Intel science award nets Jericho High teen $50,000

BY JOHN HILDEBRAND | john.hildebrand@newsday.com

9:43 PM EDT, May 16, 2008

Sana Raoof, 17, of Muttontown, was one of three students who received top honors Friday at the 2008 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta. Raoof was awarded for her research that provides new insight into how a better understanding of mathematical knot theory could help resolve classic biochemical problems. (May 16, 2008)

A Jericho High School senior won a top $50,000 prize Friday in the world's largest precollege science fair, featuring more than 1,550 teenage competitors from 51 countries.

In addition to the top prize, Sana Raoof, 17, of Muttontown, collected an additional $16,000 in other awards for her project in mathematical knot theory. The announcement of her win came on the last day of the weeklong Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held this year in Atlanta.

"Well, it was totally shocking and surreal," said Raoof, one of three winners of the fair's biggest prizes. "I didn't think my proof was all that impressive. I'm not going to be able to digest this for a couple weeks."

The other top $50,000 college scholarship winners of the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards were Natalie Saranga Omattage, of Cleveland, Miss., and Yi-Han Su, of Taipei, Taiwan.

Raoof, who is also a champion debater and distance runner, has been working on her mathematics project since June 2007, when she attended a research training program for high school seniors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Knot theory centers on determining how one knot can be distinguished from another.

Raoof researched ways in which this theory can be applied to DNA identification and other biochemical work.

At Jericho High, Raoof's day typically starts at the school's research lab around 7:30 a.m., an hour-and-a-half before regular classes begin. She also works out with the track team -- the 800-meter race is her best event. On Fridays, she teaches an early-morning philosophy class, attended by about 15 members of her debate team.

Next fall, Raoof will begin math and premedical studies at Harvard University, where she also will run track.

"She's extremely hardworking, probably one of the hardest-working students I've ever had," said Christopher Hoppner, Jericho's science research teacher.

Officials of Intel Corp., the California-based microchip maker, say their fair demonstrates that "science inquiry can transcend boundaries." And Long Island teachers who regularly escort students to these fairs add that the level of competition is intense.

During a single day of judging this past week, Raoof recalled, her project was reviewed by 16 or 17 professional researchers. The winners found themselves being interviewed by American reporters and by some from as far away as India, where Raoof has relatives.

"They tell me how much they're praying," said the Jericho teen, "and that this brings honor to the family."