By Dan Israeli
A junior at Elmont Memorial High School, Waters was recently a finalist at the 2008 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, after winning first place honors in the field of health and medicine at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair.
Waters, only 17-years-old, has been working on a research project involving the Von Hippel-Lindau disease, a rare condition involving abnormal tumor growth in parts of the body with rich blood supply. His project, titled "Separating the Roles of HIF-2 and HIF-1 in Tumorigenesis Through the Downregulation of HIF-2 by Retroviral Infection," focuses on finding a way to suppress and reduce tumor formation in kidney cancer cells. Most grown adults can't even comprehend the complex title of Waters' project, let alone the hard work and thinking that goes into the research.
In March, Water's project came in first place among all Nassau and Suffolk students at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF), qualifying him as an Intel finalist. He was invited to Atlanta for a week in May to present his project at the International Science and Engineering Fair, a week-long conference that attracted approximately 1,500 students from all over the world.
The experience was very special for Waters. "It was life changing," he said. "I"ll never forget meeting people from all over the world, seeing so many amazing things. It made me, and all of us that were there, realize what an impact we can have on the world."
Waters originally began working on his project through Elmont Memorial's Science Research team, with the help of teacher Michelle Seeley. Working on a rather advanced project, Waters was asked to submit his to LISEF. He eventually began conducting his research at Adelphi University, at an advanced laboratory.
His interest was sparked back during his elementary days at Dutch Broadway School, where Waters was in the talented and gifted program. "I was very fascinated by energy," said Waters, looking back, who did his first project on comparing automobile fuel power. "Over the years, I started developing this knowledge of learning through experiencing. I became interested in taking different approaches to find a solution."
His father, Winston Waters Sr., noticed his son's budding interest too. He took him to the Long Island Math Fairs at Hofstra, where his son's interest really began to take off. Gaining a strong knowledge of physics, Winston became very interested in bioengineering, and plans to pursue the area at college in one year.
The accolades, so far, have made Waters' parents proud. "My wife and I feel very blessed," said Waters Sr., who has a daughter, Kimberly, attending her first year at Dartmouth. "It's great to have a son excel the way he has. He is very deserving of it because he works so hard on his project, going to the lab three times a week. We always tell him, if you work hard you will succeed, and receive rewards."
The future is wide open for Waters, who is still a year away from college, and has considered several future paths, including medical school, engineering school, and even business school. "I'm interested in hedge funds," he said. Waters, who said he would love to see his research published one day in a science journal, will be working in the lab over the summer.
