Nick Andrews
Nick is a rising sophomore at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey. His TREES research includes the investigation of cadmium toxicity and its removal from aqueous solutions. He used different methods of filtration and measured his samples using diphenylcarbazone as a dye in a spectro-photometer. At his school, Nick runs cross-country and track, and he swims. He plays soccer for his club team.Nick also participates in Model United Nations, the volunteer club, and the debate team.Nick is very interested in chemistry and engineering and hopes to study them someday.
Sumita Gangwani
Sumita was a rising junior at Haverford High School the summer she attended the TREES program. Her environmental project focused on creating biodegradable plastic (PLA) formed through a yogurt waste product known as Lactic Acid. She hopes to fully develop her project to her fullest extent by purifying the acid and molding an eco-friendly cup that the actual yogurt will be filled in. Outside of the lab, Sumita is a figure skater and dancer. She also enjoys participating in many clubs, school activities and community service. Sumita has really enjoyed herself in the duration of the TREES program and hopes that other students apply for this opportunity in the future.
Aria Kovalovich
Aria was a rising senior during her time at the TREES program, attending the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova. She plays field hockey and softball, and is the co-president of ND Green, her school’s environmental club. She loves to do service, and goes on a mission trip each summer with her friends to make repairs to the homes of those less fortunate. She is also an executive on Notre Dame’s Campus Ministry team, where she heads the Pastoral Life Committee. Her project at TREES was a survey of high school students in the Western Philadelphia suburbs dealing with the choices teenagers make when buying clothing, focusing specifically on their attitudes towards NPEs, a group of endocrine disrupting organic compounds used when treating clothing from many of the brands purchased regularly by high school students.
Alex Kwok
Alex was a rising junior during his time at the TREES program. He attends J.R. Masterman High School and is a member of the ultimate frisbee team. His main interest is business, and is an active member of Future Business Leaders of America and student government. During his spare time he enjoys cooking and working with plastic models. Since he is always working with different types of art supplies, he decided that his project would test for the toxicity of paint thinner using the Ames test.
Steve Lee
Steve is a rising sophomore at Morgantown High School in Morgantown West Virginia. He was concerned about carcinogenic substances in coal fly ash since he’s from West Virginia, the state where coal mining is the main industry. He heard about the medicinal property of green tea, which can prevent cancer from occurring, and wanted to see if green tea can actually prevent cancer or stop it from progressing. He used the Ames test, which can measure carcinogenic levels in a chemical substance. He gave different amounts of green tea extract during the experiment to see if it has any effect on reducing carcinogenic substances in coal fly ash. When not in the lab, he enjoys singing, playing guitar, playing soccer, and playing basketball.
Jasmine Syed
Jasmine is a rising junior at the Baldwin School. She is interested in not only the terrible effects car exhaust has on the environment, but also the effects it has on human health. For her project, she researched how carcinogenic the exhaust from used cooking oil is, and compared it to how carcinogenic the exhaust from regular petroleum diesel is, using the Ames test. When not in the lab, Jasmine figure skates as a member of the Delaware County Skating Club. She also plays tennis on her school team and the violin in her school ensemble. She is part of the Teen Leadership Corp and volunteers at Cradles to Crayons. She started the Kiva club at her school to empower women entrepreneurs all around the world to start their own businesses through micro loaning. She loved her experience at TREES and is grateful that she got to be a part of it.
May Wang
May is a rising sophomore at Council Rock High School South. Outside of the lab, she is a member of her school’s debate team, orchestra, and choir, and is a violinist in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra. May can usually be found sleeping, reading, practicing her violin, or stressing out about one thing or another. She is interested in convincing the public of environmental issues while also trying to solve them, and hopes to one day work for NASA. During her time at TREES, she researched the repeated use of activated charcoal to filter BPA, an endocrine disruptor, from drinking water.
Chloe Wiggins
Chloe is going to be a senior at Lower Moreland High School. Her interests include botany, autoclaves, and sustainable living. In her spare time, Chloe enjoys writing, modeling various lines of autoclave gloves, and playing piano. Her project involved testing whether the insulation used to coat wires is carcinogenic.