The Home of Midwood Science Research

3 semifinalists at the NYC Metro JSHS, 2nd IRL event of 2023

Posted on Monday, February 27, 2023 by for Awards, JSHS.

On Sunday, February 12, 2023 three Midwood Science seniors presented their work at the semifinals round of the New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Semifinalists at JSHS are recognized for being among the top 100 science research projects in the five boroughs. This regional event has been hosted at York College in Queens on the second Sunday of February since 2009. 2023 marks its post-pandemic return to an in-real-life competition.

  • Mykhaelia C.
    Category: Life and Behavioral Science
    Project: Exploring the Feasibility of a Fluorescence Imaging-Based Brain-Machine Interface
    Mentor: Dr. Ben Scott at Boston University
  • Lucas P.
    Category: Mathematics and Computer Science
    Project: Multivariable analysis on stock price and trade volume trends in the post-COVID-19 stock market shutdown era
    Mentor: Dr. Allison Bishop at Proof Trading, Inc.
  • Kaitlynn M.
    Category: Environmental Science
    Project: Impact of Lactobacillus casei on corn, pea, and radish plants in sterilized and non-sterilized soil
Student standing next to a York College welcome sign
Kaitlynn M.
Student standing next to a York College welcome sign
Mykhaelia C.
Student standing next to a York College welcome sign
Lucas P.

JSHS is a nationwide program sponsored by the US Department of Defense that encourages high school students to conduct original research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and publicly recognizes them for outstanding achievement. By connecting talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and by rewarding research excellence, JSHS aims to widen the pool of trained talent prepared to conduct research and development vital to our nation.

York College logo JSHS logo

Six science projects win recognition at Metro JSHS; Senior’s “Emo” robot takes first place in engineering

Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 by for JSHS, Media.

Bintia Keita '22 holds Emo, her robotics toy for children with autism.

Six projects made by Midwood students made it into the semifinals for the NYC Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) held virtually at York College this February. Senior Bintia Keita won First Place in Engineering, earning a spot as one of five students representing New York City at the 60th National JSHS. She brought her robot "Emo" to Albuquerque, New Mexico, this April.

"The competition was amazing from day one," said Keita. "My delegation was full of awesome, really smart people from New York City. It was great to be around people who were motivated and dedicated and brilliant in the field that they were studying. It was amazing."

The JSHS is a U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored high school STEM competition. The National Symposium brings together 245 high school students who qualified at regional symposiums held at partnered universities and organizations nationwide.

Emo is Keita's robotics toy for children with autism, designed to improve their interactions and emotional interpretation. Emo's screen is used to play guessing games with three levels of difficulty: emoji, cartoon, and realistic.

After the child successfully matches the emoji to the emotion, Emo uses positive reinforcement through confetti, animations, and movement. Through a slow evolution, autistic children who can identify the correct emotion can better recognize it in a live person.

Keita coded the elements of the display such as the guessing game, animations, and movements using Javascript and a free web editor, P5JS. "I would create a 3D model using Fusion 360, and then I would print it at school and assemble it using stuff I found in my dad's toolbox," she said.

Currently, Keita is working on making Emo mobile and is thinking about sending it to different clinics.

Semifinalists Michelle Yang '22 and Zitong Liu '22 worked on veganism and plant-based alternatives to meat after they noticed plant-based meat as the only option on the shelves after meat shortages in Ohio supermarkets during the pandemic.

They cooked and tested multiple batches and recipes and assessed each recipe's environmental impact, computing factors such as water consumption and atmospheric carbon release. "I think the public should be educated on the benefits of vegan meat," said Yang.

Being able to share findings with the public is one of the fun parts of the JSHS, she added. "It's just really exciting to share our project with other schools," said Yang. "Most of my group were from Bronx Science, and the other one was from Stuy[vesant]. It was interesting seeing their projects and then secretly comparing them with mine."

Samarpreet Singh '22 ran an experiment to find a relationship between social media use and a person's levels of optimism or pessimism. He found that students who excessively use social media are more likely to be pessimistic.

Singh found that the Midwood student body averages around six hours of social media use per day. Previous studies recommended 30 minutes to be a healthy amount. "I feel like in today's generation, the repercussions have to be considered," said Singh. "Midwood students specifically need to lower their social media use."

