Five seniors from Syosset High School were chosen this past week, as semifinalists in the prestigious national Intel Science Talent Search. There are only 300 semifinalists selected out from the national "Senior Class", in the competition for what has come to be known as the "Junior Nobel Prize". This year's Syosset semifinalists: Shirin Bajaj, William Doyle, Melissa Garuthara, Paul Kim, and Nancy Shen, have worked on their projects for the past year, and in some cases multiple years, under the guidance of Research Program Facilitator Mrs. Angela Lukaszewski and Social Science Research Teacher Mrs. Marcy Eager as well as in some cases, with individual mentors from local universities, to achieve this honor. Forty finalists will now be selected from the 300 semifinalists, to compete for $1.25 million in scholarships.

The Syosset contingent's projects are as diverse as the group themselves. Shirin Bajaj (The Application of Potentiometric Response to the Development of a Biosensor for the Detection of Anthrax-causing Bacillus Anthracis spores) was motivated by the increased threat of Bio-Terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks, sought to create a biosensor that could potentially detect harmful agents such as Anthrax-causing spores. She performed her research at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, and says her project has taught her that research can have an impact on the world at large. Melissa Garuthara (Substituting an Immobilized Ferromanganese Catalyst into the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Chemical Reaction) who credits her father with nurturing her interest in science and hopes to one day become a surgeon, performed research at Hofstra University, investigating the way many abnormal heart rhythms occur spontaneously with no known cause. William Doyle (Federal Open Market Committee Transparency and Effects on National Economy) was watching a news report about the Federal Reserve Board's "intentions" to lower interest rates, when he formulated the idea for his research. He sought to determine whether policies made by the chief governing body of the money supply in the United States, the Federal Reserve Board Federal Open Market Committee, are helpful or detrimental to the economy. William hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and one day achieve a successful career in the New York City financial sector. Nancy Shen (Searching for Signs of Anisotropic Cosmological Expansion in High-z), who aspires to become an astrophysicist, also performed research at Hofstra University. She sought to discover signs that the universe on large scales is different in different direction, due to differing degrees of expansion. Paul Kim (Induction of Bioluminescence in V. fischeri via E. carotovora Autoinducer's), who credits his twin brother Peter as being a great influence, looked at how the communication within species varied according to the complexity of the organism. He hopes his research will someday "produce and fuel new curiosities."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carole G. Hankin congratulated the students and their respective teachers and administrators on their accomplishments. "Syosset Schools share in the pride of these awards. We are very fortunate to be able to provide the program that gives such talented and hard working students the opportunity to realize their full potentials. Syosset's Research Program has the strong support it needs of the board of education and the entire school community."