The preliminary round for the New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF), the largest high school research competition in NYC, was held at Citi-Field on March 8. There, Harrisites enrolled in research programs joined hundreds of students from across New York City in showcasing their research projects, topics ranging from engineering to the environmental sciences.
“NYCSEF allows students to interact and share their work with other students interested in science,” said science research teacher Katherine Cooper. “Students are able to learn from each other, and bond over their passion for science.”
“[NYCSEF] is a great learning experience, especially being able to see what experiments our peers are working on,” stated junior Jodie Gao.
As the mentor for science research students participating in NYCSEF, Ms. Cooper emphasized the amount of time and dedication that students put into their research for the competition. “Students typically start preparing their research [for NYCSEF] towards the end of sophomore year,” she said. “Many spend their summer refining their projects.”
“By the time we got to the competition, most of the preparation was already done,” said junior Valeriya Shin. “All we had left was organizing our poster, and preparing the talking points we wanted to cover.”
“The creativity in their projects, and how students incorporated technology to enhance their projects was amazing to see,” noted Ms. Cooper.
“Students were testing things related to cancer, along with many other topics. It made me excited for the things our generation would be able to come up with,” commented Jodie.
For Valeriya, “The highlight [of NYCSEF] was this kind judge that we had a conversation with. [She] got to know us, and asked our names. It felt like a real conversation. She seemed really interested [in us] and offered advice.”
“If students do well, they will be able to represent New York City during ISEF (The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair),” explained Ms. Cooper. “There, students will be able to meet, and compete with other students from all across the world.”
