21st Annual NS High School Science Symposium
On June 3, North Shore High School held it 20th Annual Science Research Symposium in the library. Introduced by Mr. Steven Menchel (HS Science Teacher Leader) and hosted by Dr. Molly Mordechai (Science Research Educator), the library was filled with students, family, friends, and administrators who all came to celebrate the accomplishments of these dedicated and gifted North Shore High School science research students.
They included Senior Presenters: John Labbate and Jack Rosencrans, along with Junior Presenters: Keaton D’anseglio, Kyra McCreery, Sarah Moran, Suhana Singh, and Mary Sotiryadis, Sophomore Presenters: Angelica Abbondandolo, Ariella Babaev, Dhruv Gandhi, Laurence Gemme, Giuliana Graziosi, Lucia Martin, Lillian Molesky, Emma Morley, Sarah Moughal, Oliver Palone, Noelle Pappous, Zain Pastula, Ariadna Pavlidis-Sanchez, Sam Rosencrans, Alexandra Stoff, and Kate Weseley-Jones.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Jase Bernhardt, Ph.D, an Assistant Professor of Geology, Environment and Sustainability at Hofstra University where he oversees the university’s new minor in meteorology. He researches various aspects of meteorology and climatology, including work to improve hurricane-warning communication using novel technology such as virtual reality. His work has been covered extensively in the media including interviews on The Weather Channel and stories in The Washington Post, Newsday, and other outlets.
The Science Research program at North Shore provides scientifically motivated students with the unique opportunity to conduct formally laboratory research within their high school years. As 9th graders, interested students take an introductory course that focuses on the scientific method. They learn about proper experimental design, data, and analysis, scientific communication, and public speaking. The intermediate year of science research aims to refresh students’ knowledge of the scientific method and its application. It also focuses heavily on acquisition and interpretation of previously published research in scientific journals. Students design and carry out experiments on topics of their choosing. For the remainder of the program, advanced research students design and conduct original research under mentorship of a professional. During this time, students are fully immersed in their area of study as they continue to read research articles related to the field. In the end of the four years, all students emerge as knowledgeable, mature research scientists eager to tackle their next hypothesis.
Congratulations to all!
Article and photos by Shelly Newman with assistance for Dr. Mordechai
