Lynbrook student qualifies for Intel Science Fair

After winning First Place Grand and Best in Category prizes at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, Lynbrook High School Senior Josh Lewin-Jacus, has earned the right to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, recognized as the premier science competition in the world for students in grades 9-12. Fellow senior Andrew Akcelik received an Honorable Mention award.

Josh will be making an all-expense-paid trip to San Jose, CA in May to compete for more than $4 million in prizes and scholarships. He will go through several rounds of judging by a panel of doctoral-level scientists, alongside the work of 1,500 other students from 50 countries around the world.

Josh’s original research project, “The Effects of Grazer Exclusion on the Colonization of Hard Substrates by Microbial Communities,” studied the driving forces behind the immense diversity in microbial populations. Josh worked under the supervision of science research teacher David Shanker, and was mentored by Dr. Lee Kerkhof and Lora McGuinness at the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.