Conrad Scholars - $1,000 Scholarships
The Conrad Scholar Awards for NSHSS members are sponsored by Nancy Conrad, widow of astronaut Pete Conrad, to encourage and assist with the education of students who share her late husband’s passion for innovation, exploration, scientific ventures, and original technologies. The Conrad Scholars also must demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, and community service. These following member were selected as the first class of Conrad Scholars.
Nickolas Demas, of Manlius, New York, is president of his school’s Astronomy Club and a multi-year participant in the Science Olympiad. His physics teacher said that Nick was the “major factor” in his team’s 2008 State Championship win. Nick loves to solve problems and to build things. He writes, “The best engineers are those that not only can solve a problem with a great solution but individuals that can work well on a team, incorporate the element of passion into their work, and combine skills from many disciplines to solve a challenge.” He adds, “My love of solving problems and creating innovative solutions has been fostered by my involvement in Science Olympiad. Through my engineering experiences on our team, I have been fortunate enough to work through every aspect of the design process, whether we had to develop an initial theoretical idea, build proto-types, test them, or construct the final product. My eagerness to optimize solutions within time and budget constraints has convinced me that engineering is my future.”
Lucia Mocz, of Mililani, Hawaii, won 2nd Place Grand Award in 2008 at the Intel International Science Fair with a project developing an artificial intelligence method to identify cancer from photomicrographs of tissues, and won 3rd place in the computer science category of the ISEF in 2007 with a project that “introduced a mutual entropy-based robot vision algorithm for the purpose of autonomous exploration.” Lucia has always had a passion for learning; her academic curiosity extends to all subjects, but particularly mathematics, computer science, and music and she wants to impart this passion to others: “While contributing to the advancement of mathematical science, my goal is also to teach a future generation of students.” She is also a violinist with the Hawaii Youth Symphony and plans to write a book some day from her perspective dealing the relationship between mathematics and music.
Gabe Osborn, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a young scholar whose passion lies in chemistry, particularly bioengineering and nanotechnology. He is planning to participate in college in Engineers without Borders and the humanitarian projects college students undertake through this program. He writes, “Finding some avenue to not only collaborate in working with other people, which is most enjoyable for me, but also to work for people, is at the forefront of my interests . . . perhaps through finding some way to tangibly improve lives through bringing a new and simple source of energy to underdeveloped countries or developing new chemistry-based energy technologies here at home.” He is an Oklahoma State Regents Scholar and was accepted into the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics magnet school. He has also received the President’s Volunteer Award.
Xin-Yu Ruan, of Marietta, Georgia, won the IBM Innovation to be Greener Award for NSHSS members in 2008, with her project to harvest rain water from household roofs to help conserve water in fighting the drought in Georgia. She writes about competing in the “Wright Stuff,” a Science Olympiad event: “Even though I spent many late nights gluing balsa sticks and covering the wings with Mylar, those nights were only sporadic episodes between the breath-taking flights. It was as if I had a metaphysical connection with the plane. Every time my plane took off, my heart was with it, dodging basketball hoops, bumping into the ceiling, and landing with a nosedive. The mellifluous sound of the wind from the propeller shuffled in my ears, making the surrounds dissolve around me. I had always known my affinity for engineering, but it was then that I found my true passion.”
Christina Zarrilli, of Boca Raton, Florida, attends Florida Atlantic University High School, and won Florida Atlantic University College of Engineering/ Computer Science Paper Awards in both 2007 and 2008. She is also a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. She is a Cadet Lt. Col. in the Civil Air Patrol. When she was 8 years old, a visit to the Kennedy Space Center initiated her dream of becoming an astronaut. And she won an award at the age of 11 in a national science contest for her work on growing food in space, “Space Mashed Potatoes, Anyone?” She once got to have dinner with Apollo 14 Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell, who advised her if she wanted to be an astronaut, she should find something she loved to do, so she wants to combine her love of the ocean and her love of space, writing “Our oceans and outer space are the next frontiers for adventurers and scientists. Both environments have similar challenges and unlimited possibilities. The engineering, technology, and science discoveries required to sustain life in the ocean and in space will improve communication, transportation, agriculture, and medicine on earth.”