Science projects varying from Microbiology to Behavioral and Social Sciences were displayed at this year’s preliminary round of New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) on Sunday, March 2 at The City College of New York. Students competed in the hopes of making it to the finals.
With a total of 13 senior students making it to finals, things are looking great for Midwood. Allen Barbarovich, Yasmine Brown-Williams, Varvara Budetti, Alisha Bunting, Amy Cao, Ying Tong Guo, Xin Yi Chen, Stefanie Henry, Raquel Hosein, Shadika Jahan, Kiara Nuñez, M. Tasnin Kabir, and Tiffany Mai are this year’s proud finalists.
"This is the largest science event in NYC," said Glenn Elert, Science Research coordinator.
NYCSEF not only allows students to present their projects, but also gives participants an opportunity to widen their knowledge of science by reading other projects.
Both students from Science Research and Social Science Research competed at the event. 482 projects (including teams) were presented and over 600 high school students participated. Projects that scored the top 20–25 percent in their category went on to the finals, which are about 100–150 projects.
Senior research students at the
NYCSEF Preliminaries
Dr. William, a judge, said projects are graded mainly on quality of work, creativity, and understanding of material. The grading follows a rubric and is on a 1–10 scale. Each project was reviewed by three judges, and the grade for each project is then averaged.
"I feel confident but nervous because I have to go against all those other contestants," said Ying Tong Guo ’14.
The Finals Round will be held on Tuesday, March 25 at The American Museum of Natural History, followed by an Award Ceremony two days later at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College.
The next step is the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The top finalists get an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles, California, where they can receive awards and scholarships.
"I was in awe when I found out I won. I could not believe I made it to finals," said Alisha Bunting ’14.
Juniors from Science Research also went to NYCSEF to look at projects. It was mandatory for them to go and write about the projects that were of interest.
"Going to NYCSEF helped me because now I know how many other people I have to compete against next year," said Cindy Chee ’15. "I realized how much time and effort everyone has put into their projects for this event."
Saba Sakhi & Marisol Morales
This article originally appeared in the March 2014 edition of Argus.