Ossining High School Student Named Intel Finalist

Ossining High School senior Soon Il Higashino has been named one of 40 national finalists in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search competition.

The finalists are from 38 schools in 18 states, including three in Westchester. Some 1,750 students from 512 high schools entered the competition this year.

Eight Ossining students were among 300 semifinalists announced earlier this month.

“This is an amazing accomplishment as many consider this the most competitive science competition for any high school student,” said Ossining High School Principal Josh Mandel in a prepared statement. “Remarkably this is the third finalist in the last four years from the OHS Science Research program.”

Soon il and the other finalists will present their work in Washington March 10-16. They will compete for more than $1 million, including three top awards of $150,000 each.

Soon il’s project is about red-backed salamanders in Westchester County.

Amphibians are on the decline worldwide, and one of the reasons is fungi that grows on their skin. Soon il has researched whether types of bacteria found on the skin of salamanders can prevent fungi from growing. She identified several species of bacteria that could be used as a conservation strategy for protecting these declining salamander species.

The title of Soon il’s project is “Species Richness of Cutaneous Bacteria Varies with Urbanization: Implications of the Effects of Habitat Conditions on Defense Mechanisms of Plethodon Cinereus.”

Ossining High School had more semifinalists than any other high school in New York in 2016, and this was the second time the district had eight semifinalists in a single year. They will each receive $1,000 from the Intel Foundation, and OHS will receive a matching grant of $1,000 for every semifinalist.

The Intel Science Talent Search awards more than $1.6 million annually to promising high school scientists. It is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition.

“Finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search are the innovators of the future,” said Maya Ajmera, the president and CEO of Society for Science & the Public, publisher of Science News and alumna of the Science Talent Search. “Their research projects range from highly theoretical basic research to innovative practical applications aimed at solving the most vexing problems. But it’s not just their research that makes them stand out – finalists are also selected based on their leadership capacity and initiative.”