The Home of Midwood Science Research

Midwood Science students received 5 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 8 bonze medals, 2 special awards, and over $5,000 in prize money at the NYC ACT-SO Awards Ceremony held Monday, May 9, 2016. Gold Medals and $500 went to Nga Ying Lo, Kai Saunders, Yusra AbdurRob, Laila Akallal, and Shanayah Renois. These five students now have the opportunity to compete at the National ACT-SO July 14–17 at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) is a multidisciplinary academic competition for high school students sponsored by the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization. Students compete in 27 different categories in the sciences, visual arts, performing arts, humanities, and business. Students may enter projects and performances in multiple categories up to a maximum of 3. The National ACT-SO is held in conjunction with the NAACP National Convention each year.

ACT-SO began in 1976 as a local competition for students in Chicago, but quickly expanded across the United States. There are now approximately 200 local ACT-SO chapters. Much like the Olympic Games, there are bronze, silver, and gold medals for the top students. Again like the Olympic Games, medals are hung around the neck of the winners as they stand on a tri-level platform. When all the medals in a particular category have been awarded, the medalists arms are raised in triumph. ACT-SO’s unofficial nickname is "The Olympics of the Mind".

Gold Medal and $500

• Nga Ying Lo won a Gold Medal in Chemistry & Biochemistry 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.
• Kai Saunders won a Gold Medal in Earth & Space Science 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.
• Yusra AbdurRob won a Gold Medal in Medicine & Health for her project "Photoreceptor layer thickness in Parkinson’s disease during circadian rhythm." Yusra worked under the supervision of Dr. Ivan Bodis-Wollner in the Department of Neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
• Laila Akallal won a Gold Medal in Physics for her project "Entropy changes in first order and second order materials." Laila worked under the supervision of Dr. Karl Sandeman in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College.
• Shanayah Renois won a Gold Medal for her Original Essay "Colorism".

Silver Medal and $300

• Rumsha Javed won a Silver Medal in Biology & Microbiology for her project "DNA-damage induced and p53-dependent nucleolin translocation in breast cancer cells." Rumsha worked under the supervision of Dr. Anjana D. Saxena in the Department of Biology at Brooklyn College.
• Victor Lee won a Silver Medal in Biology & Microbiology 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.
• Xiu Ling Weng won a Silver Medal in Chemistry & Biochemistry for her project "Cycloaddition of tricarbonyl iron(0) vinylketene complex with methyl 3-iodopropiolate." Xiu Ling worked under the supervision of Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
• Roshan Chudry won a Silver Medal in Medicine & Health for her project "The effects of blinking exercises on computer vision syndrome." Roshan worked under the supervision of Dr. Mark Rosenfield in the Department of Biological Sciences at SUNY Optometry.
• Joshua Pilipovsky won a Silver Medal in Physics 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.

Bronze Medal and $200

• Emily Hui won a Bronze Medal in Biology & Microbiology for her project "Paternal investment in male-pregnant pipefish Syngnathus fuscus." Emily worked under the supervision of Dr. Tony Wilson in the Department of Biology at Brooklyn College.
• Moomitu Kashem won a Bronze Medal in Biology & Microbiology for her project "Shady herbivores: The effect of urbanization on herbivory rates." Moomitu worked under the supervision of Mr. Jason Aloisio from Project TRUE at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
• Urooj Ansari won a Bronze Medal in Biology & Microbiology for her project "The physical and chemical warfare between Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis." Urooj worked under the supervision of Dr. Nicolas Biais in the Department of Biology at Brooklyn College.
• Jessica Lauv won a Bronze Medal in Chemistry & Biochemistry for her project "To utilize a new lithium reagent derivative to produce hydrazone vinyl ketenes to create steroids." Jessica worked under the supervision of Dr. Wayne F.K. Schnatter in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long Island University.
• Nikolas Magloire won a Bronze Medal in Medicine & Health for his project "Hydralazine’s effect on sodium hypochlorite." Nikolas worked under the supervision of Dr. Donald Gerber in the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
• Bilal Azhar won a Bronze Medal in Physics for his project "Comparison of heat to work conversion in first order and second order magnets." Bilal worked under the supervision of Dr. Karl Sandeman in the Department of Physics at Brooklyn College.
• Mie Abouelkheir won a Bronze Medal in Film making for her video "Ode to Home". Mie worked under the supervision Ms. Amanda Madden at Reelworks.
• Yusra AbdurRob also won a Bronze Medal in Dance for doing an ethnic Bollywood dance to the theme song from the 2007 movie Aaja Nachle (Let’s Dance).

Special Awards

• Urooj Ansari was awarded Ambassador of the Year and $125 for her exceptional service as an ACT-SO recruiter. Her work as a liaison between ACT-SO organizers and Midwood High School students and staff were indispensable.
• Midwood High School was awarded Outstanding School of the Year "In recognition of your dedication and commitment to the education of our youth and your support of NYC ACT-SO".