¹00 and Œ01). He won his first Connecticut Science Fair honor in eighth grade when he placed first with "The Exploration and Investigation of the Slow Decomposition of the RMS Titanic by Rust." In 2000, he submitted the project, "An Experiment to Determine the Agent/Mechanism Causing the Passivity of Iron in Aerated Distilled Water." This project placed second in the senior physical division of the Connecticut State Science Fair. He attended the 2000 International Science and Engineering Fair in Detroit, Michigan.

Michael is a high honor student, and participates in many extracurricular activities. Michael is a varsity athlete obtaining varsity letters two years in a row for cross-country and will be a co-captain next year. He runs varsity track and participates in FIRST robotics.

Michael has attained the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts of America. He also enjoys backpacking and mountain climbing and has a goal to climb all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks. He has completed 23 High Peaks.

Michael wishes to attend college and major in electrical engineering. Following college he wishes to be in the United States Navy

Michael's Project:
A preferred method in use of mosquito control is larvicide, (killing the mosquito larvae in the water.) Many of the pesticides today are hazardous to the environment, and the larvae are growing immune to many of these chemicals. My project was to explore the potential of larvicide through the use of sound waves in the water. I discovered a sound frequency, which matches the natural frequency of a mosquito larvae¹s air bladder. When this sound is put into water it causes the air bladder to rupture, killing the larvae. Acoustic power levels are very low and the technique appears to be highly specific larvae making it an effective pesticide-free method for mosquito control.

John Shedletsky, Senior, Brewster High School, Brewster, NY (Science Horizons Winner)
John Shedletsky is the valedictorian of Brewster High School¹s class of 2001. He has been tinkering with computers since he got his first at the age of eight. In addition to having written a large number of computer games, he has also created a chess program that has scored victories against International Masters in online play. During his internship at the T.J. Watson Research Center last summer, John became the co-author of a patent involving Internet search engine technology. For the past four years John has served as a member of the editorial staff of Brewster High School¹s literary magazine, Ursus. This year he is the editor-in-chief. John has been awarded a presidential scholarship at Stanford University and will be pursuing a double major in computer science and engineering (or maybe something strange like history) there this fall.

John's Research:
John has designed a computer simulation which demonstrates how groups of unicellular critters, such as bacteria, could have originally started to work together to eventually create the first instances of multicellular life. Organisms grown using John¹s computer model have characteristics which are analogous to their biological counterparts, including bilateral symmetry, intercellular symbiosis, and separation of cell types by function. These results are significant because these behaviors are not programmed into the software, rather they spontaneously assert themselves in the course of simulation, indicating that the mechanisms which cause these characteristics in the model need not be logically dissimilar to those in nature.