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2009 Siemens Competition Regional Winners Announced at The University of Texas at Austin; Will Move on to National Finals for Chance at $100,000 Peter Hu Wins Top Individual Prize; Sean Karson, Dan Liu and Kevin Chen Win Top Team Prize.

Research projects in the areas of materials science and mathematics scored top marks this evening, as Peter Hu of Denton, Texas and the team of Sean Karson of Winter Park, Florida, Dan Liu of Austin, Texas and Kevin Chen of Missouri City, Texas received the highest honors at the Region Two Finals of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s premier high school science competition.

Tonight’s winners will receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships and be invited to compete at the National Finals in New York City on December 3-7, where the winners of six regional competitions across the United States will vie for scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the top prize of $100,000. The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, is administered by the College Board.

“These students have just earned their place among the nation’s greatest high school scientists,” said James Whaley, President of the Siemens Foundation, based in Iselin, New Jersey. “Each year, the students’ work becomes more impressive, and in a record-setting year such as this one, their achievements become even more outstanding. We are proud to welcome them into our family of Siemens Scholars and look forward to their participation at the national finals in New York City.”

The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges from The University of Texas at Austin, host of the Siemens Competition Region Two Finals.

Individual Winner

Peter Hu, a senior at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in Denton, Texas, won the individual category and a $3,000 college scholarship for his materials science project that aimed to develop a novel and biologically compatible material for protein drug delivery. While similar delivery systems for therapeutic proteins are known in scientific literature, many of these materials were found to be carcinogenic. Mr. Hu’s research, titled Novel Thermogelling Dispersions of Polymer Nanoparticles for Controlled Drug Delivery, focused on an alternative FDA-approved material to mimic the behavior of these previous delivery systems, effectively avoiding prior toxicity issues.

“While all of the projects were very impressive today, Mr. Hu’s research was successful on many levels,” said Dr. Christopher Bielawski, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. “This research project established a key proof of concept in the laboratory and the materials presented are poised for examination in living systems. Mr. Hu’s work is very advanced and comparable to that of a second or third year graduate student; with minimal tweaks, this research project stands an excellent chance at being published in a top-tier scientific journal and will likely make quite a splash in many scientific communities.”

Mr. Hu is a senior who aspires to one day lead a research team at a university or facility, such as the National Cancer Institute. Currently, he is the Vice President of the Junior Engineering Technical Society, and is organizing a science demonstration team in order to promote interest in math and science among elementary and middle school students. Mr. Hu is also a member of his school’s Research Organization.

Both of Mr. Hu’s parents are physicists, spurring his interest in science at a young age. In addition to his academic pursuits, Mr. Hu plays piano and violin, as well as basketball and table tennis in his free time. His mentor for this research project was Professor Liping Tang of the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Team Winners

Sean Karson, a senior at Trinity Prepatory High School in Winter Park, Florida; Dan Liu, a junior at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School in Austin, Texas; and Kevin Chen, a junior at William P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas, won the team category and will share a $6,000 college scholarship for their mathematics project entitled Relating Missing and Decycling Edges in Directed Graphs. The team’s mathematics project has the potential to increase efficiency in real world networks by establishing an upper bound on the minimum number of connections that must be removed to destroy all cyclic pathways in systems like the World Wide Web and transcontinental trade routes.

“The team’s work was truly impressive in that it focused on a topic in pure mathematics,” said Dr. Haskell Rosenthal, John T. Stuart III Centennial Professor Emeritus in Mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin. “With new and delicate techniques, they have advanced the infrastructure and knowledge of graph theory by providing better bounds, which is of fundamental importance to the mathematics community. Their depth of knowledge was remarkable, and their work was on the same level of that of a Ph.D.”

Mr. Karson is a senior who has received Excellence Awards for Honors Computer Programming C++, Graphics I, Honors Chemistry, Honors Precalculus, AP JAVA and AP Chemistry. He has also received the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Math & Science Award, and is recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist. Mr. Karson is Captain of the Quiz Bowl Team, President of Mu Alpha Theta, a member of the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society and volunteers for the Center of Math, Arts and Science Achievement. He has also received the Varsity Baseball Coach’s Award and the Most Valuable Defensive Player Award, and has been the starting third baseman on the Varsity Baseball Team since his sophomore year. Mr. Karson has also leveraged his love of puzzles to create a club called Rubik’s Revenge, aimed to teach middle school students how to solve Rubik’s Cubes.

Mr. Liu is a junior who aspires to one day become a computer or electronics engineer or programmer. He is currently Vice President of the InvenTeams Club, Co-Director of his school’s Math Team, and a member of the Liberal Arts and Science Academy’s (LASA) National Honor Society Chapter. Mr. Liu is also a part of the LASA Camerata Orchestra and Science Olympiad Team. He is a part of the Circle C Swim Team, and also plays badminton and ping-pong.

