Two Half Hollow Hills Students Named Regeneron Science Scholars

Two students in the Half Hollow Hills Central School District have been named scholars in the 2018 Regeneron Science Talent Search (Regeneron STS), the oldest high school competition in math and science in the United States. Half Hollow Hills High School East’s Aditi Patil and High School West’s Gilbert Spencer earned the honor that comes with a $2,000 award to both the scholar and their school.

Only 300 scholars, who are effectively semifinalists in the competition, were selected from a field of over 1,800 applicants. 40 finalists will be chosen from that group to compete in March at the finals in Washington, D.C. Finalists win awards that range from $25,000 to a grand prize of $250,000.

"These student’s projects address important environmental issues related to both the underlying contributing factors and impact of global climate change,” said Dr. Michael Lake, academic research director at Half Hollow Hills. “They did a great job identifying and exploring real problems within this scientific discipline.”

Patil’s winning project analyzed the accuracy of sea-level predictability and found that we currently cannot make precise forecasts about sea level rise in the near future or next five years. Her project determined that new models for measuring the rise of sea levels are needed or there could be dangerous impacts on hundreds of millions of people.

Spencer’s winning project looked into more accurately dating the air trapped in ice sheets in Antarctica, which can help us understand what the earth used to be like and also help make predictions about the future. He created a model that helps determine the true yearly values of the CO2 trapped in ice cores, which could help us better understand the earth’s historical climate.

Alumni of Regeneron STS have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors, including the Nobel Prize and National Medal of Science.

“These brilliant students have already made remarkable scientific achievements at a young age, and we are eager to see where their scientific journeys take them next,” Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science & the Public and publisher of Science News, said in a statement.

An education-oriented community with high academic expectations, the Half Hollow Hills Central School District is located in a residential area of 50,000 people in the central part of Long Island, approximately 40 miles from New York City. Providing for the education of more than 8,000 students, the school district has five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Half Hollow Hills High Schools are fully accredited by the New York State Department of Education and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The District is committed to providing students opportunities to excel in academics, athletics, and the arts.