Five Texas Academy of Math and Science students were recently named regional semifinalists in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology, a nation-wide contest with a $100,000 grand prize.

Richard Sinclair, TAMS dean, said the contest is a "science talent search" for high school students. "It's exciting that five kids from one university were chosen," Sinclair said.

Jemma Alarcon, Ian Harken, Brian Huskinson, Erica Rew and Zach Zhang learned in October that they were regional semifinalists.

Haken, Plano sophomore, said students had to submit some sort of scientific research explained in a 20-page report with a recommendation from a supervising professor. Haken worked with Angela Wilson of the chemistry faculty on research in computational chemistry, which uses computers to study chemicals quantitatively. "So

metimes, computational study can be more helpful," Haken said. Haken explained he began the research in fall 2003, and did not quit the project after the competition. "I'm still keeping on it," Haken said.

According to a press release, Alarcon, Mission sophomore, worked with Pamela Padilla of the biology faculty in a study on environmental stresses on roundworms. Huskinson, Flower Mound sophomore, worked with Rebecca Dickstein of the biology faculty on a plant protein creating an "organically usable form of nitrogen."

Rew, San Antonio sophomore, solved the Tower of Hanoi puzzle with two other non-NT students. The puzzle is eight disks stacked on three pegs in increasing size. The eight disks must be moved to a single peg, moving one disk at a time and only stacking smaller disks on larger disks.

Zhang, Plano sophomore, worked with Douglass Root of the biology faculty to create a chemical compound used for "fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies." "They did some great research," Sinclair said.

On Nov. 13, Siemens announced the regional finalists, but the academy students did not win. Regional finalists win $3,000 scholarships and advance to the $100,000 national competition. "It's over for me," Haken said.

According to Sinclair, one academy student made regional finalist three years ago for a mathematics study.

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