High School Science Winners Mentored at QC

Townsend Harris students faired exceptionally well in a recent science competition sponsored by the New York City Department of Education. Of the 23 winners chosen in the annual New York City Science and Engineering Fair, five came from Townsend: Ben Aronowicz, Warren Cheng, and Erin Zeqja, who were mentored by Vinod Menon (Physics), Makrete Krikorian, who worked with former QC professor Bonnie Gersten (Biochemistry), and Bushra Wazed, who conducted research under Mitchell Baker (Biology).

More than a thousand teens submitted projects to this year’s event, held March 6 and 7 in the Manhattan headquarters of the New York Academy of Sciences, which presented the fair in partnership with Brooklyn’s Polytechnic University. “Every student who participated in the NYCSEF is a winner,” said academy president Ellis Rubinstein. “These students represent the best and brightest our schools have to offer in the areas of science, engineering, and technology.”

At a ceremony taking place this month, Polytechnic will award a $40,000 scholarship to each of the top-ranked city contestants. In mid-May, they will head to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, where they will be part of a global pool of some 1500 contenders vying for additional prizes. New Yorkers have an admirable track record at the Intel contest; in 2006, ten NYCSEF alums returned home with honors.

Townsend Harris’ entries this year span several categories. Aronowicz, Cheng, and Zeqja collaborated on a physics experiment using far infrared light to evaluate the structure of DNA molecules. In the animal sciences division, Wazed analyzed what resistance to the insecticide Imidacloprid does to the immune system of Leptinotarsa decemlineata, otherwise known as the Colorado potato beetle. And Krikorian tackled a chemistry project involving microscopic particles of cadmium sulfide.

“Their success is great for Townsend Harris and for Queens College,” says Menon, who began working with Aronowicz, Cheng, and Zeqja, as well as their high school teacher, through the Howard Hughes Summer Research Program. “I’m going to have more kids come to my lab in the future.”