Date: Jan 18, 2008

Hofstra Summer Science Research Program Participants are Intel Semifinalists

Local high school seniors among 300 selected nationwide

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY - Three Long Island high school students who participated in Hofstra's 2007 Summer Science Research Program have been selected as 2008 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists, according to Nanette Wachter, Ph.D., director of the program.

Melissa Garuthra, a senior at Syosset High School, did her research on activation dynamics in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction under the guidance of Professors Harold Hastings (Physics) and Sabrina Sobel (Chemistry).  Her paper was entitled "Substituting an Immobilized Ferromanganese Catalyst into the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Chemical Reaction".

Alexandra Hilgeman, a senior at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, NY, worked with Professor Rodney Finzel (Chemistry) on thermal depolymerization of organic waste material.  Her paper was entitled "Deamination: Generating valuable resources from protein-rich waste".

Matthew Klebanoff, a senior at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, NY, worked with Professor Robert Seagull (Biology) on cotton fiber development.  His paper was entitled "Possible role of the cytoskeleton in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum, cultivar MAXXA GTO) fiber development".

Of the 1,602 entrants in the national science competition, only 300 are chosen as semifinalists. Forty of the 300 semifinalists will be named as finalists at the end of the month.

Hofstra's Summer Science Research Program is entering its seventh season in 2008 and has produced nine Intel semifinalists and two Siemens-Westinghouse regional finalists since its inception. Directed by Dr. Wachter, an associate professor of chemistry, the selective program offers high school students opportunities in science research. Students are selected for the program on the basis of their high school science experience, a personal interview and, above all, the high school teacher's recommendation.

Information about the program can be found on Hofstra's website at www.hofstra.edu/ssrp.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 145 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law.

###