As participants in the ACS Project SEED program, over 100 students carried out research at different research centers in the New York area represented by the NY Section of the ACS. The host institutions included Columbia University, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, St. John’s University, St Joseph’s College, Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, St. Peter’s College, Rutgers University,  New Jersey City University, Center for Computer Aids for Industrial Productivity, Rutgers Engineering School, Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research (Rutgers),  Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, COOK College, Mass Spectroscopy Laboratory for Food Science, in the New Use of Agriculture and Natural Plant Products laboratory (Rutgers),  New York University, New Jersey Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, Seton Hall University, and Fordham University.


*       In 2008, for the first time, students from South Bronx Prep. School participated in Project SEED.  This development was particularly noteworthy because the coordinator of the program in that school is a former SEED student and is now a chemistry teacher.  We have now several coordinators of SEED programs in schools within the geographic region of the ACS New York section.  It is significant that the SEED program of the New York section is efficiently administered at many levels by strongly committed teachers and volunteers.  The strength of the program in the NY section ensures that with continued support from the ACS the program will continue to flourish.


Major activities for 2008 were:



1. At the 235th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans Nadia Makar, the coordinator of Project SEED for the New York Section, gave a talk in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Project SEED.  Thirty students presented the results of their research at the 236th ACS National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia on August 17-21.  They presented their research projects in poster format at Sci-Mix and impressed many among the professional audience with their work.  They also participated in events honoring the 40th Anniversary of Project SEED.

2. At Seton Hall University Poster Research Session, there were over ninety students from New York and New Jersey who were SEED participants. Four of the top five students were from the New York Section. Three students received lap top computers with printers and the fourth student received $100.  Three computers were also sent to Africa to underprivileged students in underdeveloped countries.

3. At the National Science and Humanities Symposium held in Florida, three students who represented New York and New Jersey were Project SEED students.  They did extremely well and impressed the judges with the sophistication of their projects.
   
4. On November 18th, 26 Project SEED students from the new York Section attended the 47th Eastern Analytical Symposium that took place in Somerset, New Jersey.  They participated in  the Analytical Chemistry and Forensic Science Seminar organized by author Richard Saferstein.  The students were introduced to the science of forensic toxicology and learned the strategies that forensic toxicologists employ to detect poison and drugs in the human body.  Significant achievements that have been made in utilizing DNA typing for the purposes of linking biological evidence to a single individual were presented. The students learned much and enjoyed the program tremendously.

5. During National Chemistry Week, several SEED students participated at Liberty Science Center in the event. The students did hands-on experiments for the younger students and they all had a lot of fun.


*      All of the seniors who participated in Project SEED are now attending college. They all made it to the college of their choice. Ninety percent of them are majoring in the sciences.  Some were accepted to Ivy League schools like Brown University and Cornell University. They received the SEED scholarship and some are ACS scholars. Because of the research they did while in Project SEED and all the competitions they won, many received scholarships. Among the many scholarships they received, two received the $10,000 Nordstrom and one received the top scholarship of $100,000 from MacDonald. Several students received top awards at different competitions including first place at the Schering Plough Annual Research Posters Competition.  Others won gold and silver medals at science Fairs and at Symposia where couple of students represented the state at the National Competition.