20 May 2008
Three Young Women Win Top Awards at International Science Fair
Students from 51 countries compete for $4 million in awards, scholarships
Washington -- Last year, when cats and dogs in the United States started dying from an ingredient in imported pet food -- as many as a thousand pets died, sparking the largest recall in the history of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- a high school student in the southern state of Mississippi decided to look for a more efficient and less expensive way to find food additives that may be contaminated.
For her research into biosensors, Natalie Saranga Omattage, who was born in the United States but whose parents are Sri Lankan, was named one of three young women to win the top honors at the 2008 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
More than 1,500 students from 51 countries competed for more than $4 million in awards and scholarships in this year’s fair, making it the world’s largest.
Sana Raoof, from Muttontown, New York; Yi-Han Su, from Taipei, Taiwan; and Omattage from Cleveland, Mississippi, each received a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation as part of their awards during the Intel fair, which took place May 11-16 in Atlanta. All three young women are 17 years old.
Raoof won the award for her research in mathematical knot theory, which could help resolve classic biochemical problems -- the knotting of proteins and DNA, for example. “Her work focused on the Alexander-Conway polynomial invariant for chord diagrams to help prove how to classify molecules on a structural basis,” according to an Intel news release on the awards.
Her work could be of practical use in the field of criminal investigation, making it easier to identify a criminal’s DNA, Raoof told Newsday.
Last month, Raoof, who has relatives in India, won the New York State Forensic League tournament to become the state’s champion high school debater. She also runs track and will enroll at Harvard University this fall.
Yi-Han Su was recognized for her efforts to identify a high-activity catalyst that could improve methanol reforming reactions to generate hydrogen more efficiently. She also won the Best of Category Award in chemistry.
"To see young students from around the world develop innovative solutions to problems confronting society shows the true power of this international science fair," said Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel Corporation, which has been a major sponsor of the fair since 1997. "Sana, Natalie and Yi-Han demonstrate that dedication to science inquiry can transcend gender and geographic boundaries and shows what we can accomplish when we focus on education and science."
Students competing in the fair are doing serious science. More than 20 percent of those who entered the fair in 2008 have applied for a patent for their work or intend to, according to Intel.
"Inspired by their dedication to inquiry-based research, we celebrate the passion and incredible achievements of Sana, Natalie and Yi-Han,” said Elizabeth Marincola, president of the Society for Science & the Public. “We are encouraged by the quality and depth of their work and the hope it gives us for the future of our planet, and our society."
The nonprofit Society for Science & the Public (formerly known as Science Service) has sponsored the fair since its inception in 1950.
Omattage said the weeklong event gave her a chance to meet other young scientists from around the world. "It's been a really good experience. Last year, I came to Intel and I didn't win anything, so I didn't really come here thinking I was going to win anything,” Omattage told the Voice of America. “Just being here with everybody from all over the world has been a really great experience, and just bonding with people, it's been wonderful."
Students from more than 30 countries won awards, some of them quite large. Michael Kaergaard Madsen and Jesper Lykke Rasmussen from Vejle, Denmark, for example, won a $25,000 prize from the office machine company Ricoh and a $3,000 prize from the U.S. Coast Guard for their project, “Improved Exhaust System for Two-Stroke Engines: An Effective Way to Obtain Better Air Quality.”
Five of the 18 Best of Category Awards went to students from outside the United States, and many students won multiple awards.
Russian students won a total of 14 awards; Danish students won seven; Turkish students won six; German, Italian and U.K. students won three for each country; Swedish and Ukrainian students won two; and students from Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Estonia won one per country.
Dongyoung Kim of Anheung Gangwon, South Korea, won both a Best of Category Award for Computer Science and a Seaborg Award -- an all-expense-paid trip to the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar in Sweden and entry to the Nobel Prize ceremonies -- for creating an algorithm that simulates water flow in three dimensions.
Among the other Asian recipients: Chinese students won 25 awards; Japanese students won 14; Indian students won 10; a South Korean won nine; a Thai and a Singaporean won six; a Jordanian and a Malaysian won four; a Pakistani and a Filipino won three; while one prize went to a student from Kazakhstan.
Twelve Canadians won awards. Australian students won two.
Mexican and Brazilian students won six awards per country, Costa Rican students won four, and students from Argentina one. One prize also went to a student from South Africa.
See Education.
