Two Smithtown Students Named Regional Finalists in Siemens Competition

Two Smithtown students are one step closer to potential $100,000 college scholarships after being named 2016 regional finalists in the prestigious Siemens Competition.

Sarah Adamo, Smithtown High School West and Erika Nemeth, Smithtown High School East were among the 10 Long Island students to be named finalists in the competition.

Adamo's project, “Using Nematostella vectensis to spotlight the ancient roots of Nicotinic Cholinergic Neurotransmission,” is an in-house study with all the experimental work conducted at Smithtown High School West.

Nemeth’s project is “Cell-Based delivery of Gene-Silencing products Via Gap Junction Channels. ”

A total of 96 regional finalists were selected from 498 semifinalists (including 69 on Long Island), the Siemens Foundation announced Wednesday. Regional finalists will go on to compete in one of six regional competitions virtually hosted over three consecutive weekends in November where they will vie for college scholarships ranging from $1,000 up to $100,000.

“Every year, I look forward to seeing whether this will be the year when we’ll see a project that will lead to developing the cure for cancer – or identify tomorrow’s coolest technology,” said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “We congratulate the regional finalists on their accomplishments and wish them luck in the next phase of the competition.”

The competition seeks to recognize and build a strong pipeline for the nation’s most promising scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

The other regional finalists from Long Island include:

• Jang Hun Choi, Jericho High School
• Fred Chu, Manhasset Senior High School
• Susell Contreras, Brentwood High School
• Stephen Lee, Manhasset Senior High School
• Eric Pun, Syosset High School
• Nikhil Saggi, Syosset High School
• Nestor Tkachenko, Ward Melville Senior High School
• Alice Wu, Half Hollow Hills High School West

Congratulations to all of the finalists!

Photo courtesy of the Smithtown School District