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Deja vu for New York 's young scientists Feburary 3, 2005 Students from the Empire State have shown their dominance again in a prestigious national science research competition. New Yorkers walked away with 13 of the 40 national awards for the "junior Nobel prizes," the 64th Intel Science Talent Search. Tying for a distant second, California , Florida , Illinois and Maryland had four finalists each. This comes after the young New York scientists had already captured 151 of 300 semifinalist prizes. "Intel offers a great opportunity for students to showcase what they've done," said Christian Bieg, an Advanced Placement science teacher from the Fairport Educators Association, near Rochester . Bieg worked with student Bruce Brewington last year. Brewington, who did much of his research at the University of Rochester 's Department of Laser Energetics, won a finalist spot for his project on three-dimensional characterizations of ice-layer imperfections. Students from Long Island received the most semifinalist and finalist positions. Entries came from 1,600 students representing more than 500 high schools in 47 states, the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico and two overseas schools. Each of the 300 semifinalists and their schools received $1,000. Finalists are competing for a $100,000 college scholarship at the March 15 banquet and awards ceremony. Each finalist will receive at least $5,000, an all-expense-paid trip to Washington , D.C. , and a computer. Jean Del Finer, a retiree who chairs the New York City Teachers Science Committee, attributes the success of New York students to plentiful staff development, top-notch teaching techniques, and the high value many immigrant students and families place on education, viewing it as means to advance in a new culture. "The United Federation of Teachers and NYSUT staff development programs support teacher training, keeping educators up to date on the real world of science," Del Finer said, praising the tradition of hands-on demonstrations and lab activities. |
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