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CREATIVE APPROACH TO SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION AND IMPORTANT MATERIALS SCIENCE PROJECTS WIN TOP HONORS IN NATIONAL SIEMENS WESTINGHOUSE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION
Ryan Patterson, Grand Junction, Colo.,
is Individual Winner;
Shira Billet and Dora Sosnowik, Hewlett Bay Park, N.Y., are Team
Winners
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 3, 2001 - The nation's capital turned
its attention to the country's top high school science, math
and technology students at the national finals of the Siemens
Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition. Six individuals
and six teams, using visual and oral presentations, competed
over the weekend for college scholarships ranging from $10,000
to $100,000. The winners were named this morning in an awards
ceremony held at the American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C.
The national individual winner, Ryan Patterson, designed and developed an innovative tool to translate sign language into characters on a small computer screen and won a $100,000 college scholarship. Mr. Patterson is a senior at Central High School in Grand Junction, Colo.
Shira Billet and Dora Sosnowik won first place in the team competition for their development of a viscometer for ultra thin lubricants and will divide a $100,000 scholarship. Ms. Billet and Ms. Sosnowik are seniors at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, Hewlett Bay Park, N.Y.
Mr. Patterson's project, titled "The Sign Language Translator," consists of a modified golf glove and translator/display unit. His project - inspired by a need in the community for alternatives to human interpreters - uses a tiny computer mounted on a standard golf glove to translate the hand movements of sign language into characters that appear almost simultaneously onto an electronic screen the size of a cell phone. The result is a near fluid conversation between those who understand and use sign language and those who do not.
"Not only is Mr. Patterson's project groundbreaking, it is already patented. You wouldn't ask more from a small engineering start-up company," said lead judge Dr. George D. "Pinky" Nelson, project director at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "Mr. Patterson works at a professional engineering level. He understood at every stage of his research just what he was trying to do-and completely pulled it off."
Outside of the lab, Mr. Patterson is currently taking 22 hours of college credit and works part time at ThermoAutomations Systems writing embedded software and designing circuitry. Although Mr. Patterson has not made a final decision on where he will go to college, he will most likely pursue electrical engineering as a major.
Shira Billet and Dora Sosnowik won the team competition with an original research project titled: "A Viscometer for Ultra Thin Films." The team developed a precise new way of measuring the viscosity of thin lubricants of film.
Their research is significant because it has many potential practical applications, particularly in micro-electronics and bio-materials. One application is in the building of artificial joints-good news for arthritis sufferers who benefit from such a treatment.
It also has far-reaching consequences in the fields of electronics and micro-mechanical systems, where efficient lubricants allow disk drives and computers to function properly.
"We were very impressed with the team's methodology, persistence and trial-and-error approach to completing this project," said lead judge Dr. Andrew J. Lovinger, director of the Polymers Program at National Science Foundation and researcher at Bell Laboratories. "Ms. Billet and Ms. Sosnowik work at a Ph.D. level, and are at the very top of the field in terms of scientific quality."
"This is a case where we really see science enabling technology to work," added Dr. Nelson. "In the future, this type of science will be key to progress in the world of tiny micro and nano- machinery."
At school, Ms. Billet is the captain of the mock trial team and co-editor of the yearbook. She also enjoys reading, writing, hiking and going to the beach. She plans to pursue a career as a doctor or journalist.
Ms. Sosnowik is head of her school band and also co-editor of the yearbook. She studies piano and enjoys photography and reading. Upon graduation, Ms. Sosnowik plans to pursue studies in music or science, with plans of becoming a musician or doctor.
The other national Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology winners included:
Individuals
-·Second place individual winner ($50,000) - Alexandra
Ovetsky, Philadelphia, Pa., -·Third place individual winner
($40,000) - Debra Hsiung, San Antonio, Texas,
- Fourth place individual winner ($30,000) - Jacob Licht, West
Hartford, Conn.,
-·Fifth place individual winner ($20,000) - Peter Behroozi,
Cedar Falls, Iowa,
-·Sixth place individual winner ($10,000) - Reed Shaffner,
Titusville, Fla.,
Teams
-·Second place team winners ($50,000) - Heather and Hanna
Craig, Anchorage, Alaska,
-·Third place team winners ($40,000) - Gabriel Rosenhouse
and Mark Saiget, Portland, Ore.,
- Fourth place team winners ($30,000) - Rebecca Williams, Paris,
Texas; Cynthia Chi, Sugar Land, Texas and Charles Hallford, Denton,
Texas,
-·Fifth place team winners ($20,000) - Matt Mousseau and
Elliott Prechter, Gainesville, Ga.,
-·Sixth place team winners ($10,000) - Winston Wang and
Alexander Vinberg, Manhasset, N.Y.
For photos of winners, CLICK HERE
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