Three of the area’s smartest kids – one from Queens and two from Long Island – took home top prizes in the prestigious Siemens Competition, which spotlights high-schoolers’ achievements in math, science and technology.
Mary Catherine Wen, of Archbishop Molloy HS in Briarwood, won a $20,000 scholarship for her project on accelerating the rate of healing of bone fractures.
The 17-year-old senior, a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” said she and her partner from a Texas high school “never thought we’d make it this far. It’s exciting.”
Mary, who gave up her summer vacation to work 15-hour days in a Long Island lab, is to attend Columbia next fall.
Long Islanders Jinju Yi, of John F. Kennedy HS in Plainview, and Vijay Jain, a senior at Herricks HS in New Hyde Park, split a $30,000 scholarship.
The duo developed a method to detect viruses and proteins that will help in the early detection of cancer.
“It took over a year and a half to complete the project,” said Jinju, 17, a drummer in a church band. “. . . I haven’t even had time to apply to colleges yet.”
Vijay’s father, Dr. Ajey Jain, said, “He worked incredibly hard. Needless to say, I’m proud of him.”
A 16-year-old high-school senior from upstate Horseheads won the $20,000 prize in the individual category for his project on a substance that detects chemical residue – which he hopes Homeland Security can use.
Guannan Wang spent eight months on the project but never expected to make it to the finals.
“Ever since this project, all I’ve done is study,” he said. “Now I can go back to swimming and apply to colleges.”
The awards were presented at NYU by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.