The 8^th annual Chemagination contest, sponsored by the Princeton & Trenton Sections of the American Chemical Society took place on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at Princeton University, Friend Center Convocation Room, Princeton, NJ.   This contest for high school students is designed to stimulate students’ creativity and interest in chemistry.  It helps them develop their skills in team building and public speaking, strengths that will serve them well in the future.  Teams of 2-3 students are asked to imagine an innovation 25 years in the future that help people’s lives.  They must write an article about the innovation in the categories of Alternate Energy, Environment, Medicine/Healthcare or New Materials and explain the science of the innovation to the judges.

This year, 15 teams from 5 high schools participated.  The faculty advisors and schools were Dr. Dan Allen, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Ms Karen Galley, West Windsor-Plainsboro HS South, Ms Julie Norato, West Windsor-Plainsboro HS North, Ms Carol Peabody, Delaware Valley Regional High School, and Dr. Lillian Rankel, Hopewell Valley Central High School.

Prizes were awarded for 1^st and 2^nd place in each category.  Dr. Barbara Ameer, Dr. Schuyler Antane, Dr. James DeNoble, Dr. Jinping Gan, Dr. Paul Sanders, and Dr. Randy Weintraub volunteered to serve as judges.

The competing entries in each category were:

Alternate Energy

• “Harnessing Volcano Power”, M. Ryan Fredericks, Ian McQueary and Ravi Prakriya, Hopewell Valley Regional High School 

• “Thirst for Energy: Quantum Dots Hit the Spot”, Shawn Carrick, Alex Huang and Samir Koppolu, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South

• “Plasma Power: Discovering Plasma Technology”, Jason Li, Albert Lu and Henry Wang, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

Medicine/Healthcare

• “An End to Kidney Stones: Sustulero, The New Miracle”, Carey Glenn, Sophie Guenin and Hannah Hirsh, Hopewell Valley Regional High School

• “Cancer Vaccines: The Cure for Cancer”, Alex Huang, Leanna Zhan, Hopewell Valley Regional High School

• “Cancer's Demise: Using HDAC Inhibitors to Treat Cancer”, Neeli Mishra and Maria Vincent, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South

• “Being in Balance!: A Holistic Approach to Prevention”, Ashwin Amurthur, Satyajeet Pal and Abhinay Tumati, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South

• “Weight Management Meets Technology”, Neil Bedi, Sanjana Manikandan and Lisa Pahi, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

• “Can Three Pills a Day Help Stop World Hunger?”, Nina Eckel, Lauren Jones and Luke Sabor, Delaware Valley Regional High School

• "From Designer Clothes to Designer Enzymes”, Isha Desai, Ishaan Desai and Kathy Hoe, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

Environment

• “CO₂: Culprit Turned Conqueror”, Ryan Currie and Dina Gold, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

• “Below the Dirt: of Bacteria and Toxins”, Alica Feng, Renuka Reddy and Felix Xiao, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

• “Tackling Climate Changes Through Carbon Capture”, Abishy Pandita, Kevin Zhang and Michael Zhuang, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

New Materials

• “Light Sandwich for Healthy Living”, Nicole Conover and Tara Raj, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

• “Spray-On Solar Cells”, Gabby Underhill and Michael Donnelly, Delaware Valley Regional High School

The teams’ hard work was reflected in the quality of the entries and it was difficult selecting the winners from among them.  While the scores were being tallied and winners determined, the participants and guests attended a Chemistry Demonstration by Dr. Kathryn Wagner of Princeton University.

The Contest Winners were:

Alternate Energy:

First Place: Shawn Carrick, Alex Huang and Samir Koppolu

Second Place: Jason Li, Albert Lu and Henry Wang

Environment:

First Place: Alica Feng, Renuka Reddy and Felix Xiao

Second Place: Ryan Currie and Dina Gold

New Materials:

First Place: Nicole Conover and Tara Raj

Second Place: Gabby Underhill and Michael Donnelly

Medicine/Healthcare:

First Place: Carey Glenn, Sophie Guenin and Hannah Hirsh

Second Place: Isha Desai, Ishaan Desai and Kathy Hoe

First and second place team members received $50 and $25 B&N gifts certificates respectively.  All participants were given Chemagination t-shirts. The First place winners went on to compete in the regional competition sponsored by the MARM Executive Board of the American Chemical Society. It was held on Saturday, April 10, 2010at the 41st Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Hotel du Pont, Wilmington DE.

The executive committees of the Princeton and Trenton Sections of the ACS wish to thank Dr. Kathryn Wagner for a great Chemistry Show, Allen Jones our photographer, and all of the students, teachers, judges, parents and other volunteers that made this contest a success.