On May 16, students in the Mamaroneck High School Original Science Research, OSR, program presented abstracts of their findings with triptych posters at the 21st annual evening event. Seventy students in grades 10 through 12 exhibited summaries of their research.
The three-year research program begins in 10th grade, with a year spent learning the parameters of original scientific research, followed by pinpointing a student’s interest in a particular topic and the possibilities of inquiry in a certain aspect.
Students in the program largely find mentors on their own. For example, senior Gabriel Tungendstein found his mentor while researching the topic of borderline personality disorder on his own. He discovered that differentiating between those who have the disorder and those who are just exhibiting the disorder’s symptoms is difficult. His research determined that while some of the negative behavior demonstrated by young adults can seem like BPD, depending on behavior as a sole marker can be tricky. He focused on that area and worked with Dr. Eric Fertuck at City College of New York, interviewing subjects and organizing results. According to Tungendstein, he contacted Fertuck after he saw his name in an article he read during the research phase of the OSR program.
High school sophomore Rebecca Marcus is researching how the chemical Triclosan affects the hunting behavior of young dragonflies as they prey on mosquito larvae. Her hypothesis is that exposure to the chemical via runoff changes the dragonflies’ hunting strategies.
“I was interested in looking at species relationships and how species interconnections get interfered with [by pollutants],” she said. Her project took third place in the environmental science category at the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair, a first for countywide sophomores. Marcus plans to pursue a career in animal science research.
