Watchung Hills Students Gain Recognition in Science, Math Competition

Information and photo from Eleanor Mathews

Two Watchung Hills Regional High School seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Seneca Velling and Zachary Collins, both from the Millington section of Long Hill Township are among a record 2,440 students registered for this year’s competition, which drew a total of 1,599 project submissions.

The two are among only 16 students from New Jersey were named as Semifinalists for the prestigious award, according to information from Watchung Hills High School.

Collins and Velling, who have both been mentored by their  Watchung Hills physics teacher, Dr. Sophia Gershman, for two-and-a-half years so far, competed with some 37.000 students nationwide.

Of  those tens of thousands, 16 were  selected from New Jersey. The WHRHS students' was the only team project chosen from among those from New Jersey.

Jennifer Harper-Taylor, President of the Siemens Foundation, (www.siemens-foundation.org) notified the two semifinalists of their “exceptional achievement” and stated that  “both the semifinalists and their families should take great pride in this outstanding accomplishment.” 

Harper-Taylor said the ranking achieved by these two students clearly demonstrates that they are “exceptional, creative, competitive and brilliant— among the future leaders of American science and engineering.”

The students were among those acknowledged as such in a full-page ad in the Oct. 24 issue of USA Today, are listed in the Siemens Foundation website, and will be acknowledged on a banner to be displayed in the high school lobby. 

The Siemens Competition is regarded by the most prestigious universities as the leading science and math competition for high school students, providing more than $7 million annually since 1999 in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the United States, according to WHRHS. The program acknowledges and rewards America’s best and brightest math and science students for their outstanding  research.

The two students' project, “The Sortation of Granular Materials through Forced Convection,” examines the behavior of fluid mixtures in space, where environmental factors differ from earth. The ability to predict and understand the behavior of fluid mixtures in unfamiliar environments is essential to further exploration of space and growing the space economy, according to the project's creators. “The simulation will next predict fluid flow in micro- and hyper-gravity environments,” say the young scientists.

To verify the simulation results, the experiment has been constructed to fly aboard the Zero-G plane to experience OG (Zero Gravity), 1G and 2G scenarios. The young experimenters hope to apply to NASA for a Zero G flight position.

In December, the students will receive a gift package that they “will enjoy and find useful thanks to their hard work,” concluded the donors, who aded  they are confident the future of the nation is in good hands.