Siemens Regional Finalist

John Mortensen

Garden City High School Senior John Mortensen is a Regional Finalist in the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology for his research project Can Chelation Therapy be Used as a Potential Treatment for Alzheimer's Plaques? A Synchrotron X-Ray Imaging Study. The research was conducted in the laboratory of Lisa Miller, Ph.D., at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratories.

Mr. Mortensen receives a $1,000 award and will present his project to a panel of judges in a Regional Competition hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in November. Garden City Schools will receive a $2,000 award to be used to support science, mathematics, and technology programs.

A record number of 1,641 students registered to enter the competition this year: 295 students in 34 states were named Semifinalists; 95 students were named Regional Finalists. New York State had 19 Regional Finalists, including 11 from Nassau County.

The Regional Competition requires students to display a poster of their project and give a 12-minute oral presentation followed by an intensive question and answer period conducted by a panel of judges from the host university. Winners of the Regional Competition go on to the National Finals at New York University.