UCF highschoolers shine

Austin Coye (left), Elaine Zhou (center) and Justin Brooks (right)

Three high school students have been recently recognized in local science fairs. Austin Coye and Elaine Zhou (Lake Highland Preparatory School) won the first prizes of Physics (Coye) and Chemistry (Zhou) and Best in Fair of the Physical Science category in the 2010 Orange County Science Fair, for research performed in the groups of UCF Physics faculty Enrique del Barco and Beatriz Roldan Cuenya, respectively. Justin Brooks (Lyman High School)> won the first prize in Physics of the 2010 Seminole County Science Fair for research performed in the group of Nanoscience Center and Physics faculty Saiful Khondaker.

The three students (ages 15-16) offered an outstanding performance in their respective research projects, which focus primarily on the electrical, magnetic and catalytic properties of nanoscale systems, such as molecular nanomagnets, platinum nanoparticles and semiconducting nanotubes.

We feel proud of the excellence demonstrated by our highschoolers and of the outcome of the departments’ outreach efforts. We wish them the best luck in their future participations in the upcoming 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair that will be celebrated in Reno, Nevada, in the Summer