Lian Hao Zheng '22, working with seniors Benny Dong and Jason Wu, conducted a survey-based study to find the effect of gratitude on a person's mental and physical health, specifically on sleep quality and depression.

"Gratitude is the ability to stay in the present," said Zheng, "to be attentive to your surroundings, to be grateful for the things that are happening around you. Being a more empathetic person is definitely the way to increase your gratitude."

He found that increased gratitude leads to lower levels of depression and higher levels of sleep quality. "If there is a significant correlation, then it may have a potential use as a medical treatment," said Zheng.


Midwood also had five other semifinalist projects at the NYC Metro JSHS.

Zheng said it felt great becoming a semifinalist. "I'm happy that this topic is being recognized, as well as my follow-up study about mindfulness," he said. "I'm just happy both of them got the grant from NYT, which shows people actually care."

Muhammad Sharjeel '22 studied the difference between extroverts and introverts and their homework behavior. Homework behavior was measured by time, effort, and performance.

"When you think of extraversion, like how social someone is, you wouldn't connect that to homework, so that's why it was interesting," said Sharjeel.

He conducted an experiment using questionnaires and an experimental implicit association test, both testing which side of the introversion / extraversion spectrum the participants were on based on their identification-related words (shyness), phrases, and questions.

In his first study, he found a weak negative correlation but no correlation between extraversion and homework time in his second study. He also found that procrastination and homework performance had no correlation with extraversion. Using these findings might help teachers better understand how students learn, he explained.

Enaya Ahmad '22 studied the "other-race effect": how people are better able to recognize faces from their own race than faces from other races. She sought to answer the question "Is there a presence of the other-race effect in teenagers, and is the trend similar to infants and adults?"


Keita was one of five students from NYC who got to attend the national symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"When I walked outside, I was able to remember faces of my own race and not other faces," said Ahmad. "Sometimes I misidentify my white neighbors as somebody else, which is something that I found odd because it didn't happen with me for other South Asians."

Ahmad showed African American, White, and Asian faces to people and later made them find the original face that was shown with two altered versions of that face.

Those who lived in a less racially diverse neighborhood were better at recognizing their own race than other races. The other-race effect was present only in 14-16-year-olds; 17-18 year-olds recognized other races better, she found.

Within the behavioral psychology category, Ahmad was with nine other students, all of whom were from Bronx Science. "It was definitely intimidating, but I felt proud to be there, representing Midwood," said Ahmad. "That was a really proud moment because I put a lot of effort into my project."

"I thought we had really good results this year," said Mr. Glenn Elert, the research teacher. "We did really well because Bintia got to go to nationals, and that hasn't happened in – it might be 10 years. So that's an awesome accomplishment on Bintia's part and something she should really be proud of."

All the finalists recommended the three-year science research class at Midwood. "Colleges want to see you do something that requires independence, creativity, and responsibility," said Mr. Elert. "The thing we need are people who are interested in working on a long-term project on their own."

"We had an alumnus who graduated in the '80s, Fritz Francois," said Mr. Elert. "He is now the dean of admissions at the NYU School of Medicine. He came back, and he was talking to our students, and he said, 'We routinely reject people from the NYU School of Medicine who have 4.0 averages because they don't have anything else.' A research class sets you apart."

Written by Rachel Dong (Class of 2023)
This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue of Argus.

6 semifinalists at 2022 Metro NYC JSHS, Bintia Keita going to National JSHS in April

Posted on Thursday, March 3, 2022 by for Awards, JSHS.

On Sunday, February 6, 2022 York College hosted the latest (virtual) installment of the NYC Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). JSHS is a nationwide collection of 48 regional competitions sponsored by the US Department of Defense whose aims are to promote original STEM research at the high school level and to publicly recognize students for outstanding achievement.

Six projects by Midwood students made it to the semifinals round this year. Bintia Keita won First Place in Engineering and impressed the judges so much that she is one of five students representing New York City at the 60th National JSHS In Albuquerque, New Mexico in April.

