Legislator Wink Congratulates Intel Semi-Finalists from the 11th Legislative District

Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) congratulated 2009 Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists David Becker, Stephen Nash, and Adam Vojdany, from Paul Schreiber High School; Sun Kim , Andre Borczuk, Elizabeth Jacob, Sharif Vakili, and Andrea Scavelli, from Wheatley High School; Christopher Osman, from North Shore High School; Neil Patel, Steven Ham, and Vijay Raj, from Herricks High School; Jourdan Urbach, Trisha Nussbaum, Stephanie Wang, and Intel Finalist Chelsea Jurman, from Roslyn High School, with county citations at a recent meeting of the Nassau County Legislature.

The semi-finalists worked on the following projects:

• David Becker: “The Impact of Agricultural Intensification Upon Sexual Dimorphism: A Case Study from the Ancient Americas”
• Stephen Nash: “Incumbency Advantage of Women in United States Legislative Elections”
• Adam Vojdany: “Class Preserving Dissections of Convex Polygons”
• Sun Kim: “Bioengineering: Therapeutic Nanodevices for Drug Delivery”
• Andre Borczuk: “Utilizing DNA Copy Number Analysis and Gene Expression Profiling to Determine Genes Overexpressed in Pancreatic Cancer”
• Elizabeth Jacob: “Nanoclay Composites: Synthesizing Biopolymers for Flame Retardant Applications”
• Sharif Vakili: “The Effects of Laser Therapy on Trombiculid Bite Removal”
• Andrea Scavelli: “The Effects of Nostalgic Music on the Cognitive Ability of Alzheimer's Patients"

• Christopher Osman: “High School and College Males’ and Females’ Implicit and Explicit Perceptions of Science Occupations.” 

•Steven Ham: “Exploring the Effects of Nicotine on the Expression of Molecular Compounds Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Novel Mechanism in Neuroprotection”

•Neil Patel: “The Mechanical Enhancement of Electrospun Fibers with Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS)”

•Vijay Raj: “Predicting G-Protein Coupled Receptor Thermostability Conferred by Point Mutations”

• Jourdan Urbach: “Super Oligodendrocytes: Remyelinating Multiple Sclerosis Lesions Using Laminin and Immunomodulators.”

• Trisha Nussbaum: “How Harry Potter Can Help You Get a Higher SAT Score: The Effects of Context and Familiarity on Vocabulary Retention in Adolescents”

• Stephanie Wang: “The Novel Property of the Circulating Hormone Am and its Binding Protein: Neuroprotection in Hypoxia”

Finalist Chelsea Jurman's project was entitled “Your Children May Pay More Attention Than You Think: The Link Between Teens’ Perceptions of Parent Alcohol Use and Monitoring and Teen Alcohol Use and Acceptance.” 

Participating in the Intel Science Search requires a great deal of effort. Students submit a lengthy written report on an independent science-research project and are then judged by noted scientists from a variety of disciplines on their research, scientific originality, and creative thinking. The five Wheatly High School seniors will receive a $1,000 award with an additional $1,000 going to their high school. This year’s semifinalists were selected from 1,609 entrants from 36 states, the District of Columbia and accredited overseas schools in India and South Korea.

(above) Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) congratulated from left, David Becker, and Stephen Nash, from Paul Schreiber High School in Port Washington who are semi-finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. Adam Vojdany was unable to attend the legislative session. Legislator Wink presented the teenagers with a county citation at the recent meeting of the Nassau County Legislature.

(above) Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) congratulated from left, Sun Kim, Andre Borczuk, Elizabeth Jacob, Sharif Vakili, and Andrea Scavelli, from Wheatley High School who are semi-finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. Legislator Wink presented the five teenagers with a county citation at the recent meeting of the Nassau County Legislature.

(above) Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn), left, congratulated Christopher Osman, from North Shore High School, who was a semi-finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. Legislator Wink presented Christopher, who was accompanied by his teacher and advisor, Seth Klein, with a county citation at the recent meeting of the Nassau County Legislature.

Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) congratulated from left, Neil Patel, Steven Ham, and Vijay Raj (not in photo), from Herricks High School in New Hyde Park who are semi-finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search. He presented the three teenagers with a County citation at a recent meeting of the Nassau County Legislature. Vijay Raj was unable to attend the meeting.

(above) Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) congratulated Intel finalist, Chelsea Jurman, left, and Intel semi-finalists, Jourdan Urbach, Trisha Nussbaum, and Stephanie Wang, from Roslyn High School. He presented the four teenagers with a Nassau County Citation at a recent meeting of the legislature.