Two dozen high school seniors across North Shore public school districts were named semifinalists in the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search–the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
Leading the way was William A. Shine Great Neck South High School with seven students and Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington with five students.
Long Island in total has 50 semifinalists, the most of any region in the country. From the crop of 300 semifinalists, 40 students will be selected as finalists, who are scheduled to be announced Jan. 24. Finalists will show their work to the public, meet with prestigious leaders in the science community in Washington, D.C., and compete for a variety of awards headlined by the $250,000 top prize in March.
The competition, formerly sponsored by Westinghouse and then Intel before its current sponsor, pharmaceutical company Regeneron, is run each year by the Society for Science and the Public, with the goal of finding solutions to the world’s challenges from budding young scientists.
From an initial 2,162 applicants, 300 students across 36 states and China were named scholars in 2024 and will each receive $2,000 along with their respective districts.
Great Neck South is represented by Luke Huang, Brandon Kim, Brian Liu, Helen Tang, Maggie Wu, Alexander Xu and Tiffany Zheng. The school’s science research program is led by Nicole Spinelli and James Truglio.
“The hard work, dedication, creativity and time it takes to have work considered among the best in the nation is truly a reflection of the effort given to the task,” Superintendent Kenneth Bossert said in a statement. “I am certain these aspiring researchers will continue to make significant contributions in their selected areas of interest.”
Schreiber was represented by Hannah Rosenberg, Harrison Roth, Sadie Muller, Tej Parekh and Benjamin Gordon.
“We take immense pride in our five scholars who have demonstrated that their hard work and dedication have been recognized,” Port Washington Superintendent Michael Hynes said. “Their success serves as a shining example of the commitment to excellence deeply ingrained within Paul D. Schreiber High School and the broader Port Washington School District.”
Herricks High School’s semifinalists include Rebbeca Bover, Hiuyi Cheng, Heemali Patel and Kishan Shanmugananthan. Superintendent Tony Sinanis said during the district’s board of education meeting on Jan. 11 that this is a huge recognition for the students and district.
“This speaks to the depth of our science program, our science research program, our kids and their commitment,” Sinanis said.
Roslyn High School’s semifinalists include Jacob Gross, Cayden Shen, and Shayla Zheng. The school’s secondary research coordinator is Allyson Weseley, who said she was proud of the three and that they are “phenomenal students out of a truly remarkable group of 12 Roslyn High School seniors who submitted to Regeneron this year” in a statement.
Rounding out the rest of the North Shore’s scholars, the group includes Claire Tao and Michelle Yu from North Shore High School, Luigi Sartori and Samantha Stewart from Mineola High School and Jack Voelker from Manhasset High School.
The 300 scholars and their respective projects were picked based on research, leadership skills, community involvement and exceptional promise as STEM leaders.