National JSHS delegate

  • Bintia Keita
    Category: Engineering
    Project: "Emo's" potential application for children with autism
    Mentors: Dr. Kathleen McDermott and Dr. Scott Fitzgerald in the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University

NYC Metro JSHS semifinalists

  • Enaya Ahmad
    Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences
    Project: The presence of the other race effect in teenagers
    Mentor: Dr. Grit Herzmann in the Department of Psychology at The College of Wooster
  • Muhammad Sharjeel
    Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences
    Project: Association between extroversion and homework behavior among NYC high school students
    Mentor: Dr. Jason Young in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College
  • Samarpreet Singh
    Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences
    Project: Social media usage and the degree of optimistic bias in adolescents
    Mentor: Dr. Steven Anolik in the Department of Psychology at St Francis College
  • Benny Dong & Jason Wu & Lian Hao Zheng
    Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences
    Project: How does gratitude affect one's quality of sleep and level of depression?
    Mentor: Dr. Steven Anolik in the Department of Psychology at St Francis College
  • Michelle Yang & Zitong Liu
    Category: Environmental Sciences
    Project: Veganism saves the world: Plant-based meat alternatives

Group photo on the Midwood bridge over Bedford Avenue

JSHS application open for one week

Posted on Friday, November 12, 2021 by for JSHS, Seniors.

Applications are now being accepted for the New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Anyone with a research report that is finished (or even just close enough) can enter. Teams can enter together, but only one team member presents.

The application is done through a web form. You type your info into the fields, upload a PDF of your latest and greatest research report, upload some additional forms and other documentation, and then hit the "submit" button. Easy peasy. This has to be completed in the Research Room with me witnessing it on or before Friday, November 19. (Don't blame me for the short notice, this is how they operate.) Completing the application is worth +4 points of extra credit.

JSHS logo

The top 120 projects will be invited to York College to present at the Symposium on Sunday, February 6, 2022. If COVID restrictions are still in effect at CUNY campuses in February, the event will be held virtually. Presenting at the Symposium will be worth +10 points. In the case of team projects, the presenter will get +10 points and the other team members will receive +5 points.

Contact me quickly if you are interested in applying. I have paperwork to do that requires the Principal's signature (JSHS Form C) and I am not doing it on the day it's due. If you are working with a mentor, you also need their signature on one form (JSHS Form B). They would probably appreciate it if you contacted them as soon as possible. They would probably appreciate it even more if you partially filled out the form for them. There is also a form for projects involving human subjects (JSHS Form A), but you can give them your IRB form instead.

Read the Student Registration page for details on what is needed for the application. Contact me if you have questions.

Tahreem Sittar and Maham Ghori take 3rd at NYC Metro JSHS

Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2021 by for Awards, JSHS.

On Sunday, February 7, 2021 York College hosted the latest (virtual) installment of the NYC Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). JSHS is a nationwide collection of 48 regional competitions sponsored by the US Department of Defense whose aims are to promote original STEM research at the high school level and to publicly recognize students for outstanding achievement. Four projects by Midwood students were elegible this year and one brought home an award.

Maham, Tahreem, and a Long-Evans rat Tahreem Sittar and Maham Ghori were Third Place Winners in Behavioral and Social Sciences for their project "Role of uncertainty in governing attraction to food cues". Maham and Tahreem worked under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Delamater in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College. The photo on the left shows Maham (left) and Tahreem (right) with one of their experimental subjects, a Long-Evans laboratory rat.

Almedina Mulic is a finalist at the 2020 NYC Metro JSHS, Tanisa Rahman wins 2nd in chemistry

Posted on Thursday, February 13, 2020 by for Awards, JSHS.

JSHS logo

The NYC Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) only accepted about 120 projects citywide for this year's competition. On Sunday, February 8, 2020, 6 Midwood students made it to the semifinals round. Almedina Mulic was declared first place in environmental science and a finalist overall. Tanisa Rahman received second place in chemistry. 4 additional Midwood students were declared semifinalists. Wish Almedina good luck as she prepares for the finals round in one week. Send congrats to all 6 of our winners. JSHS set a high bar that these 6 students deftly surmounted.

