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Contact:
Matt Miller, Ph.D.
Sou ther n
C onnectic
ut
mattmillerphd@gmail.com
Sci en ce &
E n g in eeri ng
Inspiring and Educating Students
P.O. Box
1048 Redding,
CT 06875
For Immediate
Release
www.scsef.org
Winners of the 15th Annual
Southern Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair Announced
J. Alan Clark, Associate Professor of Conservation Biology at Fordham University,
Delivers Keynote Address
REDDING – More than 500 students, judges, volunteers and community members came together
February 7 for the 15th Annual Southern Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair (SCSEF), held
this year at Newtown High School in Sandy Hook.
Completed projects and research proposals were presented by students from Amity Regional
High School (Woodbridge), Convent of the Sacred Heart (Greenwich), Darien High School,
Glastonbury High School, Greens Farms Academy (Westport), Joel Barlow High School
(Easton, Redding), Newtown High School, Old Saybrook Senior High School, Ridgefield High
School and Staples High School (Westport). SCSEF is sponsored by the Southern Connecticut
Science & Engineering Foundation.
Each student was required to create an exhibit, make a presentation, and participate in a question
and answer session. Volunteer judges evaluated entries (both completed projects and research
proposals) in four categories: behavioral sciences, environmental sciences, health sciences, and
physical sciences. In addition, there were team projects or proposals in several of the categories.
Teams from a group of 203 judges reviewed the 253 student projects. A unique feature of
SCSEF is that all students receive both oral and written feedback to aid them in their future
work.
“The students and their projects were truly impressive,” said Dr. Matt Miller, SCSEF president.
“And equally impressive was the collective enthusiasm of the students for each other as
demonstrated by their cheering during the awards ceremony.”
William Foster II, chairman and SCSEF co-founder, added, “We’re grateful to the teachers,
judges and volunteers for their hard work. The Newtown High School community again
embraced this year’s SCSEF and helped to make it an outstanding event.”
This year’s recipients of the Paul Heilman Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service were Fran
and Dale Lichtenberg. The award is named for SCSEF co-founder Paul Heilman, who passed
away in 2010. Fran and Dale are members of the SCSEF board of directors and have served the
Southern Connecticut Science and Engineering Foundation for nine years.
The attendees were treated to an address by Dr. J. Alan Clark, Associate Professor of
Conservation Biology at Fordham University. Dr. Clark spoke about his path to research and his
research on various species of penguins. The SCSEF Board of Directors presented Dr. Clark with
a crystal ice bucket as a token of appreciation.
SCSEF sponsors entry into the Connecticut State Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) for the
top finishers in each of five completed project categories: Behavioral Science, Environmental
Science, Health and Medical, Physical Science and Team Project.
This year, the SCSEF representatives to CSEF are:
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Julia Nedelmann from Amity Regional High School
Lily Meyers from Ridgefield High School
Andrew Pan from Old Saybrook High School
Joseph Neumann from Amity Regional High School
The team of Daniel Giebisch and Noah Gallant from Amity Regional High School
The 2015 winners at SCSEF are:
Completed Projects, Behavioral
Award Student
1st
Julia Nadelmann
2nd
Sarah Saxe
3rd
Neha Pashankar
HM
Gabrielle Totten
HM
Anna Ryack
School Exhibit Title
ARHS Applying the Friendship Paradox to Trends
in a High School Population
ARHS Robots in the Classroom: The Effect of
Social Robots on Student Memorization and
Participation
ARHS Differences in Neurocognitive Function
between Patients with Bipolar Disorder and
Healthy Controls
ARHS Defining the Relevance of Chronic Pain in
Family Members and its Impact on
Adolescents
ARHS Short-term Time Perception Accuracy in
"Morning People" and "Evening People" in
Adolescents
Completed Projects, Environmental
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Lily Meyers
RHS Gender-Specific Copepod Susceptibility to
Phytoplanktonic Neurotoxins at Various
Concentrations
2nd
Arpita Jajoo
ARHS The Role of the Genetic Transfer of Mobile
Genetic Elements in the Evolution of
Microbial Populations
2nd
Kristen Onorato
SHS Is it Possible to Graft the Scion of a NonLeguminous Plant (tomato) to the Root Stock
of a Leguminous Plant (soybeans)?
HM Dana Perry
ARHS The Effects of Atypical pH on Bay Scallops
(Argopecten irradians)
Completed Projects, Health and Medical
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Andrew Pan
OSHS Role Of Interleukin-8 In Cancer Cell
Survival During Drug Treatment
2nd
Andrea McGowan
JBHS The Development of an Immunosorbant
Assay (ELISA) for Detection of IgG and IgA
Antibodies against Tissue Transglutaminase
for the diagnosis of Celiac Sprue.
