The district is proud to congratulate the learners who participated in the Stony Brook University Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS) second annual competition.
Students from kindergarten through twelfth grade made one-minute videos to celebrate historic women in science. Out of 95 entries from across New York State, six Mineola learners were selected as finalists with three taking home awards.
Winning third place at the competition were Julia D'amico, a seventh grader at Mineola Middle School and Valerie D'amico, a third grader at Jackson Avenue. Julia and Valerie won for their research on Rosalind Franklin, who played a part in discovering DNAs double helical structure. The sisters conducted an experiment to extract DNA from a strawberry.
Hampton Street second grader Lucy Samarco won honorable mention for her research on Margaret E. Knight, who had 27 patents and 100 inventions and was called “Lady Edison.” Knight developed the machine that created the flat bottomed paper bag, which is still in use today.
Other Mineola finalists included Leah and Riley Goncalves, from Hampton Street and Jackson Avenue, who presented their research on Marie Curie and radioactive decay, and Margaret Gillespie from Hampton Street for her research on Rosalind Franklin and her DNA discoveries.
The district is proud of the amazing learners who put care and effort in their research presentations and impressed the judges with their knowledge and confidence. The district is also grateful to their proud teachers, Ms. Carlson and Ms. Richards, who inspired them to participate and share their inquisitive nature every day, giving all learners the tools to be exceptional science scholars.
You can view each of the finalist videos below:
Date Added: 3/5/2025