October 18, 2004
Miranda Geraci-Yee, an 8th grader at J. W. Dodd Middle School in Freeport , has been named a national semi-finalist in the Intel-affiliated Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. After becoming a Long Island Finalist in March 2004, Miranda advanced to the national level of competition. She was judged against 1,795 regional finalists, and was one of only 400 to advance to the semifinalist level. The regional finalists were chosen from a pool of 75,000 students who entered science fairs nationwide. Miranda's research, which was titled, "The Physiological Effects of Pyrethium on Lubriculus Variegates," studied how pyrethium, a pesticide derived from chrysanthemums, affects the health of aquatic animals. Over the course of several months, she exposed different groups of earthworms to various doses of pyrethium. She found that even in small doses, this pesticide caused many of the earthworms to convulse and ultimately die. Since pyrethium is used as an agricultural pesticide, her research showed the need to further study how this chemical may affect the health of other aquatic animals that may be exposed through run-off contamination from farms. |
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Miranda Geraci-Yee, an 8th grader at Dodd Middle School in Freeport was named a national semifinalist in the 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. |
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All 7th graders at Dodd are required to do a science research project, but Miranda decided to expand the scope of her research to meet the more demanding requirements of competition in the Young Scientist Challenge. "Since I'm interested in science, it was a great experience for me," said Miranda. "I learned the proper procedures for conducting scientific research. I also learned how to write papers, design boards, and I got experience in presenting."
Five other Dodd students, Kara Isenberg, Anthony Ficaro, Jonathan Stykes, Sharisse McClure and Samantha Dandridge also competed in the Young Scientist Challenge.
"Science research competition is extremely important for all our students," said Dr. Nicholas Tzimopoulos, district science coordinator. "It helps them develop critical thinking and problem solving skills that are essential for success in science and in life." |
