Ossining High School Students Win Awards at Intel ISEF

Five Ossining High School students in the Fundamentals of Science Research program received awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix last week.

Intel ISEF, a program of the Society for Science and the Public, is the largest international pre-college science competition.

Charlotte Keeley, 17, won a first award and $3,000 in the Plant Science category for her research. The title of her project is “Plant Tissues that Fail to Regenerate Undergo Early Steps of Remodeling but Fail to Induce a Cytokinin Hormone Response.”

Michael Earle, 18, won a fourth award and $500 in the Physics/Astronomy category for his project, titled “Two-Dimensional Mapping of Energy Transfer in Graphene/MoS2 Photodetectors.” He also received a special award from European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and an all-expenses paid trip to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, which is valued at $10,000.

Sarah Fendrich, 17, won two special awards for her behavior research. Her project is “Individual Neural Network Activity Patterns Underlie Complex Cognitive Task Performance: an fMRI Study with Clinical Implications.” She received the American Psychological Association third award, along with $500. She won the second award from Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, which included a $1,500 prize.

Matthew Forman and Jack Lepkowski, both 17, earned honorable mention from the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse. Their research project looked at ways of reducing ADHD symptoms and the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder. It was titled "Physical Activity and Intranasal Administration of Neuropeptide Y and Y1 Agonists Mitigate the Symptoms of ADHD and PTSD." The NIDA award recognizes exemplary projects on the topic of addiction science.

About 1,700 students from more than 75 countries attended the event, which is often referred to as the “Super Bowl of Science Fairs.” Doctoral-level scientists reviewed and judged students’ research.

All the students who competed in the Intel ISEF competition earned a spot by winning a top prize at a local, regional, state or national science fair. The Ossining students won awards at the Westchester Science & Engineering Fair in March.

(Photo, from left to right: Jack Lepkowski, Sarah Fendrich, Mathew Forman, Charlotte Keeley and Michael Earle.)