Every year the University at Albany hosts the Junior Science and Humanities Eastern Regional Symposium in early March. This symposium is a chance for high school students to showcase their independent research work. Students who placed in the sub-regional competitions earlier in January are invited to present. Taconic Hills High School is excited to announce that two of our Seniors, Ellie Yang and Imogen Drake, presented their work at this symposium on Thursday, March 10. Both students placed second in their divisions at the sub-regional competition.
Ellie Yang completed their research on the differences between duckweed grown in a laboratory setting and duckweed grown in the wild. Ellie has been working with Dr. Claudia Knab-Vispo from the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program for the past 3 years. This is the second experiment Ellie has completed as part of their research, following up on last year’s work on duckweed growth factors.
Imogen Drake completed her research on the impact of traumatic brain injury on the development of anxiety. Imogen has been working with a psychology professor from the University of California on the impact of traumatic brain injury on the development of psychological disorders. Not only did Imogen complete her own study, but she also assisted her mentor in writing one of his papers, which will be in publication soon.
Science Research is designed to give self-motivated students real world experience. The program involves a 3-year commitment, including time spent over their summers. Students select an area of interest, learn literature research skills, present articles using PowerPoint, find and talk with experts in their field, plan and conduct an experiment based on their background studies, and finally share their findings with the public. The symposium is just one of the ways that students share their work. Another venue is Taconic Hills’ annual science symposium the Tuesday after Memorial Day (May 31st). At this annual event, all research students share their work, from the sophomores who have been doing background research, to the juniors who have developed their research plans, to our seniors who will again share their completed work with the public. The May 31st event is free and open to the public and a great opportunity to see the amazing work being done by high school researchers. Put it on your calendar: 6pm at the Taconic Hills High School, 73 Rte 11A, Craryville, NY.