William Holtz, Ahmed Rab, Sana Raoof and Bowei (Sharon) Ji, all seniors at Jericho High School, were recently named as four of the 300 Semifinalists in the 67th Intel Science Talent Search. The Semifinalists of the 67th Intel Science Talent Search were chosen from among 1602 entrants representing 504 high schools in 45 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and two overseas schools. Each of the 300 Semifinalists, as well as their schools, will receive awards of $1,000 for this honor.

From this group of 300 Semifinalists, 40 Finalists will be chosen to attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C. from March 6-11, 2008. During their trip to Washington, the Finalists will participate in a final judging process and share in $530,000 in scholarships. The top prize of a $100,000 scholarship will be announced at a black tie banquet and awards ceremony on March 11.

William Holtz titled his research The Correlates of Adolescent Financial Efficacy: An Empirical Analysis. "Teenage financial literacy is the main focus for this paper," said Will. "The outside factors that affect teenage financial literacy and the effects of these outside factors on teenage financial knowledge and behavior were accessed. A measure of financial behavior and an assessment of financial knowledge were computed. Results indicated that parents had a significant impact on teenage financial literacy and behavior. Further results indicated that teenage financial behavior strongly correlates with their financial knowledge. This research sheds light on the quandary of teenage financial illiteracy and of possible ways to ameliorate this problem."

Sana Raoof's project is entitled Computation of the Alexander-Conway Polynomial on the Chord Diagrams of Singular Knots. My project deals with the field of mathematical Knot Theory," explains Sana. "Singular (self-intersecting) knots can be converted to mathematical objects called chord diagrams and combinatorial graphs. After applying the Alexander-Conway polynomial (it computes a constant value for all forms of a knot) to many families of chord diagrams, I noticed a pattern that relates the polynomial invariant of a singular knot to the arrangement of chords in its chord diagram. Specifically, I proved that all lattice chord diagrams yield a particular value under the Alexander-Conway polynomial. This research provides insight into the Protein-folding problem, identification of tangled organic molecules, and statistical mechanics."

Ahmed Rab's project is named Developing a Novel Protocol for Single Cell Cancer Detection via MRI. "The primary focus of my project was to develop an ideal means to label and detect single cancer cells by loading them with MRI detectable iron oxide beads," said Ahmed. "An effective protocol was established for labeling and detecting two different types of cancer cells. This now allows for further tracking of such cells in living organisms, providing a better understanding of the growth and characteristics of these cells in the future."

Bowei (Sharon) Ji's project title is High Flux Filtration Medium Based on Nanofibrous Poly(vinyl alcohol) Substrate with UV-Curing. "With decline of refresh water, purification of industrial waste water is increasingly urgent," describes Sharon. "While nanofiltration membranes perform oil/water treatment, the filtration efficiency is compromised by low flux and fouling problems. A new three-tie filtration medium based electrospun PVA scaffold has demonstrated promising improvement. The purpose of this study is to enhance the scaffold with UV-cured top coating layer to minimize fouling and increase flux."