Amardeep Grewal, Abhinav Khanna, Desh Mohan, Kiran Pendri
NRIs winner of 2005 Siemens National Merit Scholarship

The Siemens Foundation provides more than $2 million in college scholarships and awards each year for talented high school students in the United States.Its signature programs, the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science & Technology and the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, reward exceptional achievement in science, math and technology. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers.....Siemens.

Individuals
" $50,000 scholarship - Kiran Pendri, Wallingford, Connecticut
" $40,000 scholarship - Adam Solomon, Bellmore, New York
" $30,000 scholarship - Desh Mohan, Denton, Texas
" $20,000 scholarship - Luyi Zhao, Manchester, Missouri
" $10,000 scholarship - Xue Feng, Nashville, Tennessee
Teams
" $50,000 scholarship - Benjamin Pollack and Abhinav Khanna, Plainview, New York
" $40,000 scholarship - Huy Nguyen and Gerald Tiu, Fullerton, California
" $30,000 scholarship - Patricia M. Brent, Nick Grabenstein and Tarik Umar, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
" $20,000 scholarship - Amardeep Grewal, Beverly Hills, Michigan and Ran Li, Valley Stream, New York
" $10,000 scholarship - Jennifer Ding, Rochester Hills, Michigan and Ang Li, Troy, Michigan


Teams
Amardeep Grewal, Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills, Michigan, and Ran Li, Valley Stream Central High School Valley, Stream, NY are the New England Regional Team Winners for their project:

  

 

A New Spin on Wound Healing Scaffolds: Optimization through Molecular and Physical Design. They will split a $6,000 scholarship and will both have the opportunity to compete at the national finals.

Amardeep Grewal
Detroit Country Day School
Beverly Hills, MI
Valley Stream Central High School Valley Stream, NY
A New Spin on Wound Healing Scaffolds: Optimization through Molecular and Physical Design
The goal of Mr. Grewal and Mr. Li’s create a more hospitable and structurally-enhanced second-generation hydrogel wound-healing matrix. Such research may ultimately help in curing wounds that fail to heal that are typical of patients who suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes or who are bed-ridden. The team’s study introduced a new molecular model system that may allow hydrogel matrices to bind growth factors critical to wound healing. Their mentors were Kaustabh Ghosh, Dr. Richard A.F. Clark, Yuan Ji and Dr. Miriam Rafailovich.

Fluent in Punjabi, Hindi and Spanish, Mr. Grewal, a junior, received first place honors and second place honors respectively at the Detroit Science Fair and the Michigan State Science Fair. A tabla (Indian drums) player for 12 years, he has placed first at the Annual Competition in Windsor, Canada. He enjoys running and is an editor of the Blue & Gold Yearbook and a staff writer at the Day Times newspaper. A volunteer at William Beaumont Hospital, he plans to become a doctor and one day hopes to open a free health clinic in his community.

Ran Li, a senior, is the founder and president of Future Medical Leaders, a club that sponsors information sessions on medical careers and current medical issues. As president, he helped implement an internship program for high school students and organized a CPR training session. Fluent in Chinese, he enjoys ping pong and plays on his school’s varsity tennis team. An accomplished violinist, Mr. Li has performed with the All State Symphony and String Orchestra, and Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York. Earlier this year, he presented at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Mid-Atlantic Section Fall 2005 Conference. He plans to study biology and political science in college.

 

Kiran Pendri
Choate Rosemary Hall
Wallingford, CT


Macrocyclization Using Ring-Closing Olefin Metathesis: Synthesis of a 13-Member Dithiolactone

Kiran Pendri’s project, synthesis of a novel dithiolactone macrocycle, incorporates recent Noble Prize winning chemistry research and contributes to the ongoing understanding of the art of synthesizing organic molecules. This study might contribute to future pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing developments. Essentially creating a new “Lego” shape or building block for creating new molecules. Macrocyclization using a Ring-Closing Olefin Metathesis allows for the creation of a useful mid-sized molecular ring that can serve as a precursor for the synthesis of new chemical species. Metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society and the environment. His mentors were Prof. Erik Sorensen and Dr. Brian Goess, Princeton University.

Kiran Pendri, a senior, is interested to study chemistry in college. He is a member of the Cum Laude Honor Society. He is member of varsity math team, judicial committee senior member, president of Choate Indian Association. His main hobby is investing using analytical tools. He is first boat coxswain for Choate Boys Crew team.


Kiran Pendri, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut, is 2005-06 Siemens Westinghouse Competition New England

  

Regional Winner for his project: Quantitative and Highly Sensitive Luciferase-based Assay for Bacterial Toxins that Inhibit Protein Synthesis . Kiran wins a $3,000 scholarship and an invitation to the national finals to be held in New York, December 2 - 5, 2005.

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Amrapali Maitra
St. John's School
Houston, TX

Novel Organometallic Polymers Based Upon N-Heterocyclic Carbenes

Amrapali Maitra’s research might ultimately be used to create new semi-conductors. In her organic chemistry project, she created a novel organometalic polymer using carbenes, an organic molecule that is generally unstable and had not previously been polymerized. If this new polymer is found to be a conductive material, it could be used in solar cells and other devices in nanotechnology. Her mentor was Dr. Christopher Bielawski, University of Texas at Austin.

 

Ms. Maitra, a senior, lived in New Zealand until she was ten years old. Fluent in Bengali, she is an accomplished Indian classical dancer and is a member of the Anjali Dance Company in Houston where she also volunteers as a dance teacher. Ms. Maitra enjoys political and leadership activities and is the president of St. John’s Schools’ Junior Statesmen of America and Amnesty International chapters. She plans to study chemistry or physics in college.

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Vikas Murali
Staples High School
Westport, CT

Daniel Katz
Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway
Cedarhurst, NY

Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Structure and Properties
In their material science research, Vikas Murali and Daniel Katz examined the synthesis of colloidal platinum nanoparticles through four novel chemical methods. They further investigated nanoparticles properties as they applied to semiconductivity, magnetometry, biotoxicity and hydrogen affinity. The practical applications of their study are versatile, and may include the use of platinum nanoparticles in semiconductive chips, storage of hydrogen for use in fuel cells, and disruption of cancer cell growth. Their mentors were Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, Yuan Sun, Vladimir Samuilov, Nadine Pernodet, Atin Sharma and Rebecca Isseroff.

Mr. Murali, a senior, edits the opinion page of the Staples High School newspaper and is the co-president of the Math Team. An accomplished pianist and violinist, Mr. Murali plays the violin in the Norwalk Youth Symphony Concert Orchestra, and has achieved a Gold rating in the Fairfield County Schubert Club's Young Musicians Festival for the past four consecutive years. Mr. Murali was named a national finalist in the US Chemistry Olympiad and a semi-finalist in the USA Biology Olympiad, and he plans to study chemical engineering or electrical engineering in college.

Fluent in Hebrew and Spanish, Mr. Katz, a junior, enjoys reading, restoring cars and skateboarding. He participated in the Long Island Science Congress in 2004 and 2005, and he was awarded an American Materials Association Award in 2004. A member of his school's Science Institute Club, Mr. Katz’s hopes one day to become an inventor because he enjoys designing novel devices that could improve people's lives.

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