5 Science Students From Smithtown HS East Honored

ST. JAMES, NY — Five scientists from Smithtown High School East were awarded honors and high honors marks at the recent Long Island State Science Congress, sponsored by the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS), the Smithtown School District announced.

This is one of the first science fairs that students enter as sophomores. Students work all year performing an experiment either on his or her own or in teams. These "in-house" experiments are mentored by Smithtown High School East science research coordinator Maria Zeitlin and often vary from surveys to microbiology to botany, according to the school district.

The Honors and High Honors awards were given to the following students:

• Dylan Shen, "Deer Herbivory on Holly Plants on Fire Island"
• Gabriel Finger, "Weather Impacts ofNighthawk Migration to Long Island"
• Tiffany Chung, "Retardation of Black Fungus on Grapes Using Yeast"
• The team of Richard Chai and Charlene Chen, "Using FTIR to Check Efficacy of Purell."

All students who placed this year received ribbons for their accomplishments, and several were honored at a higher level with plaques at a separate award ceremony held at The Wheatley School.