2012 WINNER

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (Bergen County Academies)

Recognizing the high cost of many wound repair treatments, Elizabeth Dente sought a cost-effective way of making skin wounds heal more quickly. When her school accidentally ordered a different substance than the one she had requested Elizabeth decided to experiment with the potential wound-healing properties of the synthetic compound that arrived. She combined Benzoin with a natural anti-oxidant, olive fruit extract, and developed an effective delivery system. Neither this combination of substances nor this delivery system had been used for skin repair previously. Her experiment was a success. She plans to study biomedical engineering at Columbia University.

2012 WINNER

Cos Cob, Connecticut (Greenwich High)

Given that there is never any shortage of human waste, but there is always a shortage of energy, Ryota decided to experiment on how to use waste water itself as a potential energy source. The prototype he created of an independent microbial fuel cell to drive a bioelectrochemically-assisted wastewater treatment reactor was the first of its kind to be able to generate significant levels of hydrogen using waste as the only input source. It has the potential to be widely replicated in developing nations where stable electricity grids are not readily available. He plans to study applied mathematics at Harvard.

2012 WINNER

Wilton, Connecticut (Wilton High)

Moshin Jawed had a passion for math that his classmates didn't share. Where his classmates saw only endless memorization, Moshin saw intriguing patterns and connections. Moshin wrote TRIGgering the Genius in You, a new guide that reconceptualizes trigonometry to stress pattern recognition rather than strict memorization, teaching students to recognize and build on fundamental patterns to achieve higher levels of comprehension. He plans to study pattern-recognition at the crossroads of mathematics and medicine in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Albany Medical College's Seven-Year Accelerated Physician-Scientist program.

2012 WINNER

Milton Georgia (Milton High)

In an atmosphere of increasingly violent attacks on young Sikhs like himself in the U.S., Angad recognized the importance of documenting the stories of young people who were Sikh and American. He made a documentary--Roots and Wings--to help Sikh youths across the U.S. gain acceptance in their communities and recognize that they one did not have to "give up one's cultural roots in order to achieve one's dreams and fly on one's wings." The moving documentary has been screened in hundreds of schools around the country. Angad hopes that studying political science and film at Columbia University will help him continue to use media as a tool to change the world.

2012 WINNER

Roslyn Heights, NY (Roslyn High )

Alex knew that millions of children in the developing world fail to get the kind of science, math and health education that they desperately need to address their society's problems because they are illiterate, and fail to attend school regularly because of health problems. Alex developed an animated cartoon curriculum for teaching science, math and healthcare to elementary school children; he also created an organization, Giving from the Ground Up, to distribute both the curriculum and healthcare supplies and to fund the building of wells for clean water near schools. His cartoon-animated curriculum is being used in two villages in Ghana, Giving from the Ground Up has also built wells and delivered toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other supplies. Currently a high school junior, Alex hopes to expand this ambitious initiative to other parts of the developing world. He plans to study film and history in college.

2012 WINNER

Woodbridge, CT, Amity Regional High

The guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics over the last decade emphasize avoiding food allergens in early childhood to avoid irritating young children's sensitive digestive tracts. But Zizi suspected these guidelines were wrong and that the opposite was true: that "lack of exposure allergens and pathogens in the first few years of life could result in under-activization of the immune system and a subsequent lack of tolerance even for ordinary, innocuous substances." Zizi tested her theory by surveying the diet and allergy history reported by parents of 258 children between the ages of 14 and 18. She hopes her research will help prompt pediatricians to re-evaluate their guidelines. She plans to study biology or environmental engineering at Yale University.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Flushing, NYMiddlebury College

Troubled by women's vulnerability to domestic violence around the world, Rana, a black belt in karate, founded "Unbreakable Strength," a women's empowerment program that has used dialogue and instruction in self-defense to help at-risk young women in New York and Mexico. Rana is freshman majoring in political science at Middlebury College.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Bronx, NY (La Guardia Community College)

Knowing first-hand the isolation that made being an undocumented immigrant youth so difficult, Martina helped create a space "where undocumented immigrants can come together, speak about their situation without fear, and feel part of the community," and also developed a website that provides them with current information about immigration issues. Martina is studying social science and humanities at LaGuardia Community College

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Hamden, CT (Hamden High)

Passionate about making the next generation aware of the importance of sustainable food, Hillary developed an innovative class for seven- to nine-year-olds at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Ct. that included planting a "pizza" garden and learning how to dry and preserve food. Hillary will study agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Southbury, CT (Pomperaug High)

Mary's six-month-old sister suffered from severe eczema that was aggravated by the tiny cast she had to wear on her arm, that she used as "a personal face scratcher." To prevent her sister from scratching herself raw with her cast and tiny fingernails, Mary sewed long sleeves stitched together at the bottom, made of soft fabric, to all the baby's shirts, allowing her to move freely without being able to scratch herself. Within a week her condition improved greatly. Mary will study marine biology and psychology at the University of Miami.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Flushing, NY (John Browne High)

Long intrigued by research on the roots of obesity, Shanawaj designed an experimental research proposal, persuaded local college professor in a local college to mentor him, and got biotech companies to donate materials he needed for his experiments. The result was an innovative study of the correlation between body mass index and the frequency of certain gut bacteria in mice. Shanawaj will study biology at Stony Brook University.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Astoria, NY (Health Professions High)

Aware of the high rate of violence against women in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Moussaffa sought and received funding from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women to help her and her team create compounds in Bangladesh and Pakistan that would be safe spaces for victims of domestic abuse. She will be studying pharmacy or biochemistry at Long Island University.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Brooklyn, NY (Poly Prep)

When Struck by the lack of any forum in which students at Poly Prep could discuss issues of diversity in constructive ways, Ayisha founded L.E.A.D.( "Listen. Educate. Appreciate Diversity."). It has markedly increased communication on sensitive issues at her school. Ayisha plans to attend Colgate University.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Brooklyn, NY (Stuyvesant High)

Melissa was troubled by the urban air pollution she encountered in New York and during a trip to China. She hopes that the innovative research she conducted on whether green roofs could reduce microscopic particles in the air that contribute to respiratory or cardiovascular disorders will encourage the city to support the construction of many more green roofs. Melissa plans to study environmental science at Columbia.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

Brookline, MA (Brookline High)

Although the state budget cuts affected all youth across the state, young people in the suburbs and the city had never seen their fates as linked until Jacob and some fellow teenagers founded an organization to unite urban and suburban youth in fighting against these cuts together. The organization, YMORE—Youth of Massachusetts Organizing for a Reformed Economy—successfully lobbied the legislature to restore some of the cuts. Jacob plans to major in environmental studies or political science at Yale.

2012 HONORABLE MENTION

New York, NY (Trinity School)

Despite the fact that one-sixth of the world's population lives in rural China, Grace found that there was no organization devoted to helping children there get an education. The organization Grace founded--Under the Same Sky-- has raised funds to send 30 children in Yunnan and Shanxi to school. Currently a high school junior, Grace plans to major in Molecular and Cell Biology and minor in literature before entering an MD/PhD program.