This story was originally posted online in November 2007.

Four Harker seniors have been named semifinalists in the Siemens Competition. Semifinalists receive a special recognition package; their names will be announced in a full-page advertisement in USA Today and be posted on the Siemens Foundation website. The Harker semifinalists and the titles of their research papers are:

Hassan Shenasa
Soliton Resonance: A Novel High Frequency Power Combining Method

Senan Ebrahim
Properties of Silk III Fibroin at the air water interface

Thomas Roxlo
Small Molecule Induction of Heat Shock Response: Cytoprotective effect and Potential Clinical Applications of Celastrol

Sushant Sundaresh
Toward Nitrogen Fixing Symbioses with Mutual Consent

Each year the Siemens Foundation, in partnership with the College Board, runs the Siemens Competition to promote excellence by encouraging students to undertake individual or team research projects.  Harker seniors who conduct research during a summer internship are encouraged to write a 20-page technical paper and enter the competition at the end of September.

In the initial judging phase, entries are received and processed by the College Board. The projects are “blind read” by a national panel of scientists who have expertise related to the project being reviewed and the papers are judged solely on the merits of the written research report. From this initial judging, up to 300 outstanding projects are selected as semifinalists.