Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2018 by Elert for Science Fair.
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The Midwood Science Fair is almost upon us. Thursday, May 31, 2018 will be here before you know it. Juniors and seniors meet in the Library period 9. Alumni and other registered celebrity judges show up around 2:45–3:00 (a little early is better than a little late). Sophomores be in your assigned spot by the start of period 11 (your board will be waiting for you). Everyone be prepared for an afternoon of science and celebration.
Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2018 by Elert for Awards, ISEF.
Team NYC sent 14 students off to the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last week. By noon Friday, they had collectively amassed over $22,800 in prize money. (I have to use the word "over" since some of the special awards do not have well-defined monetary values.) The awards are distributed over two days — Thursday evening is for Special Awards, sponsored by a variety of professional organizations, and Friday morning is for Grand Awards, sponsored mostly by the Intel Foundation.
The Intel ISEF is the largest pre-college science competition in the world. Each year, approximately 1,800 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for $4 million in prizes.
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Every year, millions of students worldwide compete in local and school-sponsored science fairs. Only the best projects form these affiliated fairs are accepted into the Intel ISEF. Students in the five boroughs compete in the New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF), a joint venture between the City University of New York and the New York City Department of Education. NYCSEF is itself a large event, with something like 450 projects passing the rigorous standards of the Scientific Review Committee. NYCSEF is so huge that it has to be broken down into two events: a preliminary round and a finals round.
Everyone who attends the Intel ISEF is automatically a winner. Walking through the doors of the convention center into the project space is a reward unto itself for months or even years of toil. An Intel ISEF is five days of practice, competition, entertainment, excitement, rewards, and new friends. What Team NYC accomplished in the week of May 13–18 is not entirely measurable. But for those of you who like hard data, here are the awards we brought back.
Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2018 by Elert for ISEF.
The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the largest international pre-college science competition on the planet. Approximately 1,800 high school students from 75 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for $4 million in prizes. The 2018 ISEF is being held once again on two floors of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The 14 students in Team NYC were selected from an original 450 during the New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) in March. Aushna Saleem is Midwood's contribution to this outstanding group of young people.
ISEF is a week long event starting with one day each for registration, setup, and practice, one long day of judging, and another day of public viewing. There are so many awards given at ISEF that it takes two days to present them all. Special Awards are given out on Thursday, May 17 in the evening and Grand Awards are given out on Friday, May 18 in the morning.
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Posted on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 by Elert for Awards, Brooklyn College.
Midwood Science won two of the three awards in the high school division at Brooklyn College's annual Science Research Day on Friday, May 4, 2018 ending a four year long streak of clean sweeps (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). Kevin Chen and Hafsa Fatima placed first and second, respectively. Both students worked under the supervision of long-time friend of Midwood Science, Dr. Frank Grasso in the Biomimetic and Cognitive Robotics (BCR) lab at Brooklyn College. Third place went to Staten Island Tech student Kemal Aziz, who worked under the supervision of Dr. Karl Sandeman in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College. Both Dr. Grasso and Dr. Sandeman have mentored projects good enough to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Festival (ISEF) — Dr. Grasso in 2018 and Dr. Sandeman in 2016.
Brooklyn College Science Research Day is an annual event that showcases the work done by students with research mentors at Brooklyn College and other CUNY schools. This year, around 125 students presented their research across 14 categories in STEM, with over 50 faculty members and students from the college serving as judges. First, second, and third place prizes were awarded in each of the three divisions: high school, undergraduate and graduate.
 Glenn Elert (teacher), Kevin Chen, Hafsa Fatima, Susan Katzoff (teacher) |
 Glenn Elert (teacher), Dr. Frank Grasso (professor), Fizza Nayab, Larissa Brijmohan |
Susan Katzoff (teacher), Fizza Nayab, Glenn Elert (teacher), Hafsa Fatima, Soanne Saint Victor, Joyce Chow, Aushna Saleem, Naila Mirza, Ivy Li, Kevin Chen, Beien Lin, Kathy Mania, Larissa Brijmohan, Annable Xie, Nursat Jahan
Posted on Monday, May 7, 2018 by Elert for ACT-SO, Awards.
Saturday, April 21, 2018 marked the 30th time the three New York City branches of the NAACP sponsored ACT-SO — the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics. ACT-SO is an "Olympics of the Mind" with up to 32 different categories and chances to win medals and cash prizes. This year's New York City ACT-SO was once again held at George Wingate High School — it's home for most of the past 30 events. Awards were announced on Monday, May 7, 2018 at St. Francis College in Downtown Brooklyn.
