Rocky Hill, CT — Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers will be honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 36th Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on May 25, 2011 at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT. Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science Fair, Connecticut Science Challenge, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention will be recognized during the evening ceremonies.
The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and presented in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, will be awarded to the two first place winners of the Connecticut Science Fair and the first place winner of the Connecticut Science Challenge. The medal was created to recognize and honor H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.
Academy member Regis A. Matzie will give the keynote address. Matzie is a nuclear engineer, retired U.S. Navy captain and former chief technology officer for Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.
Student winners to be honored include:
The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:
Swathi Krishnan, Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY
2011 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Development and Characterization of a Novel Listeria-Caspase-3 DNA Vaccine to Eradicate Metastatic Breast Cancer
Ryota Ishizuka, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2011 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Optimization of a Microbial Fuel Cell Structure to Drive a Bioelectrochemically-Assisted Wastewater Treatment Reactor
Marina Kaneko, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2011 Connecticut Science Challenge – 1st Place
Project: Spectroscopic Modeling of Ergothioneine as a UV Dermal Protectant
2011 Connecticut Science Challenge
1st Place – See H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence award winner
2nd Place: Joshua M. Greenberg, Staples High School, Westport, CT
Project: An Approach to Treating Sensorineural Hearing Loss through the Identification and Characterization of Mechanosensory Hair Cell Progenitors in the Zebrafish Lateral Line
Honorable Mention: Rachel A. Myers, Staples High School, Westport, CT
Project: Computational Investigation of Astrophysical NuclearReaction Rate Dominance
2011 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
1st Place: Yiyuan Hu, Hamden High School, Hamden, CT
Project: Role of MyD88 in DNA Damage Response
2nd Place: Swathi Krishnan, Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY
Project: Development and Characterization of a Novel Listeria-Caspase-3 DNA Vaccine to Eradicate Metastatic Breast
Cancer
3rd Place: Bonnie Hawkins, Hamden High School, Hamden, CT
Project: Protein Engineering of NPP4 into NPP2
4th Place: John Solder, Staples High School, Westport, CT
Project: KCNQ Channels in Prefrontal Pyramidal Neurons: A Novel Target for Cognitive Enhancement
5th Place: Andrew Mauboussin, Darien High School, Darien, CT
Project: Differentiating Skill and Luck in Financial Markets with Streaks
2011 Connecticut Invention Convention
Avon, CT — Talcott Mountain Academy: Patrick Kage
Bridgeport, CT — St. Ann School: Liliana Delmonico, Jake Hopkins and Heidi Martinez
East Hartford, CT—Two Rivers Magnet Middle School: Tacy Cresson and Zoe Diamond
Moodus, CT —Nathan Hale-Ray Middle School: Bethany Powell
Newtown, CT — Newtown Middle School: Shaina Errico
North Franklin, CT — Franklin Elementary School: Saige Laquitara
Torrington, CT — Torrington Middle School: Yeats Bramble, Jessica Marie Gray, Matthew R. Heath, Halifax Nicolson, Stephen Torlai, and Olivia Vollaro
Thirty-five newly elected members of the Academy will also be recognized during the evening.
###