Regeneron Science Talent Search: 33 Long Island students named semifinalists

Thirty-three Long Island high school seniors were named Regeneron Science Talent Search semifinalists Wednesday — a historic low for the Island but still higher than any other region in the United States.

Jericho had 10 scholars out of the 300 semifinalists chosen from more than 2,600 entrants across the country and abroad, according to the Society for Science, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that runs the prestigious Regeneron competition.

The Nassau school had the highest number of scholars out of the 826 high schools that competed, outperforming Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia and the Bronx High School of Science, which had eight and five scholars, respectively.

Herricks High School in New Hyde Park and Roslyn High School each had four semifinalists named to the list, and Syosset High School had three. Great Neck’s two high schools also had three students claiming a spot.

This year’s scholar total on Long Island represented a dip from last year’s 49. Since 2000, the Island — which has routinely produced dozens of semifinalists — had a peak of 89 scholars in 2003 and a low of 36 in 2020, according to Newsday archives.

Still, the Island led the nation in the number of semifinalists. San Francisco had 28 scholars, the second-highest number, the society said. Westchester had 23 semifinalists and New York City had 19.

Each of the selected scholars will receive $2,000, and their schools will receive a matching amount.

Later this month, 40 finalists will be selected from the pool of 300 winners. In March, finalists will go to Washington, D.C., to present their projects. The top 10 winners will be announced on March 10; the top award of the contest is $250,000.

Allyson Weseley, coordinator of science research at Roslyn High School, noted the contest’s high caliber: “These kids are now nationally ranked science researchers.”

But Weseley and others also emphasized that making the list, while an achievement, is not the end goal.

“It’s not about making them a finalist,” said Loriann Ciasulli, a Jericho science research teacher. “It’s about making them a scientist.”

‘Graduate level’ research

The annual student science competition, founded in 1942, is the oldest in the country. Students often spend months or years on their projects and work in university-affiliated labs under the guidance of professional mentors along with school advisors.

Two Jericho semifinalists said Wednesday they wrote 10,000 lines of code for their projects and a third rented a house near Yale University in Connecticut last summer so he could observe viruses under an electron microscope there.

These are teenagers but their work went far beyond high school, their teachers said.

“The work that they're doing is graduate level,” said Alexis Vandergoot, Jericho’s science research coordinator. “They're collaborating with experts in the fields. They are finding novel results that the scientific community is now going to feed in.”

The work the scholars produced ranged from cancer research to the medical application of artificial intelligence.

Some student projects originated from personal struggles. Allergic to dairy and tree nuts, Jericho High student Aryana Adur, 17, said she learned at an early age not to eat certain foods. Growing up, that excluded her from common childhood experiences as simple as sharing a cheese pizza with friends at a birthday party.

“Food serves us like a nectar of connection,” she said. “Having that nectar taken away from me definitely took a toll on me.” 

Her project, which focused on food allergies, was driven by her many hours of sitting in an allergist’s office. Adur said she aspires to become an allergist to help ease the lives of those like herself.

The semifinalists also drew inspiration from current affairs. Elaine Liu, a 17-year-old from Syosset High School, examined online apologies and found that those offering explanations or acknowledging the offense produced less “comments growth.”

“As more influencers are apologizing and ‘cancel culture’ is coming up in a lot of discussions,” Liu said her findings suggest choosing the right apology strategy can prevent online backlash from spreading.

Olivia Jacobson, 18, from Roslyn High School, focused on bipartisanship’s impact on voters’ preference of a candidate, based on their own political affiliation and the issues.

Through two surveys, the teen found voters preferred bipartisan candidates when it came to relatively neutral subjects like education but favored partisan candidates that aligned with their political affiliation and bipartisan candidates from opposing parties when the issue was more polarizing, like gun control.

Jacobson, who plans to major in government at Cornell University, said she wants to “work on getting people to understand how similar we are and how people can have shared goals even if their political beliefs are different.” 

Countdown ends in tears and applause

Students in Jericho had been waiting for Wednesday’s release for months, with Vandergoot starting a digital countdown last January.

As that countdown ended shortly after noon Wednesday, Vandergoot reminded her students — dressed in blue shirts bearing the contest’s name — that to submit a project as complicated as one required for the Regeneron contest is an accomplishment in itself.

“If your name is on this list, it's icing,” she told them. “You've already won in my mind. I mean that for all of you.”

When the list was released after several anxious refreshenings of the webpage, screams and applause erupted as teachers scrolled down the digital document. Some students burst into tears and embraced one another amid the loud sounds of whistles being blown.

"Ten!" shouted Janna Ostroff, curriculum associate of science and technology education, under a golden balloon banner spelling out Regeneron STS. Vandergoot and Ciasulli hugged each other and jumped up and down while screaming.

The scholars rang a "victory bell" as their peers applauded and cheered. Adur said it was surreal to see her name on the screen.

“STS has been placed on such a high pedestal for so many people and STS is such a premier science competition,” she said. “Words can't describe the feelings.”

Vedant Balani, 17, said he felt lucky to have been selected but it was the research and camaraderie that he valued the most.

“I always go into it with the mindset that I wouldn't be surprised if I get it because I know I put in the work … and I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't get it, because that happens,” he said. “I'm OK with either outcome and I just measure the learning and the research. I love the knowledge that I gained.”

Tiffany Liang, 17, said she was happy for her peers despite not making the list. With her peers and the three teachers having signed her blue shirt, she said it was a “once-in-a-lifetime memory” she will always treasure.

After the celebration, the seniors trickled out of the classroom. But Vandergoot was already looking to the future: As the juniors entered the room, she told the younger students that she’s starting the countdown for them the next day.

Newsday's Michael R. Ebert and Laura Mann contributed to this story.