Regional Winners for 2009 Siemens Competition Declared at Carnegie
Mellon University; Will Move on to National Finals for Chance at
$100,000 Ruoyi Jiang Wins Top Individual Prize; Xiao Zhou, Israt
Ahmed and Stephanie Chen Win Top Team Prize PITTSBURGH, Nov. 21
/PRNewswire/ -- Research projects in the areas of biophysics and
chemistry scored top marks this evening, as Ruoyi Jiang of East
Setauket, New York and the team of Xiao (Cathy) Zhou of Flushing,
New York; Israt Ahmed of Woodhaven, New York; and Stephanie Chen of
Bayside, New York received the highest honors at the Region Four
Finals of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science &
Technology, the nation's premier high school science competition.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )
Tonight's winners will receive thousands of dollars in college
scholarships and be invited to compete at the National Finals in
New York City on December 3-7, where the winners of six regional
competitions across the United States will vie for scholarships
ranging from $10,000 to the top prize of $100,000. The Siemens
Competition, a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, is
administered by the College Board. "These students have just earned
their place among the nation's greatest high school scientists,"
said James Whaley, President of the Siemens Foundation, based in
Iselin, New Jersey. "Each year, the students' work becomes more
impressive, and in a record-setting year such as this one, their
achievements become even more outstanding. We are proud to welcome
them into our family of Siemens Scholars and look forward to their
participation at the national finals in New York City." The
students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges
from Carnegie Mellon University, host of the Siemens Competition
Region Four Finals. Individual Winner Ruoyi Jiang, a senior at Ward
Melville High School in East Setauket, New York won the individual
category and a $3,000 college scholarship for his biophysics
project that investigated the molecular basis of a prominent
mechanism of chemotherapy drug resistance. The project, titled
Targeting Loop Dynamics in Beta I/Beta III Isotype Tubulin: The
Application of In Silico Techniques in Combating Chemotherapy Drug
Resistance, uses state of the art computational techniques to
develop a molecular understanding of how Taxol functions to kill
tumor cells. "Mr. Jiang's results allowed him to predict the long
range effects of drug binding on the structure of that protein,"
said Dr. Gordon Rule, Professor in the Department of Biological
Science at Carnegie Mellon University. "The technique was validated
using Taxol, showing that his computational results are consistent
with experimental data. These results suggest that this method may
have an important contribution in the development of a new class of
pharmaceuticals." Mr. Jiang has placed at a variety of science
competitions including the National Science Bowl. Mr. Jiang
received an Honorable Mention in the Toshiba ExploraVision
Competition as well as recognition for his involvement in the
Science Olympiad. He is editor of his school newspaper,
Kaleidoscope, and a member of the Science Bowl Team. His favorite
subject is AP Physics. Mr. Jiang hopes to become a research lab
director upon completion of his studies. In addition to his
academic accomplishments, he spends his free time doing volunteer
work at Stony Brook University Hospital. He enjoys playing the
violin and tennis and loves to draw. He also speaks fluent
Mandarin. Mr. Jiang worked on this project with his mentor, Dr.
Carlos Simmerling, Professor of Chemistry in the Department of
Chemistry at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York as
well as Dr. George J. Baldo, Director of InSTAR in East Setauket,
New York. Team Winners Juniors Cathy Zhou and Israt Ahmed of
Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, New York along with
their teammate Stephanie Chen of Stuyvesant High School in New York
City won the team category and will share a $6,000 scholarship. The
team's archeological project titled ESR Dating "Early Men" and
Their Tools at Pradayrol, France and Ainikab I, Russia: "So Easy a
Caveman Can Do It!" may provide new insights into hominid migration
out of Africa. The team's dating results allow us to understand how
hominids migrated through Europe and adapted to rapid climate
change and the species with which they interacted. "The team dated
one site in Russia in the Caucasus Mountains that documented some
of the earliest hominid migration out of Africa into Europe and
Asia. In another site in France, they documented evidence of
Neanderthals at a date earlier than previously known," said Dr.
Ruth Fauman-Fichman, Visiting Associate Professor in the Department
of History at Carnegie Mellon University and Research Associate in
the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.
"The students spent many arduous hours preparing samples in the
laboratory for their dating technique. This required them to
integrate information from many areas. Archeology requires both
enthusiasm for the subject and the ability to spend long hours in
the laboratory and this team did both," she said. Ms. Zhou's
favorite subjects are biology, physics, math, world history and
English. She's currently taking AP Chemistry. Since 2007, she has
been in the Junior ROTC as an Academic Team Member and Regional
Competition Participant, scoring third place in the Academic Bowl,
as well as serving on the Fencing Team. She is a member of the
Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Science Research Institute and former
Treasurer of her school's Media Production Club. Ms. Zhou would
like to invent innovative technology that would improve
environmental quality or space explorations. Thus, she plans to
study environmental engineering or astronomy, upon entrance to
college. In 2008, Ms. Zhou volunteered at Councilman John Liu's
office in Flushing. She has been playing the flute for four years,
and in her free time, she enjoys rollerblading and ice skating. She
also rejoices in ballroom dancing, as well as exploring the Great
Outdoors and water rafting. Ms. Zhou speaks fluent Mandarin and is
also studying Spanish. Mr. Ahmed lists English, physics, world
history, government and biology as his favorite subjects in school.
