The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the oldest science research competition in the nation for high school students.  Encouraging thousands of kids around the country to participate, this annual event gives students an opportunity to showcase the innovative concepts they have been investigating.  Five Schreiber High School seniors are among the exceptional group of competitors this year, having earned coveted spots among the top 300.  Their projects, which range from investigating the impact of societal beliefs on geopolitical dynamics to utilizing artificial intelligence for evaluating wildfire danger, demonstrate a mutual dedication to scientific investigation and advancement.  

Senior Hannah Rosenberg was among these five students.  Her research looked specifically into factors that affect Americans’ attitudes towards the Russo Ukrainian War. 

“My project was about how Christian nationalism and antisemitism affects Americans’ opinions toward Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, and the Russo Ukrainian War.  Basically the indirect and direct effects these ideologies have on shaping Americans support towards Russia in the war,” said Rosenberg.

Rosenberg’sdiligent analysis of her data yielded valuable insights that could shape our understanding of societal influences on public opinion.  Her dedication and hard work enabled her to uncover trends that are often overlooked in her field, highlighting the importance of her research.  Rosenberg’s findings have the potential to inform future discussions and decision-making processes regarding geopolitical dynamics and ideological influences.

“I really loved doing my research because my mentor and I were looking at stuff that really isn’t often observed, particularly antisemitism is rarely looked at in this context and we didn’t think we would find such strong evidence of antisemitism having a big impact but we did.  Writing the paper and working on the application was of course tedious but so worth it.  I was motivated by my own interest and connection to the topic – I’m Jewish and my grandparents are immigrants from Russia,.” said Rosenberg.

Senior Sadie Muller was able to pursue her interests and focus her research on behaviors towards climate change.  

“My project looked at climate change on Twitter or X, specifically the behavior of climate change deniers depending on what region of the United States they are from.  I matched tweets to their geographic location with latitude and longitude coordinates using a public dataset and the data analysis platform Gigasheet,” said Muller.

Sadie was also able to deep dive into data in order to make sense of what can cause certain beliefs.  

“My experience with the competition was really positive.  I feel so lucky to have been able to engage in such a meaningful research project and have my work recognized by professionals in the field of social science research.  It was really cool to meet the other 2024 Regeneron scholars and hear about their innovative projects as well,” said Muller.

Senior Tej Parekh, a member of the math research program, titled his project Utilizing Artificial Intelligence for Categorizing Wildfire Origins through Satellite Image Analysis.  The idea is that wildfires stem from one of two ignition sources.  They are either human-caused, or natural-caused.  When they are caused by natural forces, lightning is almost always responsible.  Tej thinks that it’s more effective to focus wildfire risk mitigation resources in areas of high human risk rather than high natural risk, so it’s important to be able to tell what type of fire an area is susceptible to.  

“I created an AI model using something called a convolutional neural network that takes in a satellite image of an area and returns what type of fire that area is most susceptible to.  The hope is that this sort of model could be used to better distribute risk management resources,” said Parekh.

For senior Ben Gordon’s project, Impact of Cannabinoids on Prostaglandin Synthesis in Activated Inflammatory Cells, he worked in a lab researching how different cannabinoids affected the prostaglandin synthesis in activated immune cells in the Endocannabinoid system. Prostaglandin is a molecule that is seen in places of injury, such as bruises, so Gordon’s research can be classified as an anti-inflammation study. To apply for the Regeneron competition, Gordon, along with the other students, had to submit his research paper as well as several other essays about what he wants his future to look like and what he’s interested in.  He also had to submit his test scores and class schedule.

Senior Harrison Roth’s project, ​​Quantitative Implications of Nesting in State Legislatures, looked into a concept called nesting. Nesting is defined as the combination of two or more lower districts to form an upper district. In multiple states in the United States, nesting is used to organize the state house districts and state senate districts.  The majority of these districts are composed of double pairings, with a few states using triple-nested districts to manage their electoral districts.  

“My goal in this research was to determine the implications of nesting, both in theoretical and practical examples,” said Roth.

Specifically, using real-life examples, he studied Illinois in great detail (double-nesting), as well as Wisconsin (triple-nesting).  He found that nested districts produce more fair representation in state legislatures compared to non-nested ones, and are more difficult to gerrymander because of the limited combinations that can be put together.  Nesting also proves to have many other advantages, including easier communication between elected house and senate members, as well as closer ties established between adjacent districts.  Overall, nesting was shown to be an optimal system to implement throughout the country.

Roth’s advice for future researchers is “sticking with it, staying determined to get results, and not giving up if it gets difficult.”

The Regeneron Science Talent Search has illuminated the exceptional talent and dedication of high school students nationwide.  Through their diverse and innovative research projects, Rosenberg, Muller, Parekh, Gordon, and Roth, have demonstrated a deep commitment to scientific inquiry and exploration.  The range of their contributions highlight the flexibility of Schreiber’s research program and how it enables students to pursue their interests. The Regeneron Science Talent Search serves as a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of students across the nation and fosters a culture of curiosity and innovation that will inspire the future generation of scientists.