Siemens Westinghouse
continued from page 1
(The nanotubes tend to clump
together due to Van der Waals
forces.) The team did their
research during a three-week
said Mason, “Genetics
and speciation really interested
me, and Dr. Amy Sheck turned
me on to hybrid sterility. Yuan
Yang, a classmate of
mine, noticed that
Dr. Willis at Duke
[University] studies
this very thing. I
asked [him] to spon
sor my project, and,
lucky for me, he
agreed!” Mason’s
project will soon be
entered in the Junior
Science and
Humanities
Symposium, another
science competition.
Lucie Guo and
Xianlin Li’s project
was entitled, “CpG
island methylation of Regional Finalists on a tour of Georgia Tech
GADD45? is marker * ,
JeffHu
r
of breast carcinogenesis.” The
team investigated a tumor-sup-
pressor gene nanied
GADD45? and found that its
DNA methylation patterns (an
epigenetic change in the DNA
structure where a methyl
group attaches to a cytosine
base, forming 5-methylcyto-
sine) can be used to distin
guish between normal and
cancerous cells
and serve as a
marker of dis
ease. Guo
began conduct
ing research at
Duke
Comprehensive
Center the sum
mer before her junior year,
where Li joined her shortly
after. “What led us to pursue
breast cancer research,” the
pair stated, “is the magnitude
of the problem posed by breast
cancer around the globe. ...
We were interested in finding
alternative methods of distin
guishing between cancerous
and normal cell lines in order
to enhance the efficacy of
early detection
methods.” Guo and
Li worked with Dr.
Jeffrey Marks and
Dr. Wei Wang from
Duke University
and Dr Tsahai.
Tafari and Ms.
Leslie Brinson from
NCSSM throughout
the research and
competition
process.
Claire Reddy
and Yajing Gao’s
project,
“Optimization of
Sample Preparation
Conditions for the
Dispersion of
Single-Walled
Carbon Nanotubes
for SEM Analysis,”
dealt with finding ways to pre
pare a sample of carbon nan
otubes to view with a scanning
electron microscope (SEM) so
that they were as spread out
and unclumped as possible.
period over the summer, work
ing under Dr. Stephen Craig of
Duke University. Craig is an
NCSSM alum and has men
tored other NCSSM research
students, including a team of
three who made Regional
Finals last year. Reddy and
Gao turned their results over to
him and are currently under
taking another project for
Unless you pmUdiiate bi sone
type of resoardi, yon can’t evor be
certain that sdrara is tor you ”
•Luce Goo uid XtenBi il
_l
Research m
Chemistry here at NCCSM.
However, Gao indicated,
“There is a NASA opportunity
of a rocket launch. We could
potentially send carbon nan
otubes into space and see what
[they] do under high radia
tion.”
Ying Liu and Jeff Hu
looked at the effects of an
antioxidant, vitamin C, on E.
resistant to UVC. “We basi
cally decided to do [this proj
ect] because I was interested in
antioxidants, and Jeff was
interested in
resistance,”
said Liu, “so
we combined
the two and
found a lab.
We were very
lucky.” Liu
and Hu’s
summer
research was
conducted in
the environ
mental engi-
n e e r i n g
department
of Duke; they
worked with
Dr. Karl G.
Linden for
three weeks. Liu and Hu are
presently continuing work on
their project and want to send
their vitamin C treated E. coli
into space on a NASA flight.
Lee
Ricketson and
Nick Cook’s
project
explored the
r-process, the
most rapid
and complex
mechanism by
which heavy
elements are
created and
thought to
occur in
supernovae,
by investigat
ing the equi-
librium
achieved [dur
ing the r-
process],
which
explains the abundance pat
terns of elements. The team
devised a method for deter
mining this state of equilibri
um for each nucleus and used
decided to pursue this project
because it was the only physics
research opportunity around
campus at the time,” said
Ricketson, “I’ve been into
physics since the start of high
school, and the opportunity to
do research is a big part of the
reason I came to [NCSSM].”
NCSSM has sent students
to regional competition every
year since
* the start of
Siemens-
Siemens Westinghouse
Competition is a pretty good
gauge of your dedication to a
science or to research,” added
Reddy. “If you can still love
research after Siemens, it's
probably something you might
want to pursue in or after col-
leg. It's also an invaluable
learning experience.”
Guo and Li agree.
“Unless
you par
ticipate
in some
type of
“the opporiuiiity to do
research is a big part of the
reasoD i came to (NCSSND.”
-lee Ricketson
Westinghouse. “I like Siemens
because it is rigorous, presti
gious, and the students can win
scholarship money. In addi
tion, the format reflects how
real scientists do and present
their work,” said Dr. Sheck,
Mason’s advisor.
“I think it is important for
Lucy and Xianlin with their prize.
Buro, Jing, and Lucy listening to a lecture on Georgia
Tech’s robotics program.
coli exposed to UVC. The
team found that vitamin C
caused less E. coli to die and
that it also caused generational
resistance, meaning that the E.
coli became more and more
it to identify specific nuclei
thought to be responsible for
the abundance pattern mystery.
They had started learning
background material during
Miniterm their junior year. “I
students to learn to do inde
pendent work,” added Dr.
Bennett, who advised
Ricketson and Cook.
“Siemens provides some extra
motivation for students to get
involved in research and put
forth their best efforts.”
“I like how it’s been
judged, mainly on research,”
said Gao, “That’s the main dif
ference between Siemens and
Intel and other types of proj
ects.”
“What did I like best? I
guess the sense of accomplish
ment,” said Ricketson,
“Realizing something that no
one has ever realized before is
one of the best feelings I've
ever had. I would absolutely
recommend that juniors get
involved in research/Siemens.
With core classes at this school
becoming more like the core
classes at ordinary schools
every year, research will be
one of the only really cool
things you can do pretty soon,
and Siemens will help you
immensely if you're looking at
really competitive colleges.”
“Doing the research and
writing a paper for the
research,” they say, “you can't
ever be certain that science is
for you. Through mundanely
collecting data, you find out
that science isn't as glamorous
as others make it out to be. But
its rewards are incredible.
Learning in the classroom is
nothing like hands-on learning
at the lab
bench.
Also, it's a
great way
to get to
meet pro
fessionals.
We have
kept close
ly in touch
with our
mentors
who-still,
to this
day-are
valuable
sources of
inspira
tion.”
“ I
would
highly
encourage research participa
tion during the summer and
during the year, but certainly
not for the sole purpose of
doing Siemens,” Mookerji
stated. “The best research that
you can involve yourself with
is the research that stands
alone from science competi
tions like Siemens or the Intel
Science Talent Search. In my
opinion, finding the opportu
nity for steady work in a uni
versity laboratory under a pro
fessor with vested interest in
your work is an absolutely
wonderful route towards suc
cess in research. Yes, Siemens
is very prestigious and the
consequences of the competi
tion may help your pay for the
college of your dreams, but the
opportunity of carrying out
important, unprecedented, and
publishable research is one
that leaves you with an advan
tage over other students that is
far beyond academic.
Dr. Halpin