Jericho High School senior Adam Fields was named a Regional Finalist in the prestigious Siemens science competition. He will represent Jericho at the Middle States Regional Fair in November at Carnegie Mellon. Finalists are guaranteed at least $1000 for participating in one of six regional judgings. Those chosen for the national finals in December can win scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.

As Regional finalists, students are required to prepare poster and PowerPoint displays of their research, and an oral presentation about their research and findings at various universities around the country. Presentations are followed by question and answer sessions between judges and students. Unlike other student research contests, Siemens accepts team entrants along with individuals. The Siemens Foundation believes that because adult scientists frequently work in teams, students should be allowed to collaborate on research projects as well.

Adam Fields and Alex Ramek, his teammate from Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, submitted a project entitled "Engineered Surfaces for Cell Differentiation and Biomineralization and Self Assembly of Fibrinogen Clots." Sharon Ji was named a semifinalist for her project "High Flux Filtration Medium Based on Nanofibrous Poly(vinyl alcohol) Substrate with UV-Curing." Jericho independent research students Calvin Chen, Yvette Leung, Pragya Kakani, Richard Kay, Samir Lillany, Ahmed Rab, Nitin Gupta, Kevin Li, Sana Raoof, Natalie Colaneri, Michael Tischler, Daeyoup Kim, Andrew Kugler, Priya Chopra, Daniel Hong and Ryan Price submitted research projects for the competition as well. "We are very proud of the accomplishments of all our students who submitted research projects to the Siemens science competition," said principal Joseph Prisinzano. "Our science research program continues to attract increasing numbers of students dedicated to pursuing serious and inventive scientific research. We would like to thank the district administration and the board of education for their commitment to providing ongoing support for this outstanding program."

The Siemens Foundation established the Siemens-Westinghouse Competition in 1999. The competition encourages students to undertake authentic scientific research in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, or any combinations of these disciplines. Siemens is considered one of the leading science and mathematics research-based competitions for high school students in the nation because of high academic standards and a rigorous judging process. The Siemens competition (the name of the competition was shortened this year) is one of the three major national science competitions to which Jericho High School students submit projects.