Finalist and first place in environmental science

  • Almedina Mulic (environmental science)
    Project: Do Geukensia demissa change how they feed in the presence of predators?
    Mentor: Dr. J. Stephen Gosnell, Department of Environmental Science, Baruch College

Semifinalist and second place in chemistry

  • Tanisa Rahman (chemistry)
    Project: Novel method of cycloaddition of cyclooctyne and trapping with a vinylketene complex and other cycloaddition reactions using benzyne precursors
    Mentor: Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Long Island University

Semifinalist

  • Ashley Chin (behavioral science)
    Project: How does body awareness and parental bonding differ among black and non-black young adults?
    Mentor: Dr. Sara Chiara Haden, Department of Psychology, Long Island University
  • Henry Hua (environmental science)
    Project: Food consumption rates of Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (green sea urchin) in a high CO2, low pH environment
    Mentor: Dr. Kestrel Perez, Department of Biology, St. Joseph's College
  • Jasmine Huang (behavioral science)
    Project: Effects of reversed Pavlovian learning in differentiating sex
    Mentor: Dr. Andrew Delamater, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Mariyum Jahan (behavioral science)
    Project: Male and female fiddler crabs prefer to group with members of the opposite sex
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College

Finalist Almedina Mulic
Finalist Almedina Mulic

All 6 semifinalists
All 6 semifinalists plus one teacher

Science research update

Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2019 by for JSHS, St. Joseph's, Terra NYC.

Dear friends of Midwood Science. Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Here's several news items to satisfy your thirst for knowledge. (Number 6 will amaze you.) Follow the links to see more words and images.

Group photo 5 Midwood students compete at the 2019 JSHS semifinals, Ahmad Choudry takes 3rd place in chemistry

Posted on Friday, February 8, 2019 by for Awards, JSHS.

Group photo Midwood seniors capture half the awards at 2019 St. Joseph's College Poster Session, Rana Mohamed takes first place

Posted on Saturday, February 9, 2019 by for Awards, St. Joseph's.

Students standing in front of their poster 4 Midwood students present for the 2019 Eastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting

Posted on Friday, March 1, 2019 by for Publications.

Group photo at Shepard Hall, City College, CUNY Midwood Science at the 2019 NYCSEF preliminaries

Posted on Sunday, March 3, 2019 by for NYCSEF.

5 Midwood students take awards at NYCSEF finals. Robots, parrots, and mice lead the way.

Posted on Monday, March 25, 2019 by for Awards, NYCSEF.

Two months to the Midwood Science Fair

Posted on Saturday, March 30, 2019 by for Science Fair.

5 Midwood students compete at the 2019 JSHS semifinals, Ahmad Choudry takes 3rd place in chemistry

Posted on Friday, February 8, 2019 by for Awards, JSHS.

JSHS logo

Sunday, February 3, 2019 was the 11th occurrence of the New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) at York College in Queens. JSHS is a program sponsored by the US Department of Defense to promote original STEM research and experimentation at the high school level. Select students present their findings to their peers and a panel of expert judges at regional symposia held across the US.

The NYC Metro JSHS only accepted about 120 projects for this year's competition. 5 Midwood students representing 4 projects made it to the Semifinals round with the team of Ahmad Choudhry and Daniel Gaft taking Third Place in Chemistry.

Third Place

  • Ahmad Choudhry and Daniel Gaft (Chemistry)
    Project: Synthesis and cycloadditions of vinylketene iron (0) complexes using 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzenesulfonyl hydrazones.
    Mentor: Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Long Island University

Semifinalists

  • Rana Mohamed (Engineering)
    Project: Energy monitoring systems for mobile robotic systems.
    Mentor: Mr. William Zhiren Peng and Dr. Joo H. Kim, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
  • Fizza Nayab (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Monk to monk communication: Do monk parakeet calls influence conspecific behaviors?
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Annabel Xie (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) prefer to nest in greenspace in New York City compared to other types of land.
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
Group photo on a balcony
Group photo in a lecture hall Group photo in a lecture hall

Midwood at the 2018 JSHS, more semifinalists than ever

Posted on Friday, February 9, 2018 by 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.

Second Place

  • Benjamin Nguyen (Engineering)
    "Climate controlled Raspberry Pi Model B video looper via temperature sensor and PC fan controlled by Arduino Uno." Benjamin worked under the supervision of Dr. Xiaohai (Richard) Li in the Department of Computer Engineering Technology at New York City College of Technology.
  • Saba Iqbal (Environmental Sciences)
    "Indicating an atmospheric mercury pollution source using moss as a biomonitor." Saba worked under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Carpi and Dr. Erin Mann in the Department of Sciences at John Jay College.