2018 marks the first time Midwood High School entered and medalled in each of the five major categories: STEM, humanities, fine arts, performing arts, and business. Kiandra Peart lead the team, earning a pair of gold medals in Entrepreneurship and Poetry and a bronze medal in Sculpture. Calvin Huynh, Rana Mohamed, and Saba Iqbal brought home gold in Microbiology, Engineering, and Earth & Space Sciences, respectively. Soanne Saint Victor earned bronze in Biology and Instrumental Classical. The total medal count for Midwood was 5 gold, 3 silver, and 8 bronze.
Kiandra, Calvin, and Rana will be competing in the National ACT-SO July 13–15. The National ACT-SO is a part of the NAACP Annual Convention, which is being held this year at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. With over 8000 delegates expected to attend Kiandra, Calvin, and Rana are sure to have an exciting time.
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Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2018 by Elert for Freshmen, Juniors, Sophomores.
Applications are now open to high school students in grades 9–11 for the Health Professions Recruitment & Exposure Program (HPREP) at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
| Who: | Motivated 9th–11th grade minority students interested in pursuing a career in medicine. |
| What: | Students will participate in anatomy dissections, a group research project, and a college preparatory workshop. Through involvement in group activities and discussions, participating students will further develop the academic skills that will prepare them for college and better qualify them to study health-related disciplines. Students will work in groups to research one medically related topic and give a final presentation at the end of the program. |
| Where: | SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 395 Lenox Rd, Brooklyn NY 11203 |
| When: | Seven 3 hour seminars (10:00 AM–1:00 PM) on Saturdays (October 6 – November 17, 2018). Lunch will be provided. |
| Why: | Great exposure to medicine, college, and medical school. |
| Cost: | None! Students must be able to get to and from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. |
| How: | The application must be completed online and can found at www.downstatehprep.wordpress.com. External documentation (such as school consent forms, and transcripts) must be sent to downstatehprep@gmail.com. Please submit all application materials together. All items must be received by Monday, September 24th, 2018. Admissions will be on a rolling basis. |
Posted on Monday, April 30, 2018 by Elert for Science Fair.
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The 2018 Midwood Science Fair is only a month away. Right now as you read this the sophomore research students are diligently working on their projects, formulating hypotheses, and plotting the best way to gather and analyze data. The juniors and seniors are sharpening their metaphorical pencils as well as their literal questioning skills. The alumni judges are looking forward to seeing old friends at Midwood once again. The teachers are keeping their students focused. Everyone is coordinating their schedules to make sure they’re ready for Thursday, May 31, 2018.
Posted on Monday, April 23, 2018 by Elert for Juniors, Seniors.
All juniors and seniors with a currently active research placement who would like to apply for a 1.05 weighted research course (Honors Science Research) for the spring semester of 2018 must fill out, print, sign, and present this form to their supervising teacher along with an up to date lab log. See your supervising teacher sometime between Monday, April 23 and Friday, April 27 (unless you were told to do something different). Renewal is not automatic. You need to apply every semester.
An "active" placement in the fall is one with 16 hours (on average) of lab log entries per month for February, March, and April. A placement is not official until your mentor has contacted me saying you have been accepted to work in their lab. It should also state the date you began working there.
Posted on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 by Elert for Juniors, Lectures, Seniors.
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Learn how the immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer. This talk is part of the quarterly Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Student Seminar Series, created to share expertise with students, communicate the excitement of cancer research, and create a learning community at MSK. Students grade 9–12 or college are invited, and they can bring classmates. Date & Time: Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 5:00–6:30 PM. Location: Zuckerman Auditorium, 417 East 68th Street (note that this is not the usual location we go to for MSK lectures).
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How the Immune System Can Be Manipulated to Control Cancer Michael A. Postow, MD is part of the Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service and the The Jedd Wolchok Lab. He has an interest in developing clinical trials for patients with melanoma involving immunotherapeutic strategies. His specific areas of interest include studying the immunologic effects of radiotherapy and characterizing pharmacodynamic biomarkers associated with ipilimumab outcomes. |
Posted on Monday, April 16, 2018 by Elert for Extra Credit, Juniors, Lectures, Seniors.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your school work? As a practicing clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Davis will discuss best practices that can help reduce school-related anxieties. She will speak about her fMRI research on the connection between learning disorders and anxiety, and share strategies to reduce school-related anxiety to improve studying.
This event is a part of Rockefeller University’s RockEDU science outreach program. Register through Eventbrite now. Free for high school students and teachers.
| DATE AND TIME Friday, April 20, 2018 4:30 PM–6:00 PM EDT Add to your calendar |
LOCATION Carson Family Auditorium The Rockefeller University 1230 York Ave New York, NY 10065 |
Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 by Elert for Extra Credit, Juniors, Seniors.
