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Isaiah Guyler

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

STEM Scientist Sticker Project

The scientist I have decided to nominate for the STEM Scientist Sticker Project is Dr. Sammy Ramsey. I chose Dr. Ramsey because I wanted to try to research something I have never liked, bugs and he is an entomologist, meaning study of bugs. I don’t like bugs because my mom has never liked them and I guess that just rubbed on to me. He has a YouTube channel where he talks about what happens to bugs under certain condition and other things like that. One of his most popular videos is what happens to honeybees when an eclipse happens. Spoiler the bees stop flying and just spin in circles it’s weird but also fascinating. He also has a couple of projects such as Kleptocytosis, International Research Labs, Honeybee-nome Project, Global Symbiosis Compendium, and the Pollinator Garden Initiative. If you want to find out what these projects are, go to Dr. Ramseys website.

Some adversities that Dr. Ramsey faced are racism, religion, and science and being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community while also being Christian. One of the adversities that Dr. Ramsey faced was racism he says that only one black person gets a doctorate degree in entomology every year in the United States. Although almost all schools have diversity initiatives it’s still not anywhere near the amount, we need it to be. Another adversity that Dr. Ramsey faced was being Christian which does not sound like something someone would struggle with but there’s two reasons. First, most people don’t mix religion with science and Dr. Ramsey has struggled with people getting mad at him for it. In the text from You Can’t be What you Can’t See it states, “Growing up in a family in which both of his parents were pastors strongly influenced his faith. But as a young person, that influence was a threat to another of his identities: being gay. It was only in college that he was able to come out to his friends and, finally, his family.” The second reason is that he is gay which is frowned upon in Christianity.

Here are some reasons why Dr. Ramsey is important to his STEM field. The first thing I will be talking about is Dr. Ramsey’s project called international research labs where his goal in each country he works is to advance the local research standards for pollinator research. The next project that Dr. Ramsey is working on is the superorganism behavioral research where they research how honeybees manage parasites and diseases. Another thing Dr. Ramsey has helped with a ton is helping people not be so scared of bugs, which I would say is hard to do. On his website he says, “With over 25 years of entomological fascination under his belt, Dr. Samuel Ramsey (Dr. Sammy) is a pioneering figure in bee research, focusing on emerging symbioses and their impact on pollinator health. Now the Endowed Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Colorado Boulder, his work spans various bee species revealing the key drivers of their decline.” He has helped so many bugs with so many things. That’s how Dr. Ramsey has helped his STEM discipline.

Works Cited

Ramsey, Sammy. “Current Projects” The Ramsey Research Foundation, 2024. https://www.ramseyresearchfoundation.org/current-projects

Ramsey, Sammy. “We Studied Bees in an Eclipse… This is What Happened” YouTube, uploaded by Dr. Sammy Ramsey, 15 April 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9mpbcrhEV8

Simpkins, Kelsey. “You can't be what you can't see” Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, 15 September 2023. https://www.colorado.edu/asmagazine/2023/09/15/you-cant-be-what-you-cant-see

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Raheeni Rajput

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Emmy Noether

Who is Emmy Noether? Although she was certified to teach English and French for girls, she decided to study mathematics because of her father, Max Noether who was a famous mathematician who focused on algebra and geometry. Emmy Noether ended up being a mathematician whose theorems changed physics. Her work in algebra was phenomenal, however many people don’t know her. This gives her a title as “The Greatest Forgotten Mathematician” Although Emmy Noether and I don’t share many similarities I am still very inspired by her for she was able to discover so much in the mathematics field in such a short life. Even though I am not very fond of math I think it was nice to see a woman in a male dominated field.

