2 St. Anthony's Students Named Semifinalists in Siemens Competition

Two students at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington have been named 2016 semifinalists in the prestigious Siemens Competition.

Long Island is well represented on a list of the 2016 semifinalists in the prestigious Siemens Competition that was recently released. This year, out of the more than 1,600 projects submitted, 498 students have been selected as semifinalists, including 69 Long Island students. This means that nearly 14 percent of the semifinalists nationwide attend Long Island high schools.

Congratulations to the St. Anthony's students who were recognized:

• Nicholas DeFrancisco, Class of 2017
• Christopher Koch, Class of 2017

DeFrancisco studied how Stem Cells Interact with the Immune System while Koch studied Polarization of Light Changes When Reflected off a Magnetized Surface.

The Siemens Competition honors the best and brightest students for their accomplishments in math, science and technology. Every year, students submit innovative individual and team research projects to regional and national levels of competition as they vie for college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.

The semifinalists and their projects will next be judged to determine who advances on to six regional competitions to be held in November. Individual and team winners of the regional contests earn the opportunity to compete in the national finals held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in December when $500,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.

The prize, launched by the Siemens Foundation in 1999, was established to increase access to higher education for students who are gifted in STEM and is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens. The competition seeks to recognize and build a strong pipeline for the nation’s most promising scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

Image courtesy of Friar Alumni on Facebook: