The Home of Midwood Science Research

11 Midwood students win NYCSEF Awards, Lucy Lin wins ISEF Award

Posted on Friday, March 27, 2015 by for ISEF, Terra NYC.

Massive congratulations go out to Lucy Lin and the other 11 winners at the 2015 NYCSEF Award Ceremony today. Let me explain why.

NYCSEF is the New York City Science and Engineering Fair. It is the largest science fair in the New York metropolitan area and is sponsored by the City University of New York (the nation’s leading urban public university serving more than 480,000 students) and the New York City Department of Education (the largest school system in the US with more than 1.1 million students). NYCSEF begins in December when over 700 students apply. From this pool of applicants, the NYCSEF staff approved something like 460 projects. These students presented their projects to judges at the NYCSEF Preliminary Round on Sunday, March 1, 2015 at City College in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. The top 141 projects were then selected to present at the NYCSEF Finals Round on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. At the end of all of this, 12 Midwood students received awards.

NYCSEF First Award and Intel ISEF Award

Lucy Lin received a First Place Award as well as an invitation to present at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 10–15, 2015. The last time a Midwood student attended an ISEF competition was back in 2008. Lucy worked under the supervision of Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College. Special thanks go out to Dr. Chen who has worked with so many Midwood students.

  • Lucy Lin (Earth & Environmental Sciences)
    Project: Degradation of TPH-Diesel in Soil through Mycoremediation.
    Mentor: Dr. Zhongqi (Joshua) Cheng, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College.

NYCSEF Second Award

  • Raymond Yu (Physics & Space Sciences)
    Project: The Effects of Sodium Pyrophosphate Tetrabasic on the Conductivity of V4+ Electrolyte for the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery.
    Mentors: Dr. Sophia Suarez and Mr. Domenec Paterno, Department of Physics, Brooklyn College

NYCSEF Third Award

  • Monique Powell (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Kinematics of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) During Courtship Rituals.
    Mentors: Dr. Frank Grasso and Mr. Alfie Supan, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Tamneya Hauter (Behavioral & Social Sciences)
    Project: It Must Be True, I Saw It on TV: The Effect of Television on Adolescent Perceptions of Relationships.
  • Zainab Iqbal (Behavioral & Social Sciences)
    Project: PTSD Symptoms, Aggression, and Crime Exposure in a Sample of Young Adults.
    Mentor: Dr. Sara Chiara Haden, Department of Psychology, Long Island University
  • Emily Tse (Behavioral & Social Sciences)
    Project: Positive Influences on Academic Attitude and Self-Efficacy,
  • Hillary Syeda (Cellular & Molecular Biology)
    Project: Characterization of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) Production, Secretion, and Target Cells for LIF within the Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) Niche.
    Mentor: Dr. Christopher Lange, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
  • Sandra Lin (Chemistry)
    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.
    Mentor: Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter, Long Island University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Michael Divgun (Physics & Space Sciences)
    Project: The Effect of Polyoxometalate Ion Replacement on Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.
    Mentors: Dr. Sophia Suarez and Mr. Domenec Paterno, Department of Physics, Brooklyn College

Sarah and Morris Wiesenthal Awards

This award is presented to students with outstanding projects that promote the objectives and mission of Environmental Quest; to bring awareness to the man-made and natural environment. Wiesenthal Award winners each received $100. Midwood Science students won nearly half of these awards. All four students worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Grasso in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College. Special thanks go out to Dr. Grasso who has worked with more Midwood students than any other mentor.

  • Yukie Wong (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Seasonal Variation in Group Size of Monk Parakeets.
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Monique Powell (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Kinematics of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) During Courtship Rituals.
    Mentors: Dr. Frank Grasso and Mr. Alfie Supan, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Mohammed Hasan (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Interpreting Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Behavior and Calls.
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College
  • Meghan Ng (Animal Sciences)
    Project: Direction of Gaze and Monk Parakeet Vocalization.
    Mentor: Dr. Frank Grasso, Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College

CUNY Scholarship Awards

  • Michael Divgun also received a Hunter College Sage Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional academic achievement and potential. Sage Scholars receive substantial tuition awards for 4 years, preferred access to Hunter’s residential housing and housing aid, dedicated advisors, special workshops to facilitate success in college and invitation only events with inspirational faculty and community leaders.
  • Emily Tse and Raymond Yu also received a Hunter College Jenny Hunter Scholarship, which recognizes a high level of academic achievement and potential. Jenny Hunter scholars receive a $1,000 tuition award for 4 years, preferred access to Hunter’s residential housing and housing aid, dedicated advisors, special workshops to facilitate success in college and invitation only events with inspirational faculty and community leaders.

Additional Awards

  • Zainab Iqbal also received an American Psychological Association award for exceptional projects in psychology entered in the behavioral sciences category.
  • Lucy Lin also received an Association for Women Geoscientists award for exceptional projects submitted by a young female geoscientist.
  • Michael Divgun also received an Office of Naval Research, US Navy and Marine Corps award for an outstanding project submitted by an individual student.