Emmy Noether was born on March 23, 1882, in Erlangen, Germany to Max Noether and Ida Amalia Kaufmann. In her early age, Noether found a great interest in math and wanted to pursue it as her career just like her father. However, since she was a woman, she was expected to become a teacher for English and French, but she decided to change that. Noether’s interest in math grew. She decided to go to the University of Erlangen where her father was a faculty member at the school. In winter of 1903 and 1904 Noether spent auditing at the classes in the University of Göttingen and was taught by David Hilbert, Felix Klein, and Hermann Minkowski
and an astronomer Karl Schwarzschild. Emmy Noether was described the most important woman in the history of mathematics by her peers this was said by moderndaymath.

After graduating from the University of Erlangen in 1907 she received her Ph.D. In 1915, she was invited to Göttingen by Hilbert and Klein, and they used her knowledge in math explore the mathematics behind Albert Einsteins published theory of general relativity. Later, Klein and Hilbert tried to persuade Noether to stay even though there were powerful objections for a woman to be teaching at the university. Due to these objections, she could only teach under Hilbert’s name. A few years later in 1918, Noether made a breakthrough when she discovered Noether’s theorem. Noether discovered when a Lagrangian function does not change when the coordinate system changes. This theorem has proven to be a key result in theoretical physics. “Mathematische Zeitschrift”, marked the first notice of Noether as an extraordinary mathematician” This was information given by Britannica. In 1919, Emmy Noether was able to win the formal admission as an academic lecturer. However, Noether’s life wasn’t as easy as how I’m making it sound; Noether had many hardships due to her gender and religion. In 1933, she was forced out of her job by the Nazis, this was because she was Jewish. After being forced out of her job she chose to go to the United States. Sadly, after moving to the United States, she ended up passing two years later due to complications in surgery.

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David Hartzell

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

12 March 2025

Alexander Borodin

Alexander Borodin was a romantic Russian composer of the mid-19th century. But he was also an incredible scientist! He was a full-time chemist and physician. There is a chemical reaction named after him, the Hunsdiecker–Borodin reaction. A reaction where silver salts of carboxylic acids react with halogen. But he is more famous for his three symphonies, two string quartets and the opera Prince Igor. These pieces were very influential to Romantic music even if composing was Borodin’s side hobby! Borodin was surprisingly a member of the Mighty Five, a group of famous Russian composers that were composing more unique romantic music and modernizing it! He wrote music just for fun with his spare time. According to GalaxyMusicNotes.com, “Despite his busy lifestyle as a chemist, professor, and social activist, he produced high-quality pieces, more than compensating for the limited quantity.” After researching on this scientist, (and listening to his music while researching) Alexander Borodin has quickly become one of my favorite composers. His opera, Prince Igor is just beautiful and one of my favorite pieces.

Borodin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1833, the son of Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, a Russian Noblemen. When Borodin was a child, he learned to play the flute, piano, and cello. He even wrote a few smaller pieces that he wrote as a child. According to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, “At age eight, Borodin showed an interest in music and instruments after attending an army band performance. To his mother’s surprise, Borodin was able to replicate the music he heard at the army band performance on the piano!” This was because he had perfect pitch and memorized it! Which is extremely rare.

Also, as a child Borodin was also fascinated by science. So, when he grew older, he studied chemistry at the Medico-Surgical Academy in 1850 and then went back to St. Petersburg to become a chemistry professor at the Academy of Medicine. At the Academy, he discovered the aldol reaction in 1869 when he was researching on the condensation of valerian aldehyde and oenanthate aldehyde. This is the reaction where carbonyl compound is in acid catalyst.

In St. Petersburg, Borodin married the pianist, Ekaterina Protopopova. Borodin also became good friends with other Russian composers: Mily Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui and Modest Mussorgsky, the other members of the Mighty Five. He started to actually take lessons in composition from Mily Balakirev in 1862. Where he started to write his very first symphony. I find this quite fascinating because these composers (especially Rimsky Korsakov) were very important to Romantic music.

Sadly, the academy was only allowed for male students, so Borodin set up and taught the first women chemistry course for the Academy. Borodin also attended a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society in 1868. This was important because at the meeting, Dmitri Mendeleev, the society’s founder, explained that elements could be arranged by the atomic weights revealed that they have physical properties followed a regular pattern. He became a good friend of Dmitri Mene Mendeleev. And those are the main contributions Borodin made.

