November 8, 2007

Troy students ready for $100,000 competition
Six brainy teens at Troy High School head to Cal Tech to try for national science prize.
By ERIC CARPENTER
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON – Hundreds of research hours, scores of weekends spent analyzing data and countless late nights pouring over chemistry books. It all comes down to 12 minutes.

And a shot at $100,000.

Six students from Fullerton's Troy High School are headed to Pasadena's Cal Tech to compete Friday and Saturday in the regional finals for the nation's top student science prize – the Siemens Competition.

The Troy finalists consist of two teams and one individual competitor, 17-year-old senior Tisa Thomas.

Each team gets 12 minutes to present their research and impress the judges. The projects they'll present – well, that's a little more difficult to describe unless you've completed a few college-level chemistry classes or mastered the art of molecular deconstruction.

The title of Thomas presentation: "Efficient Green Synthesis of a-Aminonitriles, Precursors of a-Amino Acids."

In essence, that means Thomas is looking at how more environmentally friendly catalysts can be used in drug development.

Use of such catalysts in the pharmaceutical industry could lead to a cleaner environment and better drugs to fight cancer and high blood pressure, among other medical conditions, she said.

Thomas, a Brea resident, spent two summer internships at USC studying and collecting data for her thesis. In all, she dedicated more than 450 hours.

Both of her parents are chemists. And she's been fascinated by chemistry since early childhood.

"It's really the building blocks of all life," she said enthusiastically.

Thomas has no fear about having to present her project alone. She's also the president of Troy's speech and debate team.

It's no surprise that six of the 16 students competing in the Western Regional finals come from Troy High.

As a technology magnet school, Troy attracts some of the brightest science-minded students from across the region. One year, nine of 14 regional finalists came from Troy.

Still, school advisors say they are impressed by the high level of student accomplishment.

"We're constantly amazed at what these students are able to do," said advisor Priscilla Cheney, who was giving the students advice as they ran through their presentations one last time Thursday.

"I mean, these are 16 and 17 year old kids. …You forget that sometimes listening to how complicated their projects can be."

One of the few signs that these were indeed teenagers came as Byron Lee and Chris Patuwo got about halfway through their presentation in front of their advanced chemistry class.

Lee got a mild case of the giggles as he glanced over at his buddy while trying to explain ways to expand the proficiency and range of molecular modeling.

Not a funny subject. Just nerves. And a lot of tired.

Lee had been up the night before tweaking the presentation until 4 a.m.

"We'll run through it countless more times before Saturday's competition," Lee reassured his partner.

Twin sisters Tiffany and Stephanie Chen had already been over their presentation countless times with their friend Sameen Sharieff.

The trio effortlessly transitioned from one speaker to the next as they explained how some compounds could be used in developing more efficient drugs to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

The girls, who all live in Anaheim Hills, said they've been nearly inseparable since their summer internships at Cal State Fullerton began on the first day of summer vacation last June.

The chance to win a top prize of a $100,000 scholarship in the nationals next month is certainly a motivating factor, the students said. This weekend, each could win as much as $6,000.

All of the Troy finalists are applying to colleges and eagerly awaiting hearing back from places such as Harvard, Stanford and MIT. And that money would go a long way toward tuition.

But a more important motivation, they said, is the chance of helping people live better lives.

"I don't mind putting in the kind of time this takes," Thomas said. "I want to be a physician, because it is not just about you, but about helping the people around you."