Third Place

  • Katie Nikishina (Engineering)
    "Capillary action on 20% polystyrene in dimethylformamide nanofibers partially immersed in paraffin wax." Katie worked under the supervision of Dr. Ping Lu and Ms. Simone Murray in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
  • Kathy Mania & Beien Lin (Environmental Sciences)
    "Soil structure and heavy metals in engineered soils for storm water management." Kathy and Beien worked under the supervision of Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng and Dr. Maha Deeb Collet in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College.

Midwood's 2018 NYC Metro JSHS Semifinalists
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

Semifinalist

  • Naila Mirza (Behavioral and Social Sciences)
    "Effect of season on the group size of the Myiopsitta monachus." Naila worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College.
  • Aushna Saleem (Behavioral and Social Sciences)
    "The effects of age on monk parakeet aggressive and social behavior." Aushna worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College.
  • Joyce Chow & Ivy Li (Engineering)
    "The effects of different simulated environmental factors on the voltage performance of microbial fuel cells with varying anode-embedding depths." Joyce and Ivy worked under the supervision of Dr. Sophia Suarez and Mr. Domenec Paterno in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College.
  • Jennifer Duong (Engineering)
    "Loading lauric acid into electrospun polystyrene nanofibers." Jennifer worked under the supervision of Dr. Ping Lu and Ms. Rawan Ghaban in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
  • Vincent Wang & Jessie Zheng (Engineering)
    "Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using electrospun nanofibers." Jessie and Vincent worked under the supervision of Dr. Ping Lu and Ms. Simone Murray in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.

News update from Midwood Science

Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2017 by for Awards, ISEF, JSHS, Media, Ocean Science, Robotics, St. Joseph's, STS.

Here’s what we’ve been up to in 2017 so far (plus one story from 2016 I finally got around to writing). More good news is sure to follow.

Midwood collects top awards at St. Joseph’s College

Posted on Sunday, February 5, 2017 by for St. Joseph’s.

Nomon Mohammad and Hufsa Tasnim are JSHS Semifinalists

Posted on Friday, February 10, 2017 by for JSHS.

Robotics Team Rolls into Victory at FTC

Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2017 by for Robotics.

Ocean Science Team prepares for competiton

Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2017 by for Ocean Science.

Nomon Mohammed receives 2 badges in the 2017 Regeneron STS

Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 by for Awards, STS.

Urooj Ansari and Bilal Azhar appear on News 12 Brooklyn

Posted on Friday, May 6, 2016 by for ISEF, Media.

Nomon Mohammad and Hufsa Tasnim are JSHS Semifinalists

Posted on Friday, February 10, 2017 by for Awards, JSHS.

Husfsa and Nomon standing in front of stairs holding certificates

On Sunday, February 5th, 2017 two Midwood Students — Hufsa Tasnim and Nomon Mohammad — were chosen as semifinalists to present in front of judges and other semifinalists at York College for the New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Both students won second place in their individual categories. Nomon Mohammad was chosen to move forward as one of the top 10 finalists in the city. Once again, our research students have not failed to make Midwood proud!

  • Nomon Mohammad
    "Anthraquinone as an effective electrolyte for redox flow batteries." Nomon worked under the supervision of Dr. Sophia Suarez and Mr. Domenec Paterno in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College.
  • Hufsa Tasnim
    "Epistatic interaction between sgo‑1 and htp‑2 mutants in chromosome and centrosome inheritance." Hufsa worked under the supervision of Dr. Mara Schvarzstein in the Department of Biology at Brooklyn College

Written by Noor Asif and Pauletta Lazarevskiy (Class of 2017).

Kai Saunders earns recognition for Science Research

Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 by for JSHS, Media.

Moving onto nationals, Kai Saunders ‘16 has gained recognition in the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium for her project "Urban Soils: Metal Content in Artifacts".

On February 27, Saunders took part in the regional finals and won Now she is advancing to the National Symposium in Dayton, Ohio from April 27 to 30.

Saunder’s journey began in a research class at Midwood, where Ms. Shaniece Mosley introduced her to the JSHS competition. The inspiration for her project was gained at an internship at Brooklyn College. Saunders was under the guidance of Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng and Dr. Hermine Huot in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Saunders said, "Hermine was like a mother to everyone."  She continued to explain that Huot guided everyone with their projects, as it was more than just Saunders in the internship.

