Rocky Hill, CT — Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers will be honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 38th Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on May 22, 2013 at Quinnipiac University’s Recreation Center in Hamden. Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science and Engineering 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 members Laura Grabel, Wesleyan; Marc Lalande, UConn Health Center and Haifan Lin, Yale University, will deliver this year’s keynote address to highlight the accomplishments of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Program.

Student winners to be honored are:

The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:
Kaitavjeet Chowdhary, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, CT
2013 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Morphogenesis of and Chromosome Segregation in Escherichia coli Branching Mutants

Maxmillian Minichetti, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2013 Connecticut Science Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division
Project: Optimization of a Dye Co-Sensitized Solar Cell to Assist Photo-Electrochemical Water-Splitting with a Nanostructured C-PC Enhanced Fe2O3 Photo-Anode

Annie Zhang, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
2013 Connecticut Science Challenge – 1st Place
Project: Graphene Oxide as a Novel Biosensor in Targeted Delivery of Chemotherapy Drugs

2013 Connecticut Science Challenge
1st Place – See H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence award winner

2nd Place: Yifan Zhang, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
Project: Prestin is Targeted to the Basolateral Membrane Using a Tyrosine Motif

Honorable Mention: Alexandru Buhimschi, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, CT
Project: Improved and Novel Methods for Activation of Psoralens as In-situ Anti-Cancer Agents

2013 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
1st Place: Kaitavjeet Chowdhary, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, CT
Morphogenesis of and Chromosome Segregation in Escherichia Coli Branching Mutants

2nd Place: Alexandru Buhimschi, Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden, CT
UVB-Induced Psoralen Photoadducts and Their Rapid Detection by Surface Enhanced
Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) Technology

3rd Place: Mallory Madfes, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
Mycoremediation of PCB Soil Contaminants with Pleurotus ostreatus

4th Place: Reed Morgan, Darien High School, Darien, CT
Ethnogenesis and State Formation in the Mycenaean Hither State of Pylos: A-pu2/Iklaina as a Diagnostic

5th Place: Janine Kerr, Danbury High School, Danbury, CT
Biological Control of the Emerald Ash Borer Using Entomopathogenic Fungi and Nematodes

2013 Connecticut Invention Convention
Bristol, CT – St. Anthony School: Courtney Clough
East Hartford, CT — Two Rivers Magnet Middle School: Gina DePasquale, Aditya Kumar, Jennifer Lee, Ryan McKiernan
Fairfield, CT – Our Lady of the Assumption School: Juliet Rose Parker
Farmington, CT — Irving A. Robbins Middle School: Rita Monahan
Hartford, CT – Greater Hartford YMCA: Zaire Edwards
Lakeville, CT — Indian Mountain School: Lilianna Zyszkowski
N. Franklin, CT — Franklin Elementary School: Alyssa Friedrich
Torrington, CT — Torrington Middle School: Morgan Audia, Gabrielle Cilfone, Cassie Fedor, Adam Karpeichik, Nicole Rogers

Thirty-three newly elected members of the Academy will also be recognized during the evening.