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2003 Winners

Dr. Peter Lorraine, head judge from GE Global Research Center providing 1^st place award to Philip Wood from Columbia High School

The Thirteenth annual Greater Capital Region Science and Engineering Fair and Science Congress took place at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY this past Saturday, March 22nd. This is a Regional fair for the very prestigious Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. It has both a junior and senior division.

The top senior division students receive an invitation to compete in the International finals which will be held in Cleveland, Ohio from May 11-17th this year. Next year, it will be in Portland, Oregon. Over 1200 students compete in the International finals representing more than 50 countries. The International Fair offers over $3,000,000 in prize money and scholarships. Students do original research on any topic related to math, science or engineering. Some high school students have done their research in a certified research lab, while others may have done their research in their school or home. Students in the senior division may also receive an invitation to the New York State Science Congress, a research competition sponsored by the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS).

Students in the junior division (grades 6-8) also complete original research. The top winners are invited to compete in the “Discovery Young Scientist Challenge.” This national competition began five years ago. Four-hundred semi-finalists are chosen and the top 40 finalists are invited to Washington, DC to compete for over $80,000 in scholarship money.

This Fair receives major support from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, GE Global Research, the GE Elfun Society and STANYS. Other support comes from Albany Molecular, Albany College of Pharmacy, KAPL Nova, Professor Emeritus Walter Eppenstein, Schenectady International, Cyclics Corporation, Boston Scientific, Prentice Hall, Eastern Section of STANYS, American Society for Microbiology, Nuclear Society

Junior Division | Senior Division | Special Awards

Junior Division Grand Prizes

The first place winner in the junior division went to Katie Hoskinson, a student at the Richard O’Rourke Middle School for her research, “Bacterial Source Tracking-a Comparison of Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in Bacteria From Chickens and Horses.”

Second place was received by Albany Academy for Boys’ student, Adam Mousa for his project, “The Effects of Garlic and Vitamin C on Blood Pressure in Human Subjects.”

Third place was received by Virginia Hinden for her project “The Effect of Trace Amounts of Caffeine and Acetaminophen on Euglena.”

First Honorable Mention was given to Broadalbin Perth Middle School student, Nirav Patel for his research “Why Do Objects Bounce?”

Second Honorable Mention was received by Caitlin Dolan for her research, “Can a Robot Be Used to Detect Leaks in the Hull of an Oil Tanker?”

Third Honorable Mention was received by Academy of Holy Names student, Maxine Hesch for her research, “Does Traffic Light Length Affect the Amount of Carbon Monoxide in the Air?”

Senior Division Grand Prizes

The first place award in the senior division was received by Philip Wood for his research, “The Effect of EGF on Resveratrol –Induced Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells.” Philip is a senior at Columbia High School.

Dr. Peter Lorraine presents the second place award to Meaghan Figge.

The second place award was given to Meaghan Figge for her research, “Bioinformatic Analysis of Breast Cancer Associated Missence Mutations in the Carboxylterminal Domains of BRCA-1.” Meaghan is a freshman at Albany Academy for Girls.

The $12,000 Rensselaer Scholarship and 3rd place went to Jennifer D’Ascoli for her research, “Is Eating Blueberry Pie Bad for You?” Jennifer is a junior at Academy of the Holy Names.

Dr. Sam Wait providing $12,000 Rensselaer Scholarship to Jennifer D’Ascoli from Academy of Holy Names.

Third Honorable Mention was received by Aademy of Holy Names Student, Sheila Tillman for her research, “Development of a Prototype of a Robotic Arm.”

Second Honorable Mention was given to Emmalie Rose Dropkin from Albany Academy for Girls for her research, “The Regulation of the ERG16 Gene by ANMOX in Candida albicans Under Anaerobic Conditions.”

First Honorable Mention was received by the Guilderland High School team of Chuck Pinckney, Tim Vacek, and Smriti Sinha for their research, “A Mechanical Catalytic Converter for a Wood Burning Stove.”

Special Awards

Many special awards, including awards from the army and air force were received by the participants. Close to $18,000 in prize money and scholarship is available for student participants in this science fair.