On March 5, students from North Middle School and South Middle School presented their experiments and findings at the LISEF Thermo MASTERS Middle School Science Fair. This fair is the preeminent Middle School Science fair on Long Island.
At this year’s fair, hundreds of students from across Long Island presented their research to science specialists through display boards and oral presentations. After compiling scoring feedback from the judges, the Great Neck Middle School teams earned a full sweep of awards including three first-place awards, five second-place awards, two third-place awards and an honorable mention award.
First Place
Students who win first place at the LISEF Thermo MASTERS Middle School Science Fair earn an invitation to compete in the Thermo Fisher JIC National Competition in Washington D.C. Three projects from GNPS received this honor and will advance to the National Competition.
First place winners and the titles of their projects are: Shayaan Khan, Brandon Li, and Charles Yu from North Middle, “War of the Wings”; Hailey Cheung and Danei Kalash from South Middle, “The Effect of Music on Memory”; and Andy Zhuang and Eric Zhuang from South Middle, “Gene Expression Analysis of the Impact of Febrile Seizures on Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy”.
Second Place
Second-place winners from North Middle School are: Max Hendizadeh and Misha Mehrfar, “Pop that Pimple: A Look at Acne Medicines”; Jocelyn Morley and Jicheng Xie, “Keeping it Together: A Look at Soil Erosion”; and Ian Tong and Gavin Zhao, “Artificial Intelligence: The Future of Roads”.
Second-place winners from South Middle School are: Evelyn Wu and Yasemin Ozel, “The Effect of Different Sports on the Lung Capacity of a Teen”; and Emmett Yeung and Jake Liu, “The Effect of Chunking on Memorization”.
Third Place
Two projects received third-place honors: Benjamin Amir, Ian Bloom, and Brian Mayer from North Middle, “Radiation Quantify: Decoding Emissions”; and Joshua Goldberg from South Middle, “Which kills E. coli more effectively: mouthwash or toothpaste?”
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention was awarded to Ivy Li and Linzi Yeung from South Middle for their project, “The Effect of Natural Antibiotics on the Growth of Sporosarcina uraea bacteria”.
Over the course of this year, these students designed and conducted experiments and effectively communicated their discoveries with support and guidance from their teachers. Students went above and beyond to produce presentations that were among the best from all of Long Island. Great Neck middle school science research students are led by teachers Elizabeth Leone, Brian Pernice, Kristi Willis, and research mentor Tobias Hatten.
The LISEF-Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovation Challenge (JIC) is a competition for Long Island students in grades 6-8. It is presented through a partnership with Society for Science and the Public (SSP) and Thermo Fisher.
—Submitted by the Great Neck Public School District
