Search for science talent scores 40 finalists.Advocates of applied science should be encouraged by the crop of 40 high school seniors named as this year's finalists in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. About half of their projects tackled down-to-earth problems, such as groundwater contamination and disposal of used oil. One student came up with a way to reduce the hazard of industrial fires caused by aluminum dust; another invented a monitor that could help designers improve the efficiency of radio frequency devices like pagers and cellular phones. Backers of basic science should take heart, too. Fundamental questions in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, the most popular subject, also captured the students'-and the judges'-interest. One student studied the evolution of symbiosis symbiosis (sĭmbēō`sĭs), the habitual living together of organisms of different species. The term is usually restricted to a dependent relationship that is beneficial to both participants (also called mutualism) but may be extended to between jellyfish jellyfish, common name for the free-swimming stage (see polyp and medusa), of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a jellyfish is shaped like a bell or umbrella, with a clear, jellylike material filling most of the and algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that . Another used Schur's theorem to solve a 1980 number theory problem posed by Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos. "Increasingly, the level of scientific research of the Science Talent Search finalists has grown more sophisticated," says Thomas Peter Bennett, president of Science Service, which administers the competition and publishes Science News. Princeton University astrophysicist J. Richard Gott John Richard Gott III is a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University. He is especially well known for developing and advocating two cosmological theories with the flavor of science fiction: Time travel, and the Doomsday argument. heads the panel of 10 scientists, including 1986 Nobel chemistry laureate and Science Service board chairman Dudley R. Herschbach Dudley Robert Herschbach (born June 18, 1932), a chemist and Frank B. Baird Jr. Research Professor of Science at Harvard University, won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Yuan T. Lee and John C. , who will interview the students in Washington, D.C., from March 5 to 10, 1997, to pick the top 10 projects. First prize is a $40,000, 4-year scholarship. A total of $205,000 in scholarships will be awarded to the 40 finalists in a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences. The finalists were selected from 1,652 entrants in the national scholarship competition, now in its 56th year. The 18 young women and 22 young men come from 35 high schools in 16 states. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of continued to provide the greatest number of entrants and finalists. The finalists are: * California: Elizabeth Danhwa Chao, Palo Alto Senior H.S., Palo Alto; Carrie Shilyansky, San Marino H.S., San Marino. * Colorado: Dylan Micah Schwindt, Montezuma-Cortez H.S., Cortez. * Florida: William Clive Blodgett, Wellington H.S., West Palm Beach; Emily Beth Levy, North Miami Beach North Miami Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 35,359), Dade co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; inc. 1931. It is a major office and retail area. Senior H.S., North Miami Beach. * Illinois: John Spencer Neumann, Lake Forest H.S., Lake Forest; Michelle Chung-Ming Tam, University of Chicago Lab H.S., Chicago. * Minnesota: Ana Maria Navarro, Minnetonka H.S., Minnetonka. * Mississippi: Adam Amiel Friedman, Saint Andrew's Episcopal School, Ridgeland; Rachel Anne Hutchins, Poplarville H.S., Poplarville. * Montana: Nicholas Karl Eriksson, Sentinel H.S., Missoula. * New Jersey: Joanna Beatrice Byar, Byar Home School, Willingboro; Merri Carole Moken, Morristown H.S., Morristown. * New Mexico: Ann Clair Seiferle-Valencia, Farmington H.S., Farmington. * New York: Alyssa Norma Benjamin and Whitney Paige Bowe, Lawrence H.S., Cedarhurst; Carl Noah Bialik, Bronx H.S. of Science, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. ; Long Cai, Jonathan William Plaue, and Katheryn Joanna Potenza, Ward Melville H.S., Setauket; Roletta Chen, Benjamin Cardozo H.S., Bayside; Adam Ezra Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , Hunter College H.S., New York City; Caroline DeFilippo, Byram Hills H.S., Armonk; Daniel James Durand, Shoreham-Wading River H.S., Shoreham; Joshua Ellis Gewolb and Joshua Jacobs, Paul D. Schreiber Senior H.S., Port Washington; Davesh Maulik, Roslyn H.S., Roslyn Heights; Stephen Oskoui, Pittsford Mendon H.S., Pittsford; Rose J. Payyapilli, Midwood H.S. at Brooklyn College, New York City; Joseph P. Turian, Great Neck North H.S., Great Neck; Sophia Akbarali Virani, Herricks Senior H.S., New Hyde Park New Hyde Park, village (1990 pop. 9,728), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island; inc. 1927. It is a residential community with some manufacturing and truck farms. Nearby is the uninc. town of North New Hyde Park (1990 pop. 14,359). ; Elaine Wan, Stuyvesant H.S., New York City. * Oregon: Joshua Ladau, South Eugene H.S., Eugene. * Pennsylvania: William Frederick Thies, State College Area H.S., State College. * Texas: Dev Edward Kumar, Texas Academy of Math & Science, Denton. * Virginia: Logan Joseph Kleinwaks and Greg Yuchang Tseng, Thomas Jefferson H.S. for Science and Technology, Alexandria; Diameng Pa, Wakefield H.S., Arlington. * Washington: Grace Lynn Williams, West Valley H.S., Spokane. * Wisconsin: Michael James Colsher, Marquette University H.S., Milwaukee. The finalists are in good company. Past winners include many members of the National Academy of Sciences This list includes approximately 2,000 current (not past) members and 350 foreign associates of the United States National Academy of Sciences, each of whom is affiliated with one of 31 disciplinary sections. Each person's name, primary institution, and election year are given. , several MacArthur fellows, two Fields medalists, and five Nobel laureates. |
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