Three Hathaway Brown seniors semifinalists in national Intel Science Talent Search

02/01/2010

Shaker Heights, OH -Rebecca Forcier, Rachel Myer and Diana Basali, student researchers at Hathaway Brown School, have been named semifinalists in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search. The STS is regarded by many as the most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors.

All members of HB's well respected signature Science Research & Engineering Program, these young women are the only females in Ohio to have been designated Intel STS semifinalists this year. The state's four other semifinalists are males hailing from three different southwest Ohio schools.

The projects that earned the HB students semifinalist status represent a wide array of research disciplines.

Rebecca Forcier created polymer or lipid nanobubbles to act as targeted drug-delivery systems in the body. These nanobubbles are made of or are filled with drugs, which are delivered to the problem site, then burst by ultrasound to release the medication. Her research was conducted in the Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Case Medical Center Biomedical Engineering and Radiology Department.

Rachel Myer made an improved micro- or nano-scale laser using layered polymeric systems instead of conventional crystals in the CWRU Physics Department/Center for Layered Polymeric Systems (CLIPS).

Diana Basali, who - along with Myer - in October was named a semifinalist in the Siemens competition in Math, Science & Technology, was recognized for her research on the genetic cause of obesity. Her work was completed at the Cleveland Clinic.

The 2010 Intel STS drew entries from 1,736 high school seniors from 472 schools around the country. Three hundred of those students were selected as semifinalists. With a total of seven semifinalists, Ohio ranked better than 32 other states in number of semifinalists.

Each semifinalist is awarded an individual prize of $1,000, along with $1,000 for his or her school. The STS has been administered by the Society for Science & the Public since 1942. It formerly was affiliated with Westinghouse. Visit the competition website (http://www.societyforscience.org/STS/) to learn more.