Portrait of Kai Saunders outdoors
Kai Saunders will represent NYC at the National JSHS in April

The project began as Saunders and other researchers studied the papers of Richard V. Pouyat and El Khalil. These papers were on topics similar to what she went on to research for her project. It inspired her and informed her a lot on urban soil and the metal contents.

Saunders met up with her professors on a weekly basis, around twice a week depending on her lacrosse schedule. She managed her time wisely and had a weekly plan. Ms. Mosley, Saunders’ supervising teacher, monitored her project by checking on her research logbook when Midwood research students meet up once a week.

Ms. Mosley would ask her research students to explain their projects to her. If they are able to, then it is implied that the students understood their topic fully and can present their projects elsewhere.

JSHS logo

"When the research is out of my field, one of the easiest things I can do is have the students explain to me what they are doing because they can relate their research to anyone in any discipline when they share their findings. I also think having students explain their research to me ensures that they really understand the concepts and the experimental procedures associated with their projects," said Ms. Mosley.

As Ms. Mosley sees how her students have changed, she is proud to see them establish better communication skills and become successful in their research. This includes Saunders, as she proceeds on to the National JSHS.

"I am glad to see my students grow as individuals and see their hard work pay off They far exceeded my expectations, by just being able to stand in front of their peers and other scientists and a talk at length about their research is astonishing feat," she continued.

Through the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, her public speaking improved and she gained confidence. She was able to meet other researchers and learn about their experiences from their projects.

Written by Michelle Li and Jenna Palme (Class of 2017).
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 edition of Argus.

Research students thrive at JSHS competition

Posted on Saturday, March 5, 2016 by for JSHS, Media.

Seniors have once again taken the annual Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) competition by storm.

Both Kai Saunders ’16 and Josh Pilipovsky ’16 were recognized for their outstanding work and represented our school with prestige. With 11Midwood students entered into this competition, seven of them made it to the finals round. Pilipovsky ’16 went ahead and won third place in the Physics category while Saunders ’16 was a finalist and won first in the Chemistry category.

JSHS is a competition which focuses around STEM in grades 9–12 but Midwood has decided to only enter seniors. Entrants must comprise a project with the help of their mentor and supervising research teacher. Individuals then compete in JSHS for scholarships and recognition by presenting to a panel of judges and an audience of peers.

Group Photo
Midwood’s 7 JSHS Semifinalists: Kieran Bissessar, Joshua Pilipovsky, Nga Ying Lo, Victor Lee, Kai Saunders, Quetourah Dalencourt, Christine Ly

These top students had the help of their science research teachers who include Mr. Glenn Elert, the Research Coordinator and physics teacher, Ms. Shaniece Mosley, chemistry teacher, and Ms. Jennifer Sullivan, biology teacher. All three teachers have an immense amount of knowledge in their field of study and can provide students with insight that will lead them to success.

The process of choosing eleven students out of the entire senior research class was long and demanding. Students were chosen to represent Midwood by having intricate and well-designed projects.

"The best projects balance background research with laboratory skills." stated Mr. Elert.

Portrait of Kai Saunders outdoors
Kai Saunders will represent NYC at the National JSHS in April

Saunders ’16 project regarding the study of heavy metal content of artifacts found in urban soil helped her not only advance to the National JSHS but also expand her knowledge about the environment itself.

Students could not have completed these intricate projects without the help of their laboratory mentors.

Kieran Bissessar ’16 said that his project would have gotten nowhere without his mentor, Dr. Donald Gerber from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, as he is very knowledgeable. Research students are allowed to intern at any location most suitable for them and favorable for their field of study. Colleges that many of the seniors participate at include but are not limited to Brooklyn College, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and NYU.

Individuals had access to immense amount of information provided by both their mentors and the research teachers. Even when Ms. Mosley is not familiar with the topic that a student is researching, she still manages to aid them in the process of perfecting their research.

Written by Abeer Naeem and Clifford Young (Class of 2017).
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 edition of Argus.

Kai Saunders advances to Finals at 2016 JSHS

Posted on Friday, February 12, 2016 by for Awards, JSHS.

Congratulations to Kai Saunders for her First Place win in the category of Earth and Space Science at the 2016 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Kai moves on to the finals round Saturday, February 27. Joshua Pilipovsky received Third Place in the category of Physics.

