Junior Division Winners

Congratulations to all the Junior Division
First Place winners, Finalists,
and Honorable Mentions in
The 2008 DuPont Challenge!


1st Place: Claire Yang
School: H.B. DuPont Middle School, Hockessin, DE
Title of Essay: An Aquatic Cure for Psoriasis
Sponsoring Teacher:
Dr. Thomas Hounsell


Junior Finalists

Name: Emily Goldfein
School: Thomas Jefferson High School
for Science and Technology
Alexandria, VA
Title of Essay: The Sea Cucumber:
The Key to Human Limb and Organ Regeneration
Sponsoring Teacher: Jennifer Seavey

Name: Michael He
School: Marshall Middle School
Beaumont, TX
Title of Essay: The Little Isotope
That Could
Sponsoring Teacher: Rebecca Navarre


Name: Jerelyn Luther
School: Fairfield Woods
Middle School
Fairfield, CT
Title of Essay: Microscopic
Phenomenon
Sponsoring Teacher: Inez Liftig



Name: Sam Peluso
School: Mahoney Middle School
South Portland, ME
Title of Essay: Earth’s Crops
Sponsoring Teacher: Amy Foster


Honorable Mention

Bayo Bankole
Monroe Middle School
Wheaton, IL
The Higgs Boson
Bruce Kassel, Teacher

Brent Baumgartner
Liberty Middle School
Clifton, VA
Superstring Theory:
Unifying the Universe
Jim Jones, Teacher

Shalila du Bourmont
Hilo Intermediate School
Hilo, HI
Cellulosic Ethanol:
Ending an Era of Oil Dependence
Pascale Creek Pinner, Teache

Kyungwoo Chae
Liberty Middle School
Clifton, VA
Our Recollection of the Past
Wenda Schobert, Teacher

Ming Chen
Bethlehem Central High School
Delmar, NY
The Potential of Gene Therapy and
the Obstacles That Stand in the Way
Kelly Babic, Teacher

Dalton Cox
H. B. duPont Middle School
Hockessin, DE
The Extraordinary Buckminsterfullerene
Bradford Bosler, Teacher

Natalie Dorland
Kirkland SDA School
Kirkland, WA
The Mantis Shrimp
Robbie Wheeling, Teacher

Philip Grossman
Briarcliff Middle School
Briarcliff Manor, NY
The Brain and Facial Recognition
Michael McDowell, Teacher

Frances Hall
John S. Davidson
Fine Arts Magnet School
Augusta, GA
Mitochondria and Me
Amy Mealing, Teacher

Davin Hazard
Christ the King School
Lexington, KY
Periwinkle: A Pretty Flower or a Cure?
Kathleen Howell, Teacher

Trevor Hennigan
Koda Middle School
Clifton Park, NY
Facing Steroids
Laura Gavlik, Teacher

Steven Houtschilt
Oak Valley Middle School
Commerce Township, MI
Stem Cell Research: A New Hope
David Browne, Teacher

Allison Kao
Columbia Middle School
Berkeley Heights, NJ
The Miracle of Induced
Pluripotent Cells

Marcy McLaughlin, Teacher

Tae Kim
Campus Middle School
Greenwood Village, CO
Artificial Cells
Natalie Peitsmeyer, Teacher

Jake Levin
Tamanend Middle School
Warrington, PA
Robotic Surgical Assistance
Beth Price, Teacher

Viren Patel
Caddo Middle Magnet School
Shreveport, LA
Wonder Herb
David Anderson, Teacher

Isabel Perez
William B. Travis Academy
Dallas, TX
Hygiene Hypothesis
Mary Oliver, Teacher

Kristin Ronzi
Hathaway Brown
Shaker Heights, OH
RNAi: The Gateway to Hope
Nicole Trombetta, Teacher

Patrick Shields
Bishop Seabury Academy
Lawrence, KS
The Compressed Air Battery
Eric Nelson, Teacher

Daniel Siegel
Great Neck South High School
Great Neck, NY
Recognizing Concussions
Dr. James Truglio, Teacher

Kairav Sinha
Leland High School
San Jose, CA
Global Impact: The Emerging
Science of Synthetic Biology
Hope Oliver, Teacher

Oliver Sitt
Gabrielino High School
San Gabriel, CA
A True Test of the Human
Spirit and Soul
Dr. Allen Jang, Teacher

Brandon Sood
Tamanend Middle School
Warrington, PA
"Bee Strategy Helps Servers
Run More Sweetly"

Beth Price, Teacher

Stephen Thomas
Covenant Academy Campus
Macon, GA
The Scramjet Engine
Mary Jane Leggett, Teacher


For the Senior Division Winners click here.