Soaking up the science

Lawrence students capture awards for research

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Occasionally, fortune cookie wisdom is spot on.

On Aug. 8, the last day of the summer research season at Stony Brook University’s Garcia Center, Lawrence High School project team members Roshan Reddy, Jerry Reyes and Nicholas Williams were eating Chinese food. In one of the cookies they cracked opened, the slip of paper read, “You will enjoy true success — whatever you do.”

Reyes, a Lawrence resident, added a corollary on the Lawrence High research room wall where the prophecy is taped — “unless you lose … then it [stinks].”
After toiling the entire summer and the first few weeks of September on their project titled, “The Effects of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide on Enzyme Activity and Cell Proliferation,” the fortune cookie prediction came true as the three seniors were named semifinalists in the prestigious nationwide 2017 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology on Oct. 17.

They found that graphene, which is composed of single sheets of carbon atoms, speeds up the activity of certain enzymes, nearly doubling the rate at which they operate. The trio will examine carbon’s effect on other enzymes as well. Potential applications include boosting fuel cell power, synthesis of new compounds and recycling paper, among many others.

“It’s probably the biggest accomplishment in my life to this point,” said Reyes, whose lab coat, with a tear up the middle in the back, barely survived the summer work. “This made my family proud, my friends proud, our community proud and is a reason for other students to push ahead.”

The seniors also felt the sting of losing, because they didn’t advance to the regional round — announced a day later — but the work they did will remain a huge part of their lives as the school year unfolds.

“I learned it’s a lot of work,” said Reddy, who lives in Cedarhurst. “It’s not that bad, and it was kind of interesting and we stuck through the end. Hopefully it’s something I could use in my future, and it will help me.”

On Oct. 19, the trio presented their work at the International Energy & Sustainability Conference at Farmingdale State College. Next month, Reddy, Reyes and Williams will present the work at the Materials Research Society, a professional conference in Boston. All three are also working on individual projects they will submit to the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition.

Two-and-a-half-hour trips on the Long Island Rail Road, beginning in Cedarhurst, changing trains in Jamaica and then a long journey to Stony Brook, are not many people’s idea of summer fun, but all three routinely woke around 6 a.m., boarded the 7:27 train and then headed home by 4 p.m.

Later in the summer, they didn’t get home until nearly 10 p.m., as they ratcheted up the time spent conducting their research. The Chipotle on Rockaway Turnpike in Lawrence became the go-to dinner place, Isseroff said. School started on Sept. 6. The submission deadline, originally Sept. 18, was extended seven days due to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

“Most of the time, when we were writing the paper, I’d work from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.,” said Williams, a North Woodmere resident. “It wasn’t too hard, and if [I]didn’t get done, I’d just wake up in the morning and do it.”

The submitted paper had to be 18 pages. The group was up to 22 when the editing began. “The students write it and learn the terms in their field,” explained Rebecca Isseroff, the Lawrence High science research teacher and their project mentor, “and it becomes second nature to them.”

All three are headed to college and thinking of majoring in engineering, with Reyes the only one zeroed in on a specific school — the University of Pennsylvania. He is undecided on chemical or electrical engineering, and is also interested in scientific ethics.

Lawrence scientists take second
Also under Isseroff’s mentorship, juniors John Chen, Anoushka Guha and Zaiff Khan also submitted a project to the Siemens Competition. “Creating a Novel Graphene Oxide/Iron/Poly-Lactic Acid Composite that Promotes Dental Pulp Stem Cell Differential and Proliferation,” was not selected for semifinalists status, but captured second place at the International Energy and Sustainability Conference 2017 at Farmingdale State College on Oct. 19.

Lawrence junior Syed Bukhari teamed with Lizeth Cortes, from Roosevelt High School, on “The Effect of Melatonin as an Adjunct Chemotherapy Treatment of Bloom Syndrome Cancer,” which was also submitted to Siemens.

In February, Reddy, Reyes, Williams and their Lawrence peers will take part in the Long Island Science & Engineering Fair, and present their work at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. And as long as the annual International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering & Environment Project Olympiad is held, they will attend, said Isseroff.

The event is usually in Houston, she added, crediting Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, the Garcia Center’s director, Dr. Marcia Simon, of Stony Brook’s Dental School, and many graduate students with helping the Lawrence students through the intense research process.