Four members of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt’s (SSMV) senior class have been named as Semifinalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search (http://www.societyforscience.org/STS). Three students attend Hume Fogg Academic Magnet and one is a student at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet. All will receive $1,000 prizes and matching awards will be sent to their high schools.

Young-Hun Kim (Hume-Fogg) completed his project with Hak-Joon Sung, Ph. D. in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His project was, “Effect of Electrospun Combinatorial Polymer Composition and Alignment on the Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.” Young-Hun was also recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research.

Tiannan Zhou (Hume-Fogg) completed her project with Craig Lindsley, Ph.D. in the Department of Pharmacology. Her project was, “A Simple, Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Functionalized N-Substituted Quinazolinones.” Tiannan was also recognized as a Siemens Semifinalist for this research.

Natalie O’Dell (Hume-Fogg) completed her project with Melanie Schuele, Ph. D. in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences. Her project was, “Explicit Phonemic Awareness of Adolescents: Skills at Baseline and Following a Brief Intervention.”

Tommy Metke (Martin Luther King Jr.) completed his project with Cary Pint, Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His project was “Efficient Water Desalination Using Porous Silicon Materials.”

The Intel Science Talent Search is a premiere pre-college science competition that received 1,794 applications this year and selected only 300 as semifinalists. On January 22, 40 finalists will be invited to Washington, DC to compete for the top prize. We want to congratulate Young-Hun, Tiannan, Natalie, and Tommy and wish them good luck in the next round of competition!

The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) is a joint venture between Vanderbilt University and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and offers high school students an interdisciplinary, research-centered learning experience. SSMV students competing in this year’s competition are members of the class of 2014. This class of students will be the fourth to graduate from the program. For more information please visithttp://theschool.vanderbilt.edu/.

The SSMV has received funding from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, and other generous donors.