[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 1997 WESTINGHOUSE SCIENCE TALENT FINALISTS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 1997

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Long Cai, 
Daniel James Durand, Jonathan William Plaue, and Katheryn Joanna 
Potenza, all of Long Island, NY. Competing against the most talented 
young scientific minds that America has to offer, these outstanding 
high school scholars from Eastern Long Island have all been recognized 
as Finalists in the 1997 Westinghouse Science Talent Search.
  With the guidance of their teachers, the love and support of their 
parents and each with their own talent and work ethic, these four 
students have successfully conducted breakthrough scientific 
experiments while just in high school. Those experiments so impressed 
the judges at the Westinghouse Science Talent Search that they named 
Long, Daniel, Jonathan, and Katheryn one of 40 finalists, among 1,652 
entrants nationwide.
  Three of these students--Long Cai, Jonathan Williams Plaue, and 
Katheryn Joanna Potenza--attend Ward Melville High School in Setauket, 
Long Island, where the demanding and competitive WestPrep research 
program produces Westinghouse science scholars on a yearly basis. 
Daniel James Durand attends Shoreham-Wading River High School, just a 
few miles east of Setauket along Long Island's North Shore.
  For his Westinghouse project in biotechnology, Daniel Durand of 
Shoreham, Long Island developed what could be a more effective and 
cost-efficient method for extracting radioactive uranium from 
contaminated soil. A 4-year varsity wrestler and the vice president of 
the Physical Fitness Club at Shoreham-Wading River, Daniel plans to 
study biomedical engineering at Rice University.
  Long Cai, of East Setauket, deduced that there are mathematical 
relationships that describe the effects of rotating Fresnel Zone 
Plates, magnifying glass lenses, on x-ray focusing, which will help 
scientists understand the effects of misaligned plates. Born in China, 
16-year-old Long mastered the English in just the ninth-grade. He plans 
to study biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology.
  Jonathan Plaue, of Stony Brook, collected materials and services 
worth more than $125,000 to create his environmental studies project. 
Landfilling is no longer a permissible waste disposal method on Long 
Island, so waste-to-energy incineration has become more prominent. 
Jonathan devised an effective method for replacing sand and gravel with 
incinerator ash in the manufacture of asphalt, which he calls ASHphalt. 
Jonathan hopes to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to 
study chemical engineering.
  Katheryn Potenza, of Setauket, examined the effects of parents' 
marriages and mothers' socialization practices on the romantic 
relationships of adolescents for her Westinghouse project in 
psychology. Katheryn collected data from 57 mother-adolescent pairs, 
then completed her research at the nearby State University of New York 
at Stony Brook. She hopes to pursue studies in psychology at the 
University of Virginia.
  During the week of March 5, all of the Westinghouse finalists will 
visit Washington, DC, where they will compete for $205,000 in 
scholarships. I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to extend their congratulations to all of the 1997 Westinghouse Science 
Talent Search finalists.

                          ____________________