Science wizards in Five Towns

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Masih Das gave much of the credit for his being named an Intel semifinalist to his mentor, science teacher Rebecca Isseroff, who helped nine other Lawrence students submit projects for the competition "She really works hard to help us out as much as she can," said Masih Das, who is planning to study engineering in college, with his first choice being MIT. "She really cares."

For her part, Isseroff was happy to see Masih Das's three months of hard work on the project rewarded, and had a smile on her face after seeing him lifted in the air by four LHS football players during a winter pep rally the day after he received the news. "He is such an unassuming, smart individual who is so low-key about himself," Isseroff said of Masih Das, who plays violin in the school’s orchestra and competes on the school's boys’ tennis and math teams.

A new take on hurricanes

Ditchek's project, "Sea Surface Pressure: A Candidate Variable for Hurricane Tracking Prediction," allowed the NSHA senior to explore her longtime passion for meteorology. In research at the University of Miami over the summer, Ditchek tried to determine ways in which coastal cities could be more prepared for hurricanes based on sea surface pressure.

The Woodmere resident said she has been interested in weather since kindergarten, and even started a weather club at NSHA. "Even when I was young, I had my eyes pressed against the glass, watching thunderstorms," she said. "I have a passion, and I explored my passion."

Ditchek, who is the captain of NSHA's mock trial team and president of the yeshiva's Israel Awareness Club, has already been accepted at Yale, where she plans to major in geology and pursue a weather-related career.

Each semifinalist won a $1,000 college scholarship, and each school also received $1,000, earmarked for math and science programs. On Jan. 27, the Intel field will be narrowed to 40 finalists, who will compete in Washington, D.C., for $405,000 in prize money, with the first-place winner receiving $100,000.

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