The JSHS Semifinals were held at York College in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday, February 7, 2017. Individual students compete at JSHS for scholarships and recognition by presenting original research projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers. Midwood entered 11 students and had 7 semifinalists this year.

  1. Kai Saunders
    was a finalist and received First Place for her project "Urban soils: Metal content in artifacts." Kai worked under the supervision of Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College.
  2. Joshua Pilipovsky
    was a semifinalist and received Third Place for his project "Accuracy of the Ising approximation in quantum computation." Josh worked under the supervision of Dr. Vladimir Tsifrinovich in the Department of Applied Physics at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Group Photo
Midwood’s 7 JSHS Semifinalists: Kieran Bissessar, Joshua Pilipovsky, Nga Ying Lo, Victor Lee, Kai Saunders, Quetourah Dalencourt, Christine Ly

  1. Kieran Bissessar
    was a semifinalist for his project "A new perspective on the lupus malady." Kieran worked under the supervision of Dr. Donald Gerber in the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
  2. Quetourah Dalencourt
    was a semifinalist for her project "How does peer pressure affect one’s perception of beauty?" Quetourah worked under the supervision of Dr. Denis Pelli in the Department of Psychology at New York University.
  3. Victor Lee
    was a semifinalist for his project "Variations and similarities of nest construction behaviors amongst monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) of identical and different nest sites." Victor worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College.
  4. Nga Ying Lo
    was a semifinalist for her project "Development of an efficient synthesis of aryl trifluoromethylated compounds and the purification of products produced from reactions with vinylketenes." Nga Ying worked under the supervision of Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
  5. Christine Ly
    was a semifinalist for her project "Capturing cancer cells with the use of microfluidic chips." Christine worked under the supervision of Dr. Weiqiang Chen in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

2015 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2015 by for Awards, JSHS.

The New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) was held at York College in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday, February 8, 2015. Individual students compete at JSHS for scholarships and recognition by presenting original research projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers. Midwood entered 7 students and had 4 semifinalists this year.

  • Lucy Lin
    was a semifinalist and received a third place award in earth and environmental sciences for her project "Degradation of TPH-Diesel in Soil through Mycoremediation". Lucy worked under the supervision of Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College.
  • Sandra Lin
    was a semifinalist in chemistry for her project "Isolation of isomeric catechols 4-chloro-2-ethoxy-5-(triethlysilyl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-ol and 5-chloro-2-ethoxy-4-(triethlysilyl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-ol". Sandra worked under the supervision of Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
  • Monique Powell
    was a semifinalist in behavioral and social sciences for her project "Kinematics of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) During Courtship Rituals. Monique worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso and Mr. Alfie Supan in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College.
  • Raymond Yu
    was a semifinalist in physics for his project "The Effects of Sodium Pyrophosphate Tetrabasic on the Conductivity of V4+ Electrolyte for the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery". Raymond worked under the supervision of Dr. Sophia Suarez in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College.


Sandra Lin, Monique Powell, Lucy Lin, Raymond Yu

2014 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Posted on Thursday, February 13, 2014 by for Awards, JSHS.

This year’s New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium was held at York College in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday, February 9. JSHS connects talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and rewards research excellence. Midwood had 3 semifinalists this year.

  • Amy Cao
    was a semifinalist and received a third place award in the chemistry division for her project "Synthesis of iron triisopropylsilylated vinylketene complexes." Amy and her partner Ying Tong Guo worked under the supervision of Dr. Wayne F. K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
  • Raquel Hosein
    was a semifinalist and received a third place award in the engineering division for her project "Application of a Wireless Electrical Device for the Detection of Epilepsy." Raquel worked under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Viventi in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.
  • Akeem Pinnock
    was a semifinalist in the biology division for his project "Iron’s Involvement in the Diagnosis of Lupus." Akeem worked under the supervision of Dr. Donald Gerber in the Department of Medicine at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center.


Raquel Hosein, Ying Tong Guo, Amy Cao, Akeem Pinnock

2013 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2013 by for Awards, JSHS.

This year’s New York City Metro JSHS was held at York College in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday, February 10. JSHS connects talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and rewards research excellence. Midwood had 4 semifinalists.

