New York Teens Win Scholarships in Siemens Competition

Dec. 2011

Middle States News

Brian Kim, Stuyvesant High School, New York, N.Y. (Mathematics)

Three New York teens have been awarded high honors in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.

Brian Kim of Stuyvesant High School in New York City won a $50,000 scholarship as a National Finalist for his work in the understanding of geometric shapes. Blake Smith of Oceanside High School on Long Island and Vickram Gidwani of Horace Mann School in the Bronx will share a $30,000 scholarship as Finalists in the Team category for their research into a new approach for the treatment of lung cancer.

Administered by the College Board, the Siemens Competition is the signature program of the Siemens Foundation, which supports science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The 13th annual awards were presented earlier this month at The George Washington University, host of the 2011 Siemens Competition National Finals.

“The Siemens Competition has a proud history of attracting awe-inspiring research projects from America’s best and brightest, and we are pleased to see that this year is no exception,” said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, president of the Siemens Foundation. “We can all take heart in the remarkable work being done by this next generation of young innovators as exemplified by Brian Kim, Blake Smith and Vickram Gidwani.”

Kim’s project, “Packing and Covering with Centrally Symmetric Disks,” investigated the relationship between how many copies of a given shape can be packed into an area and how few are needed to completely cover the same area.

“Brian’s comprehension of this complex area of mathematics showed real maturity,” said competition judge Po-Shen Loh, assistant professor of mathematical sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. “His remarkable ability to recall concepts and solve problems in real time was matched only by his speaking and presentation skills. He was able to take a very complex issue and make it accessible.”

Kim first recognized his passion for math after joining his school’s math team. He also enjoys running, golf, handball and playing the guitar, piano and trombone. He would like to major in applied mathematics or computer science and dreams of becoming a professor of mathematics at MIT. His mentor is Dan P. Ismailescu, a professor at Hofstra University.

Smith, a senior, and Gidwani, a junior, were honored for their biochemistry project, “Using Novel Small Molecule Derivatives to Therapeutically Modulate Erlotinib-Resistant Lung Adenocarcinoma.”

The team performed a series of biological tests on new compounds derived from an antipsychotic drug that had anticancer properties. In its original state, the drug has strong side effects on the central nervous system in nonschizophrenic patients, thus preventing its use as a cancer therapeutic. Smith and Gidwani showed that these new derivatives retained the anticancer properties yet eliminated the effects on the central nervous system.

Blake Smith, Oceanside High School, Oceanside, N.Y.; and Vickram Gidwani, Horace Mann School, Bronx, N.Y. (Biochemistry)

“Blake and Vickram had a striking command of the cascade of changes that occur when a particular protein malfunctions and promotes cancer development,” said competition judge Brooke McCartney, associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. “By demonstrating that these new derivatives of an existing drug have anti-tumor effects, they were able to take the first step toward developing a powerful new strategy for the treatment of lung cancer.”

For Smith, the desire to pursue cancer research is personal. In 2006, both his grandparents were diagnosed with the disease. He earned a First Award in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. He also is vice president of his school’s World Interest Club, plays the viola in the symphonic orchestra and is a member of the varsity tennis team. He is the first student from his high school to compete at this level in the Siemens Competition.

Gidwani is a senior member of his school’s fusion club and has competed in the Science Olympiad, Physics Olympiad and JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) Competition. He divides his extracurricular time between being a saxophonist with two school bands and a tennis player on two teams. Smith and Gidwani’s team mentor was Goutham Narla of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Regional Finalists

The remaining Regional Finalists received $1,000 scholarships. Regional Finalists in the Individual category were:

• Yuwen Cheng, The Bronx High School of Science, Bronx, N.Y.
• Alexandra McHale, Smithtown High School East, St. James, N.Y.
• Priya Mohindra, Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
• Zachary Schiffer, State College Area High School, State College, Pa.
• Vijay Viswanathan, Upper St. Clair High School, Upper St. Clair, Pa.
• Christie Wang, Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights, N.Y.

Regional Finalists in the Team category were:

• Michael Chen, Central Bucks High School West, Doylestown, Pa.; and Kevin Chen, Methacton High School, Eagleville, Pa.
• Holly Flores, Huntington High School, Huntington, N.Y.; and Austin Wild, South Side High School, Rockville Centre, N.Y.
• Laura Gunderson and Jacalyn Sickels, Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies, Edison, N.J.
• Camrinn Hanley, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeview, Conn.; and Aneesh Shah, Half Hollow Hills High School East, Dix Hills, N.Y.
• Matthew Rudin, Half Hollow Hills High School West, Dix Hills, N.Y.; Yon Jang, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; and Hansen Qian, Saratoga High School, Saratoga, Calif.
• Alina Ranjbaran, Garden City High School, Garden City, N.Y.; Tom Wang, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury, N.Y.; and David Nam, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, Calif.
• Ilana Teicher, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, Teaneck, N.J.; and Victoria Petrova, South High School, Torrance, Calif.

Launched in 1998, the Siemens Competition is the nation’s premier science research competition for high school students. An all-time record of 2,436 students registered to enter the Siemens Competition this year, resulting in an unprecedented 1,541 projects submitted. There were 317 Semifinalists and 96 Regional Finalists, representing 21 states. Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at the six leading research universities which host the regional competitions: California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Notre Dame and The University of Texas at Austin.