Episcopal Student Scientists Partner with MIT Researchers

From Thursday, September 4, to Saturday, September 6, Episcopal Honors Science Seminar students will participate in a field trip to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus in Boston, MA. This research-based MIT-led tour will take students into the photo-voltaics lab, plasma science and fusion center, co-generation facility, fluid physics lab, nuclear reactor laboratory, mechanical engineering lab, and the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

Episcopal’s competitive two-semester Honors Science Seminar teaches students proficiency in the research processes and gives them the skills necessary to solve scientific problems; students are then linked with mentors in the field of their choosing. Working under the direction of Marion Zeiner, Episcopal science department chair, the students and qualified scientists work together to design and conduct a controlled experiment in a local university or private laboratory.

The students’ investigations are all founded on topics of current interest in the global scientific community. The researchers at MIT are completing work in the same fields, so through this trip Episcopal students will gain knowledge which will provide a foundation for their own research. As the students design their own methodology, conduct experimentation, and analyze results during the school year, they will continue communicating with the MIT researchers to gain additional insight and to aid in problem-solving. Potentially, the development of a relationship with researchers at MIT could provide a wide range of educational opportunities for Episcopal students in the future.

The five students involved in the course and their chosen projects are as follows:
•    Nathan Monroe: polymer photo-voltaics (year four)
•    Morgan Monroe: inexpensive source of hydrogen for fuel cells
•    Meredith Boulos: phyto-degradation of tricholorethylene (year two)
•    Satchel Siegel: neuron tracking in the brain
•    David Drew: neuron tracking in the brain

During the 2007-2008 school year, the nine students enrolled in the seminar earned the following awards:
•    Two academic scholarships
o    $120,000 to Drexel University
o    $10,000 to the University of Central Florida
•    Cash prizes totaling $10,500
•    State science fair (every participating student from the class earned a place award, including two first-place and two second-place winners.)
•    First-place award in the Florida Junior Academy of Science competition
•    First place award in the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association High School Competition, which included an all-expense paid trip to the AFCEA Conference in Virginia for the student and parents.
•    International Sustainable World Science Olympiad (ISWEEP)
o    Two first-place awards
o    Four special awards
•    Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (no other school in the world had as many awards as Episcopal High School)
o    One second-place award
o    Four third-place awards
o    One second-place special award
•    Two semifinalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology
•    Involvement in the Intel Talent Search