Regeneron Winners Get Red Carpet Treatment From Elected Officials

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A few of our best and brightest young minds are now officially recognized as Westchester County's leading citizens.

Local high school scientists were honored by Westchester County Executive George Latimer for their research presented at the 2022 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

“We are confident these students will make waves in the science world and remain on the cutting edge of their chosen fields," said Latimer. "These projects are a testament of how engaged our educators are with our students. We are looking forward to seeing what they accomplish in the future as leaders and as role models.”

Westchester students received more than $25,000 total in scholarship money for their innovative research projects.

"As someone who got his start by doing a high school science project, I fully appreciate the critical importance of our supporting the next generation of young scientists, via programs like the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF," Regeneron co-founder George Yancopoulos said. "This year’s ISEF finalists are some of the brightest young minds from around the world, and provide hope for addressing global existential challenges from future pandemics to climate change. I am continually impressed by and proud of the strong showing from our Westchester community, with 25 students earning a spot at this year’s ISEF. I congratulate them for their hard work and am eager to see what they achieve in their scientific journeys."

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), a program of the Society for Science for over 70 years, is the world's largest science competition for high school students. Through a worldwide network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students are able to explore their passion for science. Every spring, a group of these students are selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for around $8 million in awards and scholarships. ISEF alumni have gone on to have outstanding careers in science and engineering and earn some of the most esteemed honors, becoming National Medal of Science recipients, MacArthur Foundation Fellows, National Academy of Sciences Members and National Academy of Engineering Inductees.

Below are the list of award winners from Westchester County schools:

Katelyn Wasilenko, Ossining High School, Ossining, NY

• Award: Second Award of $2000 in Biomedical and Health Sciences
• Project Title: Pediatric BMSC Exosome Treatment Requires Interaction With Bone Tissue Defect Environment To Improve Bone Repair

Aaron Song, Ossining High School, Ossining, NY

• Award: Fourth Award of $500 in Plant Sciences
• Project Title: Elucidating Terrestrial Optical Refrigeration Through Transpiration in Rhizophora mangle and Chlorophyll A Fluorescence in Low-Polarity Mediums

Edith Bachmann, Byram Hills High School, Armonk, NY

• Award: Third Award of $1,000 in Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Project Title: Tell Me a Story: The Effects of Storytelling vs. Story-Reading on the Executive Functions of Fourth Graders

Ariella Maia Blackman, Harrison High School, Harrison, NY

• Award: First Award of $750 from Air Force Research Laboratory on behalf of the United States Air Force; Second Award of $2,000 in Plant Sciences
• Project Title: Developing a Model in situ Resource Utilization System for Oxygen Sustaining Life Support and Launch Cost Reduction for Mars

Mai Blaustein, Harrison High School, Harrison, NY

• Award: Diploma of Recognition and $100 gift card from the American Chemical Society
• Project Title: Identification of Chemical Contaminants in Spiked Beverages With the Use of Infrared Spectroscopy Through Development of Inexpensive and Inconspicuous Device To Identify Date-Rape Drugs

Ritika Brahmadesam, Ossining High School, Ossining, NY

• Award: Third Award of $1,000 in Systems Software
• Project Title: An Active Fairness Algorithm for Estimating Socioeconomic Status From Household Surveys and Satellite Images

Emily Dodd, Somers High School, Lincondale, NY

• Award: Third Award of $1,000 in Biomedical and Health Sciences
• Project Title: Altered Homer1b/c Volumes and mGluR1/5-Homer1b/c Colocalization in Parkinson’s Disease-Linked LRRK2 G2019S Mice

Jack Kelly, Harrison High School, Harrison, NY

• Award: Fourth Award of $500 in Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Project Title: Quantifying Linguistic Polarization for Congressional Representatives Facing Primary Challengers: A Random Effects Logit Regression Approach

Anisha Musti, Edgemont High School, Scarsdale, NY

• Award: Third Place Award in “Cybersecurity” from the National Security Agency Research Directorate
• Project Title: Designing a Quantum Teleportation Circuit on Novel Qubits

Noah Nager, Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY

• Award: First Award of $750 from Air Force Research Laboratory on behalf of the United States Air Force
• Project Title: Implementation of Land Cover Data in a Neural Network To Forecast West Nile Virus Around the Gulf Coast

Anika Puri, Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, NY

• Award: Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication of $10,000; First Award in Earth and Environmental Science of $5,000
• Project Title: ElSa: A Novel Real-Time Wildlife Poacher Detection Solution Leveraging Machine Learning-Driven Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Nighttime UAV Thermal Infrared Videos

The following students also qualified to present their projects in the science categories:

• Jack Blackmar: Behavioral and Social Sciences – Byram Hills HS
• Michael Clarke: Environmental Sciences – Westlake HS
• Gabriella Colabello: Cellular and Molecular Biology – Byram Hills HS
• Tista Goswami: Medicine and Health Sciences – Mamaroneck HS
• Christina Kelly: Cellular and Molecular Biology – Westlake HS
• Maxwel Lee: Environmental Sciences – Hackley HS
• Julia Meyerson: Engineering – Pelham Memorial HS
• Joseph Nadol: Physics and Astronomy – Hackley HS
• Orlando Osgood: Behavioral and Social Sciences – Ossining HS
• Blake Rappaport: Medicine and Health Sciences – Ardsley HS
• Charlotte Rubin: Neuroscience – Hastings HS
• Leah Sherbansky: Medicine and Health Sciences – Pelham Memorial HS
• Benjamin Wang: Medicine and Health Sciences – Horace Greeley HS

SEE ALSO:

• Horace Greeley HS Student Wins Big At International Science Fair
• Harrison HS Students Win At International Science & Engineering Fair
• Byram Hills Student Wins At International Science & Engineering Fair
• Three Harrison HS Students Named Regeneron Scholars for 2022
• Head Of The Class: 10 Harrison HS Students Earn 15 Awards At WESEF
• 4 Rye Students Win Awards At The Regeneron 2022 WESEF
• 4 Blind Brook HS Students Earned 7 Awards At The Regeneron 2022 WESEF
• Rye Country Day School Students Win Awards At 2022 WESEF
• 20 NRHS Science Research Students Win 24 Awards In Prestigious WESEF
• Great Minds: 36 Byram Hills Students Win 46 Awards At 2022 WESEF
• 21 Horace Greeley Students Win 26 Awards At This Year's WESEF
• 14 Fox Lane Students Win 17 Awards At 2022 WESEF
• 17 Of Mamaroneck's Best And Brightest Won 22 Awards At The 2022 WESEF
• Mamaroneck HS Student Named Regeneron Scholar for 2022