3rd
Kate Halabi
HM
Rachel Marcus
DHS
The Effect of FGF2 on Hypoxia in the
Mouse Brain: A Model for Human Perinatal
Hypoxia
ARHS The effects of radial water maze training and
chronic ketamine administration on
parvalbumin expression in the rat
hippocampus
Completed Projects, Physical Science
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Joseph Neumann
ARHS A Novel Method of Controlling Size of
Carbon Nanotubes
1st
Alexander Elias
SHS Low-Cost Solid-State Cosmic Ray
Observatory
3rd
Randy Deng
RHS The Effect of Different Checkerboard Sizes
on Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials
HM
William Wang
ARHS Development of Elastic Impedance
Spectroscopy Biosensor for Bovine Aortic
Endothelial Cells
Research Proposals, Behavioral
Award Student
1st
Catherine Gorey
School Exhibit Title
DHS The Effect of Celastrol Treatment on Social
Symptoms Associated With Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
DHS Don't Touch Me: Using Osteoarchaeological
Methods to Determine Medieval Practices of
Disease Classification
1st
Kristen Moran
3rd
Mahoghany Dolberry
DHS
Examination of Mere Proximity in Adults
Focusing on Intelligence Wealth and Beauty
HM
Kristen Picard
DHS
How understanding the nesting patterns of
the green sea turtle will save our ocean
ecosystem
Research Proposals, Environmental
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Yevgeny Lensky
SHS Selecting for Roundup Resistance in
Wisconsin Fast Plants
2nd
Catharine Morgan
DHS The reversible castes of Pheidole birainata
soldier ants and Pheidole birainata major
working ants using differentially methylated
regions.
2nd
Courtney Lowe
DHS
2nd
Emily Nixon
DHS
Exploring the Environmental Benefits of the
Symbiotic Relationship of Azolla and
Anabaena azollae
The genetic and morphological
differentiation and possible speciation of the
slender mola, Ranzania laevis.
Research Proposals, Health and Medical
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Caleigh Morr
DHS Remission of Diabetes Induced by Injections
of Antibodies and Beta Cells
2nd
Jen Schwartz
RHS
2nd
Anubhuti Mathur
GHS
HM
Sarishka Desai
DHS
The Effects of Mcl-1 Down-Regulation
Using Maritoclax on Acute Myeloid and
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia as well as
on Wild Type Lymphocyte Mitochondrial
Function
Designing an EGCG-PLGA Drug Delivery
System for Osteoarthritis Treatment
Inhibition of the PI3K Pathway as an AntiCancer Drug Target
Research Proposals, Physical Science
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Samuel Pfrommer
DHS Practical Robotic Control Systems with
Servos
2nd
Sricharan Kadimi
ARHS Engineering of ZnO Tapered Pillar
Nanostructures as Antireflection Coatings on
Silicon Solar Cells
3rd
Jonathan Alter
SHS Optimized Network Spread Infrastructure for
the Mitigation of Distributed Internet Attacks
3rd
Kiele Sacco
GHS
Team Completed Projects
Award Student
1st
Daniel Giebisch and
Noah Gallant
Chef NAO: The Humanoid Cooking Robot
School Exhibit Title
ARHS Echocardiogram-Based Wireless Left
Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) with
Mobile Application Monitoring and Control
2nd
Matthew McKenna
and Levi Santos
ARHS Real World Design Challenge for Precision
Agriculture, National Challenge
2nd
Yiran Zhang and
Eli Silvert
HM
Vinnie Silverman and
Kevin Dardik
ARHS The Influence of Time Consistency and
Processing Speed on Multimodal Perceptual
Experience
ARHS Validating the Effectiveness of Biosensor
Imaging of Redundant Deviation in Shifts
Team Research Proposals
Award Student
School Exhibit Title
1st
Owais Khan and
ARHS Exploring the Effects of Ammonia on the
Arvene Golbazi
Electrical Resistivity of Graphene
2nd
Jackie Beshoory and
CSH DNA Barcoding: St. Johns Wort and
Haley Horn
Echinacea
3rd
Kimberly Liang and
ARHS Unmanned Aerial System Challenge:
Kevin Zhao
Precision Pesticide Application
HM Grace Passannante and CSH The Effect of Zoo Visitors on the Behavior
Kelly Heinzerling
and Stereotypies of Gorillas in Captivity
HM
Sabrina Carotenuto
and Charlie Clark
ARHS
CSH
DHS
GFA
GHS
JBHS
NHS
OSHS
RHS
SHS
CSH
Improving Reading Comprehension in
Students with ADD and ADHD
Amity Regional High School
Convent of the Sacred Heart
Darien High School
Greens Farms Academy
Glastonbury High School
Joel Barlow High School
Newtown High School
Old Saybrook Senior High School
Ridgefield High School
Staples High School
About the Southern Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair
The Southern Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair was started in 2001 by the Southern
Connecticut Science & Engineering Foundation (SCSEF) and has seen rapid growth. SCSEF
promotes critical thinking skills, and motivates students to pursue science and engineering after
high school. Students receive awards in four categories: health sciences, physical sciences,
environmental sciences and behavioral sciences. Within each category, awards are given for both
completed projects and research proposals. The Fair is supported in part by the Sexauer
Foundation. For more information, please visit the Fair web site at http://www.scsef.org.
About the Southern Connecticut Science & Engineering Foundation
SCSEF, an IRS Sec. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, advocates for the study, understanding
and practice of science and engineering, and seeks to inspire and educate students, academics,
parents and other members of our communities. In addition to sponsoring the Southern
Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair each year, the Foundation has held some extraordinary
events for students to see the practical application of science, including a visit to Pratt &
Whitney’s aircraft engine facilities, a physics lesson using an actual LeMans race car and a
seminar by “citizen astronaut” Greg Olsen. For more information, sponsorship opportunities, or
how to make an individual financial or in-kind donation, please visit the SCSEF web site at
www.scsef.org, and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn by searching for Southern Connecticut
Science and Engineering Foundation.