A Great Neck student’s project on schizophrenia was named “best in fair” at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair (NYSSEF).
Great Neck North High School senior Michael Lyakhov earned the top award at this year’s state fair in late March at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. His project consisted of building an artificial intelligence system that analyzes brain scans to detect schizophrenia earlier and more accurately than existing methods.
“Winning ‘best in fair’ is honestly surreal,” Lyakhov said. “I’m so grateful that science fairs gave me the opportunity to pursue research I genuinely care about, and this makes all of it feel worth it.”
Lyakhov and 10 other local teens have advanced from the state level to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix on May 9-15. They will be among about 1,600 students worldwide competing for nearly $9 million in awards, prizes and scholarships, according to competition officials.
The other students advancing and their high schools: Christina Bayne, Elmont; Amanat Jain, Garden City; Austin Jin and Taisheng Wu, Great Neck South; Eliana Eisenberg, Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills; Aryana Adur and Xiaowu Lai, Jericho; Ethan Lin, New Hyde Park; Chrysta Thomas, Oyster Bay; and Humzah Mohsin, Valley Stream South.
“The quality of this year’s projects is exceptional,” said NYSSEF president Serena McCalla. “We’re seeing students from across New York tackling real-world challenges with creativity, rigor and purpose.”
EAST SETAUKET/ MASSAPEQUA
MOCK TRIAL WINNERS
Teams from Massapequa High School and Ward Melville High School in East Setauket won first place in this year’s Nassau County and Suffolk County mock trial tournaments, respectively. Both have advanced to the state finals in Albany May 17-19.
Participating teams acted as the defense and prosecution in a fictional case to demonstrate their knowledge of law and courtroom procedures with local attorneys and judges evaluating their abilities. The competitions were held at Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola and Suffolk County Supreme Court in Central Islip.
The second-place teams were from The Wheatley School in Old Westbury and Northport High School.
HEMPSTEAD
MEDICAL MARVELS CONTEST
A team from Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead bested groups from 27 schools to win this year’s Medical Marvels competition hosted by Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. The team received $1,800.
The competition asked participants to submit research papers and deliver presentations featuring “innovative solutions for gun violence prevention and school safety,” according to competition officials. Sacred Heart’s team proposed ideas like promoting the use of firearm lock boxes in homes and installing AI-powered cameras to detect weapons in schools.
The second and third-place teams were from Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills and Freeport High School, respectively.
ISLANDWIDE
VISUAL ARTS EXCELLENCE
Fifteen Long Island school districts have been named Communities of Excellence in Visual Arts and one has been named a School of Excellence in Visual Arts by the New York State Art Teachers Association. They are among 26 districts and five schools statewide to earn the designations.
Long Island’s designated districts were Babylon, Brentwood, East Rockaway, Hempstead, Hewlett-Woodmere, Hicksville, Locust Valley, Mattituck-Cutchogue, Mineola, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Washington, Tuckahoe, Valley Stream 13 and William Floyd in Mastic Beach. The designated school was The Wheatley School in Old Westbury.
The selections were part of the association’s VISION Endorsement, which honors schools and districts that support visual arts instruction using “a sequential, standards-based curriculum while increasing inclusivity, equity and accessibility in arts education,” association officials said.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR’s platform safety issues.