Harlem Children Society Hosts The New York City Regional

Junior Science & Humanities Symposium

On March 16th 2008, Harlem Children Society began a new and exciting chapter in its commitment to science outreach programs by sponsoring the annual New York City Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.  The full-day event, open to students from all schools, public and private, in the New York City region, was staged in the post-modern spaces of Columbia University’s Lerner Hall.  In a sharing of parallel visions in the encouragement of original research and experimentation in the sciences, the event represented the initiation of an organic partnership between HCS and JSHS.

In the months leading up to the event, HCS had been busily engaged in the complex science project selection process for the symposium according to a very specific set of rubrics.  The response from New York City students, including HCS students, was overwhelming, making the elimination process a complex one.  The protracted process began with the extension of the initial invitation to some 566 New York City public, private, and parochial schools.  As a result of the initial outreach, a total of 237 students applied for consideration. Of that group, 159 students were invited to submit papers. The papers, representing myriad science topics, were ultimately classified in major categories for the symposium: environmental sciences, earth and space science, engineering, the physical sciences, chemistry, physics and astronomy, medicine and health/behavioral sciences including the study of diseases, pharmacology, physiology, and pathology), life sciences including general biology and molecular/cellular biochemistry and genetics.   

Upon completion of the painstaking selection process, HCS issued invitations to a 67 students to present their projects in competition for the regional awards, and potentially, the upcoming April 2008 National JSHS Tournament in Orlando, Florida.  Sixty-three students accepted the invitation, and, ultimately, 61 students representing 11 different New York City high schools presented on the day of the event.  

When the day of the event finally arrived, the students who had made it to the presentation round of the competition began filtering in bright and early.  They were warmly greeted by HCS staff at the central reception desk, where they checked in and received the specifications on their appointed locations.  The judges and volunteers for the event, too, began arriving, and were offered hot coffee to shake off the chill of an early spring Sunday.  To make matters sweeter, they also enjoyed assorted fresh cookies from Rocco’s Bakery in Manhattan’s Little Italy.  

After an hour of registration time, the event got underway.  Before the student presentations began in the three allocated spaces, an opening address was scheduled in the largest of them.  The welcome address was delivered by Mariam Naraine, the HCS Education Coordinator, who essentially spearheaded the symposium.  Once Ms. Naraine had completed her address, the students who were to give their presentations in other spaces were redirected to them, while some remained. It soon became apparent to all involved that Columbia University’s Lerner Hall, a well-appointed facility featuring state-of-the-art equipment, was the perfect venue for the event.  In each of the rooms decorated with bright early spring flower arrangements, the students began their presentations, and were given a total of ten minutes including their question and answer period.  The event, moderated by HCS staff members Ms. Sheveen Green, Ms. Mariam Naraine, and Prof. Jeanne Ross, respectively, ran fluidly in all cases, the judges’ assessments being collected after each presentation by an HCS volunteer “runner,” and then delivered to HCS IT staff member, Ms. Sha Sha Feng, for computer entry and tabulation. 

After a short break at noon, the students and judges reconvened, and the remainder of the presentations ran continuously for another 2 hours and 15 minutes. The student presenters addressed the audience about an array of different research topics.  For example, Eleanor Reilly (St. Francis Preparatory School) spoke about how “Amyloid Beta Accumulation Interferes with Multivesicular Body Action, Which Depletes Levels of AMPA Receptors and Proteins Necessary for Spine Morphological Changes.”  Another student, Michelle Byefsky-Anand (Ramaz Upper School) gave a presentation entitled “Adaptive Changes in Grasshoppers (Ortoptera: Acrididae) Across an Elevational Gradient in the Kananaskie Valley of the Rocky Mountains.”  Lorene Leung (Brooklyn Technical High School) presented her research on “The Correlation Between Epstein-Barr Virus and Nasopharyngeal Cancer in Taiwanese Men Aged 40-60.”  Marilyn Stasinopoulos (Staten Island Technical High School) looked at “The Role of Gender Differences in the Speed of Neural Brainstem Transmissions.”  These examples represent but a handful of the engaging, well-delivered student presentations.  They are an indication of perhaps the greatest challenge that day: the judges’ task of choosing the winners. 

