Emily Mina Grossman Named Intel Semifinalist

Emily Mina Grossman, 18, of Croton Harmon High School, was recognized by the Intel Science Talent Search for her project Assessing the Range of Motion of the Upper Limb in a Modified Box and Block Test.

“It is not a complex idea, but it has a lot of benefits,” said Grossman, who holds interests in advanced prosthetics and physical therapy.

Grossman worked last summer at the University of Alberta’s Calgary Centre Laboratory with her mentors, scientists Jacqueline S. Hebert and Craig Chapman.

There, she created four versions of a box and block to assess various ranges of motions in the arm by having her subjects pick up a block and move it over a barrier to a designated near or far spot in the box. Subjects wore motion sensors to track their movement and range of motion.

“I am so happy the judges saw how excellent her work really is,” said science research teacher Donna Light-Donovan. “She has a lovely project and has been a great student.”

Grossman, who plans to study biology in college, said her research and its findings could offer the country’s increasing number of amputees an effective therapy method.

“It’s important for them to have appropriate practice tools to use prostheses to their full potential,” she said.

The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. Alumni of 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.

Annually, students entering the Intel STS compete for more than $1.6 million in awards. Only 300 students are announced as semifinalists each year.

From this select pool, 40 finalists are then invited to Washington, DC in March to participate in final judging, display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists, and compete for three top awards of $150,000 each.

Photo Caption: Croton-Harmon High School senior Emily Grossman has been named a 2015 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist/Croton schools