A game changing innovation to mitigate climate change was reported by chemists at Princeton University today---

This could be the headline 25 years from now if innovations imagined by Chemagination 2011 participants come to fruition.   The ninth annual Chemagination contest, sponsored by the Trenton and Princeton Sections of the ACS was held on Saturday, April 9 at Princeton University.

Thirty-five students from three local high schools competed.   Teams of 2-3 students were asked to imagine that they were in the year 2036 and had made a chemistry related discovery that improved people’s lives.  They were to write an article about the innovation for ChemMatters Magazine and prepare the cover page as well.

It takes more that scientific knowledge to translate research into innovations.  This contest is designed to develop other critical skills for tomorrow entrepreneurs such as creativity, teamwork and problem solving.

The submissions had to be in one of four categories: Alternate Energy, New Materials, Environment and Medicine/Health.  In addition to writing the article, the teams had to defend the science behind the innovation during an interview with 2-3 judges.  1st and 2nd prizes were awarded in each category.

During the selection of the winners the students listened to Dr. Donna Huryn, University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Jay Kostman, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine speak about their career paths after receiving BA degrees in Chemistry.

The Princeton and Trenton Sections of the American Chemical Society wish to thank the dedicated science teachers who supervised and encouraged the efforts of their students: Dr. Dan Allen from Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Ms Carol Peabody from Delaware Valley Regional High School and Ms Julie Norato from West Windsor-Plainsboro HS North. 

We also extend our sincere thanks to our judges Derk Huibers, Allen Jones, Jack McCaskie, Allen Puchalski, Hao Wang, and Randy Weintraub, to Dr. Donna Huryn and Dr. Jay Kostman for their well received presentation and Bruce Kubanoff for helping in so many ways. 

First place winners will go on to compete in the Regional Chemagination Contest to be held at the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (MARM) on Saturday, May 21, 2011.  MARM is being hosted by the Chemical Society of Washington and will take place on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

And the winners are:

First Place:

Alternate Energy: Jessica Li, Sanjana Padmanabhan and Pranitha Rayapudi, “The Power of the Whale”, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

Environment: Ben Cahill, Anna Meh Feindt and Carlie Skellington “From Black to Green”, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

Medicine/Health: Haley Johnson and Hannah Menard, “Allergenie”, Delaware Valley Regional High School

New Materials: Peter Chi, Anup Regunathan and Saavanth Velury “Nature's Power Plant - The Ongoing Story of Mankind's Quest to Harness the Sun, and What it Means for You.”, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

Second Place:

Alternate Energy: Sheena Desai, Robbie Luttrell and Harinee Suthakar , “Fueling Future Technology”, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

Environment: Erica Louie, Daniel Rose and Alex Niemann “Devouring the CO2 Crisis: Can a Microbe Really Cure the Earth's Carbon Dioxide Woes?”, , Delaware Valley Regional High School

Medicine/Health: Eric Bedard, Will Britt and Emily Campbell, “The Amazon: Discovery Leads to a Revolutionary Innovation”, Delaware Valley Regional High School

New Materials: David Carr, Stephanie Eng and Paula Adhikari “Room Temperature Superconductors: Conducive to our Futures”, Hunterdon Central Regional High School