Join the World Science Festival
for an exploration of groundbreaking discoveries, encounters with the trailblazing scientists and thinkers who are changing the world, and youth and family events that will inspire the next generation of leaders. Be a part of the largest celebration of science on the planet.
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the festival, serving as ambassadors for the World Science Festival. They are a welcoming face to visitors, chock-full of information about the Festival and its programs. Volunteers also support the many production teams that make so many compelling programs and experiences possible.
The World Science Festival takes place in all five boroughs, at more than 20 venues, over 5 days — Wednesday, May 30 through Sunday, June, 3. The World Science Festival is so important to science that people have been know to travel thousands of miles to participate. If you're reading this, you probably live within a subway's ride of every event. Click here to volunteer.
Do not volunteer for anything on Thursday, May 31 since that is the day of the Midwood Science Fair. Juniors will be awarded +1 point of extra credit for each day they volunteer. Seniors will receive +5 points of regular credit.
Posted on Monday, April 2, 2018 by Elert for Juniors, Sophomores.
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Run by medical students in over 30 cities nationwide with locations in Manhattan and Westchester County, Camp Cardiac & Camp Neuro are 1 week summer day camps open to high school students interested in exploring careers in medicine.
Students may learn more and apply by visiting campcardiac.org and campneuro.org. Scholarship applications are due Monday, April 16, 2018. The standard deadline is Monday, May 7, 2018 and the tuition is $700.
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Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2018 by Elert for Science Fair.
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The 2018 Midwood Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, May 31, 2018. Registration for judges and contestants will be set up in about a month. Add this event to your calendar and prepare your mind for an afternoon of science.
Posted on Monday, March 26, 2018 by Elert for ISEF, NYCSEF.
This was the year of psychology at Midwood Science. All of our NYCSEF First and Second Awards went to students with psychology projects (both human and parakeet). Out of the 9 award winning projects, 5 were connected to the study of human or animal behavior. Engineering, medicine, and environmental science completed the team.
Aushna Saleem won the highest awards of the competition — a NYCSEF First Award and an Intel ISEF Award — for her study of the behavior of Brooklyn's beloved monk parakeets. Hafsa Fatima collected another First Award for her study of monk parakeet vocalization. Aushna and Hafsa worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso from Brooklyn College — a supporter of Midwood Science for 15 years. Aushna will be traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to compete in the Intel ISEF in the third week of May.
First time mentors from St. Francis College supported the remaining psychology projects. First Award winners Mei Mei Weng & Judy Huang studied stress and birth order and were supervized by Dr. Steven Anolik. Second Award winners Albina Kukic & Wendy Lliguichuzhca studied factors affecting altruism and were supervised by Dr. Uwe Gielen and Dr. Sung Hun Kim. Albina and Wendy also received the American Psychological Association Award for their exceptional project.
Linda Chen, Yiming Dai, Jennifer Duong, Elizabeth Joseph, Sabina Kubayeva, Beien Lin, Kathy Mania, and Rana Mohammed all received Third Awards. Beien and Kathy were also Semifinalists in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their water-related project. Rana received the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for best engineering project by a junior.
NYCSEF is the annual New York City Science and Engineering Fair sponsored by the New York City Department of Educatation, the City University of New York, and ConEdison. Roughly 570 participants from all five boroughs participated in the Preliminary Round this year at City College on March 4. The top 25% of those advanced to the Finals Round at the American Museum of Natural History on March 20. The top 16 projects go on to represent New York City in the 2,000 student mega-event, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 13–18.
Posted on Saturday, March 10, 2018 by Elert for Awards, NYCSEF.
The New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) is the city’s largest high school research competition. More than 700 students from around the city submitted applications in 2018. The top 130 projects were selected to advance to the Finals Round on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at the American Museum of Natural History. Midwood High School will send 14 students presenting 9 projects to this year’s competition under the big blue whale. Awards will be presented on Monday, March 26, 2018 in the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at the Borough of Manhattan Community College 4:00–6:00 PM.
Posted on Friday, February 9, 2018 by Elert for Awards, JSHS.
February 4, 2018 was a busy Sunday morning for Midwood Science. As has been custom for the last 10 years, York College in Queens hosted the annual New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). 12 Midwood students representing 9 projects made it to the Semifinals round — the largest number we’ve ever had. Benjamin Nguyen (Engineering) and Saba Iqbal (Environmental Sciences) placed Second in their respective categories. Katie Nikishina (Engineering) and the team of Kathy Mania and Beien Lin (Environmental Sciences) placed Third.
Back row: Beien Lin, Joyce Chow, Benjamin Nguyen, Kathy Mania. Front row: Naila Mirza, Saba Iqbal, Vincent Wang, Jessie Zheng, Aushna Saleem, Jennifer Duong, Ivy Li, Katie Nikishina
