Jinju Yi, Plainview Old-Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview, New York and Vijay Jain, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, New York
Middle States Region Silver Medal Winners

Surface Molecular Imprinting of a Nanoscale Tansducer for the Rapid Detection of Bioterrorist Agents and Early Diagnosis of Cancer

In their bioengineering project, Jinju Yi and Vijay Jain created a biosensing mechanism that might one day aid in the detection of viruses, early signs of cancer, and bioterrorist agents. Their research constructed an improved approach to the fabrication and use of potentiometric sensing for cancer-marker proteins and viral capsids. Their mentors were Dr. Yantian Wang, Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, Marylou O'Donnell, Rebecca Isseroff, Charles Duggan and Karim Gangji.

Jinju Yi, a senior, is fluent in Korean and enjoys playing the piano and drums, as well as playing and performing traditional Korean dances and instruments. A member of the National Honor Society and National Art Honor Society, Ms. Yi's previous honors include the 2006 Regional Ricoh Sustainable Development Award in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair and the National Society of Professional Engineers Innovative Engineering Award. She anticipates majoring in chemistry or psychology.

Vijay Jain, a senior, is fluent in Hindi and Spanish. He is a recipient of the Herbert Hoover Young Engineers Presidential Libraries Award and was selected as one of two U.S. Representatives for the 39th Joint Schools Science Exhibition in Hong Kong, China. Mr. Jain is treasurer of the student council, managing editor of his school newspaper and president of the Diversity Club. He enjoys tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, piano and violin, and has performed with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra. Potential majors include biophysics and applied mathematics.