His interest in government and history is evidenced by his
participation in AP Government and his leadership role as President
of his school's Global Warming Awareness Club. Like Ms. Zhou, he is
a member of the RFK Science Research Institute. He hopes to one day
become both a geneticist and a neurologist, in order to use the
potential of stem cells to help cure diseases. Mr. Ahmed enjoys
dancing in his free time, specifically, Pop and Locking and the
basics of break dancing. In his free time he plays tennis and is
involved with video editing and production. He was born in
Bangladesh and speaks Bengali, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi and Latin.
Ms. Chen's favorite classes include AP Biology, chemistry,
mathematics, physics and English. She is also a member of the RFK
Science Research Institute, and a member of Stuyvesant High
School's Biology Olympiad, Problem Solvers and Young Arts Society.
She is active in her school's German Club as well as the Japanese
Culture Club. She plans to become a heart surgeon upon completion
of her studies. Beyond her academic pursuits, Ms. Chen is very
passionate about art, fashion design, modeling, and charity.
Specifically, she is a member of iDesign and Charity a La Mode,
both fashion design clubs. She is a member of Cosplay Club, Neo
Gokuraku (an anime club) and Stuy Build, a community service club.
In her spare time, Ms. Chen draws anime and designs clothing, and
also plays piano and alto saxophone. She speaks Spanish and
Mandarin, and is currently teaching herself German and Japanese.
The team's mentor for this project was Dr. Bonnie Blackwell,
Research Scientist at Williams College in Williamstown,
Massachusetts. Dr. Blackwell also directs the Robert F. Kennedy
Science Research Institute. Regional Finalists Regional Finalists
each received a $1,000 scholarship. Regional Finalists in the
individual category were: -- Cynthia Chen, The Brearley School, New
York, NY -- Joshua Pfeffer, North Shore Hebrew Academy High School,
Great Neck, NY -- Jason Shieh, The Bronx High School of Science,
Bronx, NY -- Kevin Zhao, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket,
NY Regional Finalists in the team category were: -- Shaunak Bakshi
and Peter Massey, Manhasset High School, Manhasset, NY -- Erica
Chung, Bergen County Academy for the Advancement of Science and
Technology, Hackensack, NJ; and David Park, Herricks High School,
New Hyde Park, NY -- Jiayi Lin and Ellis Darby, New Explorations
into Science, Technology and Math High School, New York, NY --
Anirudh Nandan, Los Alamitos High School, Los Alamitos, CA; Salonee
Shah, W. Tresper Clarke High School, Westbury, NY; and Michelle
Leonetti, Long Beach High School, Lido Beach, NY The Siemens
Competition The Siemens Competition was launched in 1998 to
recognize America's best and brightest math and science students.
In another record-setting year, 2,151 students registered to enter
the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in 2009 -
more than ever before - for a total of 1,348 project submissions -
a 14% increase in project submissions over 2008 figures and more
than a 12% increase in the number of registrations. Entries are
judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at six leading
research universities which host the regional competitions:
California Institute of Technology; Carnegie Mellon University;
Georgia Institute of Technology; Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; University of Notre Dame; and The University of Texas
at Austin. Winners of the regional events are invited to compete at
the National Finals at New York University in New York City,
December 3 - December 7, 2009. Visit
http://www.siemens-foundation.org/ on December 7, 2009 at 9:30 am
EST to view a live webcast of the National Finalist Award
Presentation. You can also log into and follow the Siemens
Foundation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SFoundation) for the
latest information and announcements throughout this year's
competition. About the Siemens Foundation The Siemens Foundation
provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational
initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and
math in the United States. Its signature programs, the Siemens
Competition in Math, Science & Technology and Siemens Awards
for Advanced Placement, reward exceptional achievement in science,
math and technology. The newest program, The Siemens We Can Change
the World Challenge, encourages K-12 students to develop innovative
green solutions for environmental issues. By supporting outstanding
students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that
inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's
scientists and engineers. The Foundation's mission is based on the
culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the
hallmark of Siemens' U.S. companies and its parent company, Siemens
AG. For further information, visit
http://www.siemens-foundation.org/. The College Board The College
Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is
to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in
1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,700 schools,
colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each
year, the College Board serves seven million students and their
parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major
programs and services in college readiness, college admission,
guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and
learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the
PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College
Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and
that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services,
activities and concerns. For further information, visit
http://www.collegeboard.com/.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGODATASOURCE:
Siemens Foundation CONTACT: Valerie Francois, Siemens Foundation,
+1-732-590-5292, ; Jennifer Moore, Weber Shandwick,
+1-212-445-8430, Web Site: http://www.siemens-/ foundation.org
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