At the close of the presentations, a well-deserved lunch hour had been scheduled.  As the students dispersed, the judges and staff members were invited into a specially prepared space where yet more fragrant spring flowers and a luncheon hosted by HCS beckoned them.  The casual luncheon fare included several types of sandwiches and accompanying salads.  Judges and staff alike were eager to enjoy the food as well as a moment to socialize before the award ceremony was to commence. 

During the lunch hour, all tabulation was completed, and winners were determined.  The awards were then to be presented and students congratulated by HCS President and CEO, Dr. Sat Bhattacharya in a ceremony held in a theater setting in Lerner Hall.  The students began filtering into the theater early,  anxious to learn who the winners were.

Shortly after 3 pm, when the room was filled with students, judges, HCS staff, and guests of honor, the ceremony began.  Dr. Bhattacharya opened the ceremony with his address to the students, speaking of the vital work of HCS, the importance of science in society and involvement on the community level.  He then introduced JSHS Director and special guest, Doris Cousens.  Ms. Cousens greeted and congratulated the students on their participation. She spoke about the history of JSHS and how impressed she was with the students’ presentations and overall performance that day.  She then briefly discussed the next step in competition: the National JSHS Tournament in April 2oo8 in Orlando, Florida.

HCS staff members Mariam Naraine and Sheveen Green were then invited to share the announcement of each of the winners’ names at the podium.  The students who won awards were thrilled to come forward and accept their certificates and, in the case of the top winners, gift baskets filled with goodies.  Dr. Bhattacharya and Ms. Cousens personally presented the award certificates to beaming students as they were photographed together in each and every case. The students who were presented awards at the event were as follows:

In the category of Environmental Science: Earth and Space Science, first place went to Ezra Ashkenazie, a student at Yeshiva High School, for his project entitled “Ambient Carbon Dioxide Level in High School Classrooms: A Cause for Concern?”.  In second place was Bonnie Quach-Wong, a student at Bronx High School of Science, for her research entitled “Metal Accumulation in Benthic Organisms in Resuspended Hudson River Sediment.”

In the category of Engineering, Timothy Chang, a student at Stuyvesant High School, took first place for “Kinetics of Bioremediation and Electricity Production in a Novel Microbial Fuel Cell.” Jonathan Huang, a student at St. Francis Preparatory School, took second place for his project entitled “Modifying a Commercial Fuel Cell with Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes.”

In the category of Physical Sciences, Including Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, Theodora Koullias, a student at Staten Island Technical High School, took first place for her research entitled “The Effect of Oscillations in Blood Droplets on Angle Calculations in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.”  In second place was Warren Cheng, a student at Townsend Harris High School, for his project entitled ”Study of Flexible Quantum Dot Embedded Photonic Crystals for Display Application.”  

In the category of Mathematics and Computer Science, Suryansh Agarwal, a student at Bronx High School of Science, took first place for “The Perfect Properties of Perfect Numbers.” Diana Lu, also a student at Bronx High School of Science, took second place for “Benford’s Law: Numbers In Nature. “  

In the category of Medicine and Health/Behavioral Science, Jun Kim, a student at Bronx High School of Science, took first place for “Potential Therapeutic Use of Morphine for Alzheimer’s Disease.”  In second place was Miroslav Shubernetskiy, a student at James Madison High School, for his project, “Does Color Modification Impact Perception of Photographic Images?”.  

In the category of Life Science, Eleanor Reilly, the aforementioned student at St. Francis Preparatory School, took first place for her research entitled “A β Accumulation Interferes with Multivesicular Body Action, which Depletes Levels of AMPA Receptors and Proteins Necessary for Spine Morphological Changes.” The aforementioned Michelle Byefsky-Anand, a student at Ramaz High School, took second place for her research entitled “Adaptive Changes in Grasshopper (Ortoptera: Acrididae) Across an Elevational Gradient in the Kananaskie Valley of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.”

Finally, Dr. Bhattacharya and Ms. Cousens announced the top three finalists selected to attend the National JSHS Tournament in Orlando, Florida.  In first place was Eleanor Reilly. In second place was Timothy Chang, and in third place, Michelle Byefsky-Anand.  The ceremony drew to a close with the final group photographs.  HCS President, Dr. Bhattacharya, Director of JSHS, Doris Cousens, as well as HCS staff and volunteers, were all gratified in their efforts and agreed that the event had been a brilliant foray and resounding success by any measure.  Indeed, it was such a success that Harlem Children Society has accepted the offer to again host the annual New York City Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in 2009.

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