School for Science and Math students honored
Five students at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt presented their senior research projects last month at the 2009 Tennessee Junior Academy of Science Conference at Belmont University, and three of them won cash prizes.
The students also graduated this week from Nashville public high schools.
Hala Zein-Sabatto, a Hillwood High School graduate, won one of two top $500 prizes. She will be invited to present her project at the annual meeting of the American Junior Academy of Science next February, an academy official said.
Susan Li, a graduate of Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet School, and Hana Erkou, who earned her diploma from the Nashville School of the Arts, won two of eight $200 prizes.
Their research papers will be published in the conference proceedings.
Abstracts of papers presented by Hume-Fogg graduate Elizabeth Wei and Janet Hana, a graduate of Glencliff High School, also will be published in the proceedings.
The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt is a collaborative project of the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
Students with high math and science test scores who are recommended by their teachers and counselors are eligible for the program, which provides accelerated instruction and laboratory experiences one day a week at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Seniors conduct research projects during the summer, prepare for national science competitions and journal publications, and contribute to community outreach programs.
Fifty-nine students, including 10 seniors, were enrolled this year. Twenty-six students, selected from 12 Nashville middle schools, will enroll as freshmen next fall.
Last year, four seniors were invited to present their research at the Tennessee Junior Academy of Science Conference. Two were awarded $200 prizes.