However, it was sometimes hard for Borodin because he had poor health. He had a few small heart failures and had overcome cholera. Also, it was quite rough in Russia at the time. There were bad working conditions for most people, and higher taxes. This is because Russia kept wanting to conquer and own more land. Borodin died from a heart failure, on February 27, 1887, while dancing at the St. Petersburg Ball. I feel really passionate about this scientist. This is because he is one my most favorite composers of all time. But I also find it extremely fascinating that he was also an incredible scientist. His symphonies are quite amazing it just amazes me that he was also a great scientist. I play instruments and like to compose for orchestra and his music really inspires me.

Works Cited

Hamilton, George. “George Hamilton” Irish Independent, Sat 14 May 2016 at 21:30. : https://www.independent.ie/

Galaxy Music Notes, : https://galaxymusicnotes.com/pages/about/

Morton, H. “H. Morton” Dallas Symphony Orchestra, : https://www.dallassymphony.org/

(for some of the pages they didn’t give all the information for the citing’s)

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Allie McKinley

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Gertrude Elion: Biochemist, Pharmacologist, and Life Changer

Gertrude Elion may not be the first name you think of when you think of a scientist, but she made life changing discoveries. She was a biochemist and pharmacologist who developed medicine to treat leukemia, malaria, AIDS, and to prevent kidney transplant rejection. In recognition of her work, she won a Nobel Prize for medicine, secured forty-five patents in medicine, and was awarded twenty-three honorary degrees. Specifically, she created a medicine called azathioprine which is a type of immunosuppressant used to fight rejection in organ transplants. When an organ is donated, the recipient’s body would naturally recognize the organ as a threat and try to kill it. Immunosuppressants reduce the body’s antibodies that fight foreign organisms like bacteria and viruses. Gertude Elion has a special place in my heart because my mom may be donating a kidney soon to a dear friend. Through Gertude Elion’s work, he may be able to live a long, full life aided by immunosuppressants. I also have an interest in chemistry, so her field of science is extremely interesting to me. It’s so cool to see all the atoms that we can’t even see with a microscope make something that we use in our everyday lives.

Even though Gertrude Elion made some amazing discoveries, she struggled due to sexism. The editors of Biography.com write about how she graduated from Hunter College with a degree in biochemistry, but she was unable to obtain a graduate research position. Why? Because she was a woman. People simply didn’t think women could do anything worthwhile. She also struggled to obtain degrees. Encyclopedia Britannica writes that Gertrude Elion worked many jobs such as a lab assistant in 1937, an assistant organic chemist in 1938, a chemistry and physics teacher in New York City high schools in 1940, and a research chemist at Johnson & Johnson in 1943. During this time, she also took classes at New York University, but she was unable to obtain a PhD because she couldn’t fully devote herself to classes due to all of these jobs. Even with these struggles, she managed to invent life-saving medicine! How cool is that?

Gertude Elion was extremely important to her field of science. The medicine she created has saved so many lives and made it easier for lots of people to conduct kidney transplants. Gertrude Elion (along with George Hitchings) created seven different medicines.  According to Kara Rogers on Britannica, “Their success was due primarily to their innovative research methods, which marked a radical departure from the trial-and-error approach taken by previous pharmacologists.” The most important medicine was azathioprine, seeing as that was what won her the Nobel Prize. It paved the way for other immunosuppressants to be created in the future. Even though Gertrude Elion passed away in 1999, her research and medicine lives on, changing lives every day.

Work Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Gertrude B. Elion” Biography, 2 April 2014. https://www.biography.com/scientist/gertrude-b-elion

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Gertrude B. Elion". Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 January 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gertrude-B-Elion.

Rogers, Kara. "immunosuppressant". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Jun. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/immunosuppressant.

Rogers, Kara. "antiviral drug". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/science/antiviral-drug.

