Science Contest Finalist Almost Didn't Take Research Course

CARMEL, NY — A Carmel High School student who's been named one of the top high-school scientists in the country almost didn't take the course that led to her being named a Regeneron Science Talent Search finalist for her work revealing regional patterns in Arctic climate change.

Rebecca Monge is among the 40 finalists selected from more than 1,760 highly qualified entrants from across the country based on the scientific rigor of their projects and their potential to "become world-changing scientists," contest officials said. SEE: 3 Hudson Valley Seniors Named Regeneron Science Contest Finalists

"As a first-generation American and a person of color, the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the doors that it has opened have been a dream come true," Monge told Patch.

Monge analyzed and plotted climate change data and revealed areas of Norway and Greenland that are key drivers of warming at higher latitudes. Her focus on zonal influences may offer an effective mitigation path for Arctic warming, contest officials said. Her project title: Polar Amplification in CMIP6 Models: Projections, Mechanisms, and Regional Patterns.

Monge is completing her senior year at Carmel High School as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

"It has had challenges; personally, I prefer in-person learning over of virtual learning," she told Patch. "I find that making efforts to stay positive have helped a lot. All in all, I am doing my best to continue learning, as I plan to attend a four-year research university this fall."

She's had one acceptance and is waiting to hear back from other institutions before she commits, but wherever she goes, she plans to study Earth and Planetary Sciences or Environmental Sciences, perhaps minoring in public policy or race and ethnicity studies.

Just by merit of being named finalists, Monge and her 39 confreres will be awarded at least $25,000. The final competition among the 40 coming up will lead to awards for the top 10 winners ranging from $40,000 to the top prize of $250,000. That's in addition to the $2,000 each student received for being named a Scholar, which also included $2,000 for each of their schools.

She talked to Patch about taking Carmel High School's 3-year science research course, which led to the award.

Patch: What made you decide, as a sophomore, to go that route?

Monge: As a freshman, I actually never planned to join Science Research (this program begins during sophomore year, but applications open in the spring of freshman year). I was actually out sick on the day where Mrs. Griffin, my research teacher, presented to freshman about joining the program, so I initially wasn’t interested. However, a few of my Cross-Country team captains were in the program, and they spoke very highly of it. I even participated in one of their running studies, which allowed me to get a better understanding of what the program entails. So, my friends and I were motivated to apply. Having them, including my twin brother, become interested in Science Research alongside me definitely encouraged me to try it out.

Patch: Would you recommend it to 9th graders trying to decide what their high school career will look like?

Monge: I can’t emphasize how strongly I would recommend Science Research to freshman! If there’s anything to take away from my story, it’s that you don’t need to go into the program with a solid research interest, or even a solid plan. I joined because it sounded fun. The program is set up to help you narrow down even the broadest of interests into research plans, so no matter what you enter knowing, you’ll be able to turn your knowledge into results with time and effort. I went in with a really vast array of interests, with climate studies (my current topic) being low on my list of potential ideas. Now, I can’t imagine my life without my current interest in climate change, so I really encourage freshman to think about joining. You never know where you might end up!

Patch: When and how did you figure out your research topic?

Monge: My sophomore year, we had an assignment to reach out to potential mentors. I was lucky enough to receive a response from a climate scientist at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory that referred me to my mentor, Dr. Lori Sentman. She helped me conduct my first project, which modelled Lyme disease and its climatic factors! A year later, when COVID-19 canceled many of my junior year plans, I asked Dr. Sentman if there were any remote research opportunities at the lab. She referred me to Dr. Aparna Radhakrishnan, who specialized in the computing aspects of climate change research. I worked with Dr. Radhakrishnan over the summer, building Python-based cataloguing systems for the lab. Around July, I realized that this work may aid in climate research, so I approached both my mentors to see how this might work. Weeks of literature review and frequent discussions later, I decided to focus this new project topic on polar amplification. With my mentors’ support, I continued to synthesize research questions, until I landed on my current one.

Patch: What was the most fun?

Monge: The best part of my project was creating the zonal mean maps! I had to write a program that would plot the information in climate data files to do this, which took weeks of analyzing. Being able to transform these numbers and lines of code into colorful, detailed maps of the Arctic really was an amazing experience. My data includes climate model predictions of the future, specifically the year 2100, so it was really incredible to see the future laid out on my computer screen. This moment made all the hard work and late nights really feel worth it.

Patch: What was hardest?

Monge: The hardest part of my project was teaching myself Python. I have never done computer science prior to this project, and in order to analyze climate data, I had to learn this programming language. This definitely didn’t come easy to me; I spent a lot of time researching its documentation, watching lectures, and asking my mentors for advice. I think spending a lot of my summer in order to get this knowledge of Python helped tremendously, as the programming became easier with experience. Such coding is definitely crucial in research, beyond climate science, so although it wasn’t easy, I’m glad I have this skill for my future work.

SEE ALSO: 33 Hudson Valley Students Named Regeneron Scholars