Mr. Chen is a junior and is a member of his school’s Mu Alpha Theta, Junior Engineering Technical Society and Computer Science Team.  He is also an active volunteer at a local middle school Math Club. Mr. Chen’s dad is a computer engineer and has taught mathematics and physics in the past, playing a large role in sparking his interest in math when he was young. His mother is also very encouraging and supportive of his passion for math and science, helping to foster his current academic interests. He enjoys practicing piano, playing tennis and programming games in his free time.

The team’s mentor was Dr. Jian Shen, Professor of Mathematics at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Regional Finalists
Regional Finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship.

Regional Finalists in the individual category were:
–  Sai Achi, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
–  Somak Das, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
–  Prianka Ghoshal, Westlake High School, Austin, TX

–  Sahil Khetpal, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX

Regional Finalists in the team category were:
–  Fayen Bastani and Jonathan Lin, Jasper High School, Plano, TX
–  Sumit Gogia and Patrick Kim, The Science Academy of South Texas,
Mercedes, TX; and Vincent Yu, Sha Tin College, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
–  Sunil Pai, The Kinkaid School, Houston TX; and Aneesh Sampath, Ward
Melville High School, East Setauket, NY

–  Tianjiao (Tom) Zhang and Liang Gu, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX

The Siemens Competition

The Siemens Competition was launched in 1998 to recognize America’s best and brightest math and science students. In another record-setting year, 2,151 students registered to enter the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in 2009 – more than ever before – for a total of 1,348 project submissions – a 14% increase in project submissions over 2008 figures and more than a 12% increase in the number of registrations.

Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at six leading research universities which host the regional competitions: California Institute of Technology; Carnegie Mellon University; Georgia Institute of Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Notre Dame; and The University of Texas at Austin.

Winners of the regional events are invited to compete at the National Finals at New York University in New York City, December 3 – December 7, 2009. Visit www.siemens-foundation.org on December 7, 2009 at 9:30 am EST to view a live webcast of the National Finalist Award Presentation. You can also log into and follow the Siemens Foundation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SFoundation) for the latest information and announcements throughout this year’s competition.

About the Siemens Foundation

The Siemens Foundation provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math in the United States. Its signature programs, the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology and Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, reward exceptional achievement in science, math and technology. The newest program, The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, encourages K-12 students to develop innovative green solutions for environmental issues. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow’s scientists and engineers. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens’ U.S. companies and its parent company, Siemens AG.

For further information, visit www.siemens-foundation.org.

The College Board

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness, college admission, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.

For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com.

Energy issues are currently being faced by almost every country today. One possible answer is hydrogen fuel. But can hydrogen be really used for fuel?

If people want to use hydrogen for fuel, then there is a need to create usable hydrogen and one way to do that is through chocolate production.

Whenever hydrogen fuel is mentioned, techies, scientists, and even politicians seem to have a glassed look. Honestly speaking, hydrogen can be considered as the perfect fuel. If combined with an oxygen molecule, electricity can be produced. Perhaps you’re already aware that hydrogen makes up the largest part of the atmosphere. If it can be used to generate energy, then pollution and greenhouse gases can be reduced. Does that sound great or what?

However, one problem faced by scientists and researchers is that most of the hydrogen found in the atmosphere is not usable. Oftentimes, hydrogen sticks to another element and a very good example is water (H2O). Great power is required whenever hydrogen is separated from another element.

Honda is among the leaders in the auto industry and currently, they are testing hydrogen powered vehicles on the road. In the US, some families are experimenting with such vehicles. According to the test runs, the cars efficiently work but the main problem is powering the cars. In order to give the car power, the families should take their car to a specialized Honda facility. The facility has solar panels and a tank of hydrogen. At the moment, this set up might work but what if millions of cars are already using hydrogen fuel? Problems will surely arise.

At present, solar power is the most efficient way of creating usable hydrogen although there are still other conversion methods. As mentioned earlier, usable hydrogen can also be created through chocolate production. This may sound humorous to some but in the United Kingdom, a number of scientists discovered this fact. In the production of chocolates, there are waste products and these wastes can be used to produce usable hydrogen.

The chocolate waste needs to be treated with a certain bacteria called ‘e coli’. The treatment will in turn produce hydrogen. Further studies are still being conducted with regards to the use of chocolate waste products to create usable hydrogen.

If in the future the process can be proven quite effective, the chocolate factories are bound to play a very important role in producing hydrogen to be used as fuel. This is great news since more and more people are now aware of the great uses of hydrogen fuel. Now, since there are a lot of chocolate factories around the world, it only means that more usable hydrogen can be created. The next step is to teach chocolate factories how to treat the wastes from chocolate production with e coli.

The advanced technology of today has greatly helped in conducting complicated studies especially in hydrogen production. With the joint efforts of private establishments and various governments, the use of hydrogen for fuel will become more popular and affordable.

Now, every family can help in preserving the planet. With a lot of problems surfacing due to excessive pollution and greenhouse gases, the use of hydrogen for fuel might be the best answer and solution. Why not try using hydrogen as well?

A lot of people are looking for certain options that could help them save money. A great portion of the monthly budget is allotted for gasoline expenses. Now, there is an effective way of cutting down gas expenses and that is through a hydrogen-assist fuel cell.

