Wednesday, March 29, 2017

High Tech Students Receive Medals at the Hudson County STEM Showcase Awards Ceremony

(Jersey City, NJ—March 28, 2017)  Mariam Abdelmoul of Jersey City, North Bergen resident Jeel Shah, and Shreyas Agarwal of Secaucus, all students at High Tech High School, picked up awards for their research projects at the 59th Annual Hudson County STEM Showcase Awards Ceremony, held at the Margaret Williams Theatre at New Jersey City University (NJCU), announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.

Shah received the Silver Medal for his research project, “Effect of Cellular Radiation on the Behavior of Apis mellifera.”  Also, Agarwal accepted the Bronze Medal for her research project, “Development of Wireless and Continuous Energy Source for Mobile User.” 

Abdelmoula’s project, “Antibacterial Effects of Dandelion Alcohol Extracts on B. subtilis,” earned her the Gold Medal.  For winning the Gold, for earning an impressive GPA, and for receiving a high SAT score, Abdelmoula has also been awarded NJCU’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship, which offers her up to $44,000 to cover full-time, in-state tuition and fees for four years.

Other High Tech students entered their projects in the STEM Showcase as well: Eleanore Woodruff and Ada Zhu of Weehawken for “Lung Disease Screening Using Bilateral Digitized Pulmonary Sounds” and “Paper Chromatography Using Water and Isopropyl (90%) Solvent System of Dandelion Stem Extracts,” respectively; Muhammad Umar of Bayonne for “The Effect of Various Neurotransmitters on the Behavior of Mus musculus”; and Secaucus resident Shelina Chotrani for “The effect of low power Argon Plasma Exposure on Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms.”

“I’m very proud of our students and program,” says Dr. Arun Srivastava, veteran High Tech instructor and Science Fair coordinator.  “We instructors teach them that every idea is a good idea, but often, some ideas are difficult to implement.  Our students overcome difficulties to offer us their great ideas.”

Sponsored this year by Jersey City Medical Center, in partnership with RWJ Barnabas Health and New Jersey City University, this year’s Hudson County STEM Showcase took place at Liberty Science Center on March 13th.  Dr. Srivastava would like to thank Dr. Giammarella for his logistical support and the Hudson County Schools of Technology Foundation for sponsoring High Tech’s research programs, as always.


(from left to right: Jeel Shah, Shreyas Agarwal, Dr. Arun Srivastava, and Mariam Abdelmoula)