The science research program continues its success at LHS. This year, scientists from ninth and tenth grade competed at Long Island Science Congress (LISC), a science fair consisting of approximately 2,000 students from all over Long Island who presented their projects to judges. The freshmen competed in the junior division, while the sophomores competed in the senior division. Nine freshman teams and three sophomore teams qualified as part of the top-25% of projects from the fair to be invited to the award ceremony.
The process of science research takes a great deal of time and effort. Brainstorming, hypothesizing, planning, gathering materials, and actually performing the experiment may take months. Some teams have been working on their projects since the beginning of the year. The feeling of finding out one’s hard work paid off is second to none, as shared by freshmen Kevin Ryan and Anthony Lombardo, who won honors for their project “The Effects of Senolytic Activators on Drosophila Melanogaster.”
When asked about his immediate thoughts after opening the awards letters, Lombardo answered, “I felt very happy and excited that all of our hard work and time that we took to complete the project paid off.” Ryan said, “Getting the LISC awards letter felt unreal, like all my effort finally turned into something real.”
For sophomores, this was their second year competing at LISC. This allowed for the opportunity to fix any changes in the process from last year and to improve their research. Sophomore Brandon Ostroff explained how this was the case with him and his teammates Joao Velasquez and Matthew Mignella for their project, “The Effect of Vitamin B6, E, and D3 on the Survivability and Movement of Drosophila with Parkinson’s Disease.” Ostroff explained,“We were all shocked that we got the invitation because last year at Jr. LISC we did not have this opportunity. We are glad to be invited to attend and see that our hard work on prevention of Parkinson’s disease was appreciated by the judges at LISC and will be honored.”
Science research teacher Charles Vessalico reflected on his time with this year’s freshmen and sophomores. He shared, “I’ve been incredibly impressed with this year’s freshman and sophomore researchers. Their curiosity, work ethic, and willingness to take on complex scientific questions stood out throughout the year. Seeing so many of them recognized with awards at LISC was both exciting and affirming. These awards highlight not only their dedication, but also the strong foundation they’re building early in their research experience. It was especially rewarding to watch them grow from learning the basics of the scientific process to confidently presenting and defending their work. Their success speaks to the bright future of our program.”
Kathleen Dias, who teaches the sophomores in science research, shared her pride in her students: “When I found out that nine sophomores won awards at LISC, I was just thrilled. Our researchers work so hard on their projects, so to be recognized for that hard work is always exciting. What I find most exciting about this group is that all nine students competed in the senior division, against 10th, 11th, and 12th graders from all across Long Island. They were competing against students who did their research in labs, maybe having won at states or ISEF, and still we had nine sophomores who did their projects here in the research room win awards. Proud is an understatement!”
As Vessalico mentioned, the future of science research looks promising. If these awards are a sign of things to come, then science researchers will continue to grow and produce significant findings in the scientific field.