You already know what hydrogen is and that it makes up a large portion of the Earth’s atmosphere. However, not all the hydrogen present here on Earth are usable as fuel. The hydrogen must first be converted into a usable form before people can benefit from it.

For many years, scientists and researchers have looked for efficient and effective sources of energy. One of the possible solutions for today’s energy crisis is hydrogen. Hydrogen can be turned into usable fuel that can be used in modern homes and even vehicles.

In fact, some cars now have fuel cells. The cars make use of hydrogen fuel. The fuel cells are not as expensive as you think. If you like to build things, then you can certainly build a hydrogen-assist fuel cell. Try to conduct a research and know the different parts of a fuel cell that is used in cars. Once you determine the parts, you can now purchase them in a local hardware store. The parts are not that complicated, so don’t you worry.

If you think that shopping for fuel cell parts is quite hard, then you have another option. You can purchase a fuel cell kit. The parts needed to build the fuel cell are already included on the kit as well as an instruction manual. What you need to do is to read the instructions carefully before you touch the various fuel cell parts. As much as possible, you must know what you’re doing so that there will be no room for mistakes. You can’t afford to make a mistake; otherwise, the fuel cell will not work.

A typical car fuel cell is made up of a water container, vacuum hose, electrical wirings, and baking soda. You have to connect the parts the proper way for it to be effective. You should be able to connect the HHO generator to the car battery. Most cars that use hydrogen fuel today still use gas. In fact, if they can’t find a hydrogen station, the car will still run on gas. The cars are often called hybrid cars or dual- tank cars.

Hydrogen-assist fuel cell is not difficult to build. But if this is your first time to do a DIY activity, it would be best to get a fuel cell kit so that everything you need is already there. From the parts to the instruction manual; so don’t settle for using gas to power your car engine. Why not try using hydrogen fuel instead? You can even use both gasoline and hydrogen fuel.

If you’re able to build a fuel cell, you will notice that the gasoline costs are not as high as it used to be. You will only purchase gasoline if you run out of hydrogen fuel in the middle of nowhere. But you know, water is available almost anywhere. Most fuel cells use water since it contains hydrogen.

The car is powered efficiently and you can even double the distance of your driving. Plus, you don’t contribute to the pollution that pesters the human race for many years now.

Try out the hydrogen-assist fuel cell now.

Hydrogen as fuel for motor vehicles, is this a great idea? As early as 1970s, plans for hydrogen powered vehicles have been in the works. Scientists and researchers believe that these cars can change the future. People know for a fact that there is great abundance of hydrogen and unlike fossil fuels, scarcity is not a problem. With regards to exhaust emissions, it cannot increase the presence of greenhouse gases here on Earth.

Environmentalists love the idea of hydrogen fuel and no one can really tell what will happen in the near future. However, according to some studies, improper production of hydrogen fuel can emit nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxides can add to global warming since it causes acid rain. This can be prevented and minimized through appropriate engine timing as well as optimized hydrogen concentration.

Hydrogen cars can use the alternative fuel using two approaches. The first approach will be to use fuel cells and the other one is to modify the internal combustion engine of your car.

Hybrid cars can either use gasoline and hydrogen. Two tanks are found in the car; one for gas and the other for hydrogen. Dual tanks are recommended at present because hydrogen stations are uncommon. In the whole US alone, there are only over 100 hydrogen stations. With two tanks, you can refuel with gasoline and the car will still run. This is a practical way of conquering the road and at the same time, cutting down gas costs.

With the use of fuel cells, you can double the range run of your motor vehicle. You will simply use water and the hydrogen there will react with oxygen. Water vapor is produced as well as the needed electricity to power the motor vehicle.

The problem seen by experts when using hydrogen as fuel for motor vehicles is that it’s not actually an independent fuel. It basically stores energy. The power needed should be extracted from hydrogen and presently, the process involves the use of fossil fuels.

Storing hydrogen in the motor vehicle is also a great consideration. The hydrogen should always be in liquid form and to do this, the temperature should be maintained at 253 degrees Celsius. If the temperature gets warmer, hydrogen will soon be in gas form. Tremendous insulated tanks are needed as well as venting systems.

Only when the possible problems are solved can the world fully benefit from hydrogen powered vehicles. Aside from that, hydrogen stations should be increased so that the car owners can easily refuel when they ran out of hydrogen. Perhaps the hydrogen motor vehicles used at present are quite expensive but in the future, perhaps more affordable hydrogen powered vehicles will be offered to the pubic.

In fact, popular car manufacturers like General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Ford, etc. are designing hydrogen powered motor vehicles that are priced similar to ordinary gas-consuming vehicles.

People can only hope that the so-called future cars will be a reality. If you want to experience using hydrogen as fuel, you can have your car converted. With dual tanks, you can save money and just in case you can’t find a hydrogen station, you can always refuel with gasoline.

Hydrogen as fuel for motor vehicles will definitely be a big hit in the coming years. For now, try to help save the environment with other means.