Ossining High Boasts Eight Students As Intel Semifinalists

OSSINING, N.Y. -- Eight Ossining High School students are among 300 semifinalists nationwide in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search competition.

An Ossining High School student works with younger students to spur interest in science. Eight students from Ossining High School are semifinalists in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search competition.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Donna Christopher

01/11/2016 6:00 a.m.

This is the second time the district has had eight semifinalists in a single year, said Angelo Piccirillo, who co-teaches the science research program at Ossining High School with Valerie Holmes.

“It is an amazing achievement, particularly when you consider the great number of wonderful schools, teachers and students throughout New York and here in Westchester,” he said.

The Intel Science Talent Search awards more than $1.6 million annually to promising high school scientists.

Some 1,750 students from 512 high schools entered the competition this year.

The 40 finalists will be announced Jan. 20.

They will travel to Washington in March for a final judging and to meet with prominent scientists.

The finalists will compete for more than $1 million, including three top awards of $150,000 each.

Semifinalists receive $1,000 each from the Intel Foundation, along with matching grants that are given to their schools.

The following are the Ossining High School finalists:

Jason Aguirre: “The Individual and Interactive Effects of Urban Contaminants on Mayfly Growth and Survival: A Study of How Common Contaminants Impact Aquatic Invertebrates.”
Kimberly Badger: “Urban Forests Fail to Provide Adequate Habitat for Native Woodpecker Species.”
Benjamin Feinstein: “An Examination of Linguistic and Cultural Influences on Visual-Gustatory Associations.”
Soon il Higashino: “Species Richness of Cutaneous Bacteria Varies with Urbanization: Implications of the Effects of Habitat Conditions on Defense Mechanisms of Plethodon Cinereus.”
Yasir Khan: “Developing Tools for an Antigen-Specific ELISA to Prevent Transfusion-transmitted Babesiosis.”
Julia Riley: “RNF167 and Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzyme E2N Regulate Neuronal SNARE Component VAMP2 via Ubiquitination: Implications in Neuronal Function and Disease.”
Zoe Scheier: “Establishing Comorbidity between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Ambient Visual Dysfunctions.”
Claire Sukumar: “Elucidating the Association between Blood Pressure and Cognitive Functioning in the Very Old.”

Here's the full list of Intel finalists.

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