HAFTR’s big winners

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of April 10, 2009 16 Nissan 5769

HAFTR senior Jaclyn Yael Schein recently won first place at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair. As an Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist, she will travel to Reno, Nevada from May 10-16 to compete in a week-long international science competition.

Schein, 17, of Woodmere, aspires to pursue a career in scientific research. In the fall, she will attend MIT, where she plans to study materials science and biological engineering.

Her winning project, which she worked on at SUNY Stony Brook, examined ways to blend different types of plastics together. “My project examined the physical properties of novel polymer blends,” Schein explained to The Jewish Star. “Different types of polymers need to be recycled separately because they do not blend well, which significantly adds to the cost of recycling. In this project, I used a co-solvent called supercritical carbon dioxide to develop a method of blending different polymers, potentially reducing the need to separate plastics for recycling. These novel polymer blends could have a range of practical applications, from LCD screens to medical devices.”

Schein worked under the guidance of Dr. Miriam Rafailovich and Rebecca Isseroff, and plans to continue the project this summer at Stony Brook.

Another HAFTR senior, Rachel Bandler, won Honorable Mention in Behavioral Science and the American Psychology Society Award for her project that examined the applicability of Markov mathematical chains in predicting human behavioral choices.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition in which more than 1,500 high school students showcase their independent research to compete for nearly $4 million in prizes and scholarships.