2013 WINNER

Bethel High School, Bethel, CT

Pigeons are smart, social birds who can distinguish shape and number, get lonely, and experience grief. How do they recognize each other when they are too far apart to be seen? Building on her talent for math, music, and patterns, Aiden devised a methodology that allowed her to demonstrate that male pigeons have distinctive individual signature calls by which other pigeons recognize them. Aiden plans to major in Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut.

2013 WINNER

Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies, Brooklyn, NY

Knowing from personal experience the ways in which a negative body image can affect a young person's self-esteem and self-worth, Luis wrote a screenplay and directed a film that treated the subject with humor and compassion. Luis plans to attend the University of Southern California.

2013 WINNER

Danbury High School, Danbury, CT

Living in a region plagued by ticks carrying Lyme Disease, Ryan wanted to develop an environmentally-safe way to control the tick population. After collecting ticks by using himself as bait in forested areas near his home and collecting engorged ticks from his neighbors' dogs, Ryan devised experiments that proved the that introducing microscopic roundworms (nematodes) into the soil could effectively decrease tick populations. He plans to major in Statistics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard.

2013 WINNER

Common Ground High School, New Haven, CT

Troubled by the fact that senior citizens in his city have little access to healthy, fresh, affordable produce, Alejandro was the leader of a team project in his school, "Fresh Food Heroes", that distributed fruits and vegetables grown by students at the school and by local farmers to senior homes and shelters at subsidized cost through "mobile markets." Alejandro plans to major in Computer Science at the University of Connecticut.

2013 WINNER

Greenwich High, Greenwich, CT

How can you make a better brick? Or at least a more energy-efficient one? Lindsey experimented and came up with a novel approach using a secret ingredient: coffee grounds! By mixing coffee grounds into the bricks before they were fired, she discovered that minute air pockets were created, adding significantly to the bricks' ability to retain heat or cold. Lindsey plans to major in Engineering at Cornell University. WATCH VIDEO

2013 WINNER

Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry, NY

Summer trips to India underlined for Ankeeta both the dire effects of hunger and the challenge of transporting food with high nutritional value over long distances. While the shelf-life of cucumbers is commonly extended with a petroleum-based wax, Ankeeta did experiments to demonstrate that a natural, healthy, edible coating worked just as well. She plans to major in chemistry at Barnard.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Century High School, Rochester, Minnesota

Xiuqi devised tests that determined which forms of algae were best suited to the bioremediation of crude oil spills. He plans to major in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Eleanor Roosevelt High School, New York

Leslie designed "The Umbrella Canopy," an ingenious and attractive solution to the problem of daytime heat in the large open courtyard of an art museum. She plans to major in Architecture/Interior Design Savannah College of Art and Design.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire

Meggan created an inventive public service video designed to help young women resist the tyranny of images of "perfect" female beauty projected by mass-circulation women's magazines and embrace more realistic and healthy ideas about who they are. She plans to study at the Clive Davis Institute of Music at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Commack High School, Commack, New York

Susan developed a series of imaginative pieces of playground equipment designed for children with cerebral palsy. She plans to study neuroscience or biology at Columbia University.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Bronx High School of Science, Bronx, New York

Casey conducted a clever research project to determine the most effective method for predicting a person's risk of getting pancreatic cancer. She plans to major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry, NY

Ryan pursued innovative research on stem cells that could lead to the development of non-addictive pain medication. He plans to major in Cellular Biology at Yale.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Bronx High School of Science & Townsend Harris High School, Flushing, NY

Anna constructed a creative mathematical model for evolution. She plans to major in Physics at Brown University.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Arlington High School, Lagrangeville, NY and Marist College

Inspired by the support of her fellow athletes in her own recovery from a brain tumor, Jacklyn created a foundation that pairs children battling brain tumors with collegiate and high school sports teams throughout the country to help them motivate and inspire each other.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Belen Jesuit Prep, Miami

Miles took recycling to a new level by creating strikingly original and attractive fashions out of materials that are normally discarded, such as biodegradable rope, plastic bags and twigs. He will study Strategic Design and Management at Parsons the New School for Design.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Staten Island Tech, Staten Island, NY

Eileen creatively researched the relationship between the number of trees and the ozone levels in high schools in her community, leading to successful efforts to remediate the air quality surrounding her school by planting more trees. She plans to major in Environmental Engineering at Manhattan College.

2013 HONORABLE MENTION

Amity Regional High School, Amity, CT

Shiyu conducted original research to better detect vulnerabilities and risk factors for heart disease. Her findings have the potential to help deter progressive heart failure and better detect "silent" heart attacks before they cause irreversible damage. She plans to double-major in Finance and Biology at New York University.