  • Ron Baazov
    was a semifinalist and presented his project "Interaction of Lupus-Inducing Drugs With Hydrogen Peroxide and Development of a Lupus Test". Ron worked under the supervision of Dr. Donald Gerber in the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
  • Ryan Fraser
    was a semifinalist and presented his project "Immobilization of Photosystem II Core Complexes onto Titanium Dioxide Surfaces". Ryan worked under the supervision of Dr. Michele Vittadello in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at Medgar Evers College.
  • Jasmine Lam
    was a semifinalist and presented her project "Substrate Specificities of the Vertebrate Members of the NIpC/P60 Protein Family". Jasmine and her partner Anna Guo worked under the supervision of Dr. William Blaner in the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center.
  • Roxana Bravo
    was a semifinalist for her project "The Restoration of Myelin Content". Roxanna worked with Dr. Peter Bergold in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

Ron, Ryan, Anna, Jasmine
Ron Baazov, Ryan Fraser, Anna Guo, Jasmine Lam

2012 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Posted on Sunday, February 12, 2012 by for Awards, JSHS.

JSHS connects talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and rewards research excellence. This year’s New York City Metro JSHS was held at York College in Jamaica, Queens on Sunday, February 12. Midwood had 2 semifinalists.

  • Jia Wen (Joanne) Tan
    was a semifinalist and presented her project "Intracellular association of Mycoplasma hominis with Trichomonas vaginalis". Joanne and her partner Mert Kemal Keçeli worked with Nigel Yarlett in the Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences at Pace University.
  • Mohamed Adnan
    was a semifinalist for his project "Cycloaddition reaction with vinylketene iron (0) complex towards synthesis of catechol derivatives". He worked with Wayne F.K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.

2012 JSHS finalists
Jia Wen (Joanne) Tan and Mert Kemal Keçeli at the 2012 NYC Metro JSHS

JSHS Registration Deadline Coming Very Soon

Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 by for JSHS, Seniors.

This contest is a perfect example of how chance favors the prepared mind.

JSHS logo

The registration deadline for the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is Friday, January 14! Any seniors interested in applying should do so right now. Contact me stating your interest. Extra credit will be awarded, of course. You must be free on Sunday, March 13 and be able to travel to York College in Queens. Visit the New York JSHS website for more info.

I contacted the people in charge to see if we can recycle the paperwork from NYCSEF or the Intel STS. I seem to recall they let us do this last year. If so, the entry process is really quite simple. You will not need to bother your mentors for yet another signature. You will need to scan your documentation, however. (Mr. McDonnell has a really nice document scanner in his office we can use.)

Please note that no one can enter until Form C is filled out (Call for Papers Registration Form). I can’t fill out Form C until you tell me you want to enter. I think you can see the problem here. Please reply quickly. Include the title of your project in the email.

2010 New York City Metro Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Posted on Saturday, March 20, 2010 by for Awards, JSHS.

JSHS connects talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and rewards research excellence. This year’s New York City Metro JSHS was held at York College in Jamaica, Queens. Midwood had 2 award winners and 3 semifinalists.

  • Ying Yao Louie
    was awarded Second Place in Chemistry for her project "Provitamin A carotenoid conversion to vitamin A in the liver involves different hepatic cell types and their interactions." She worked with Dr. William S. Blaner in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.
  • Laura Cheng
    was awarded Third Place in Biological Sciences for her project "Regulation of Bone Marrow Cell Differentiation in Germfree Rats By Certain Bacteria and Bacterial Cell Wall Components." She worked with Dr. Helen Durkin and Dr. Seto Chice in the Department of Pathology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
  • Grace Chan
    was a Semifinalist and presented her project "Pattern and Boundaries of Mutations in Nurse Shark Immunoglobulin Genes." She worked with Dr. Ellen Hsu in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
  • Rabia Iqbal
    was a Semifinalist and presented her project "Study of the Catalytic Mechanisms of KatG: An Enzyme involved in the virulence and antibiotic resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis."She worked with Dr. Richard S. Magliozzo in the Chemistry Department at Brooklyn College.
  • Stacey Shulman
    was a Semifinalist for her project "Immunoglobulin E Response to Chlamydia pneumoniae in Children with Asthma." She worked with Dr. Stephen Kohlhoff in the Department of Pediatrics at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

JSHS finalists at York College
Laura Cheng, Rabia Iqbal, Grace Chan, Ying Yao Louie

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