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Willow Latham

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Kate LoMedico Marriot Research Paper

Kate LoMedico Marriot is an invertebrate paleontologist and oceanographic artist. She takes fossils and draws what they would look like when they were alive. She mostly draws ammonoids, but also draws other historical creatures, ocean animals, and sometimes does anthropology. I chose her for many reasons, one of them is she’s a paleontologist and I have been interested in paleontology since I was little. Another reason I chose her is because not only is she a paleontologist but she’s a paleo artist! I was really intrigued by this because I have always loved to do art and paleontology, so you get the best of both worlds. The last reasons I chose her is because she is an amazing person, she is a woman, which is very rare in paleontology, as well as part of the LGBTQ+ community. With me being both a woman and part of that community, she is very inspiring, and I aspire to be like her.

Kate has faced many challenges throughout her career. Being a woman she has had experiences where she has been underestimated and sabotaged by men who hold power in her field. As being part of the LGBTQ+ community, she has also faced discrimination because of these reasons. The Science Museum of Virginia spoke to Kate, and she shared her look on women and the LGBTQ+ community in paleontology:

“Paleontology (and science in general) are for everyone, no matter their race, gender, ability, or sexual orientation. As a bi femme, I often feel like I don’t fit into this field, the LGBTQ community, or other parts of society. However, simply being a woman in such a male-dominated field as paleontology comes with its own persistent challenges. For me, these are the challenges that sometimes feel insurmountable. We are constantly underestimated or even sabotaged for a variety of empty ‘reasons’ given by certain men who still hold a disproportionate amount of power in our field. It’s important for unique voices to continue to occupy space in this field because our unique perspectives on all things, personal and professional, complement everyone else’s.”

She has expressed many times she has a very strong opinion on sexism and other issues in paleontology, and as she said science in general. She continues to push for equality in her field of work and it’s very admirable.

Kate is a part of the Oceans Artists Society, which makes her a very prolific scientific artist. She has had many research studies and museum exhibits over the years. Some of these include, Illustraciencia Inaugural Conference Exhibitions Malaga, Heteromorphic Ammonoids of the Matanuska Formation, Ammonoidea Illuminated: Originals, are just a few. She originally trained in sculpture at State University of New York, but changed fields and got her B.A.in visual arts and a minor in geology. She is most known for her research on ammonoid paleobiology, which includes functional morphology, ontogenetic sequences, phylogenetic bracketing, low-temperature stable-isotope geochemistry, fractal geometry, and recovery after mass extinction events. A lot of those topics are complicated and confusing to understand, if you want to find out more go to her website, Paleoart | Kate LoMedico Marriott. She has also participated in other research projects with the Paleontology Research Group at Brooklyn College. Her work on illustrating ammonoids is some on the best paleoart and the most recognizable in the field.

Works Cited

“More Pride and Paleontology: LGBTQ+ Scientists Part Two” Science Museum of Virginia, June 23, 2021. https.//smv.org/learn/blog/pride-paleontology-highlighting-more-lgbtq-scientists/

Marriott, Kate. “About Me” Paleoart | Kate LoMedico Marriott, 2008. https://www.katelomedicomarriot.com

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Kaden Templeton

English 7th

14 February 2025

Yi So Yeon STEM Sticker Project Research Paper

Yi So Yeon is an astronaut who identifies as female. She was the first woman to go to space from South Korea; and generally, the first South Korean to go to space! Aside from her being a notable astronaut, Yi So Yeon is also a Biotechnologist. A biotechnologist is a scientist that uses Biology to make products that are useful to others. Yi So Yeon is one of the 72 women to step on the moon. Yi So Yeon was in space for about 10 days and made history on April 8th, 2008, when she finally took off in her Rocketship. Now that you’ve figured out who she is (regarding her field of STEM), What exactly is so special about her? Do you remember when I mentioned that only 72 women on earth have gone to space, stepped on the moon- even? The number of men that go to space outnumber the number of women that go to space, and unfortunately, that makes women the minority, and I think that she is very lucky that she was picked to be the very first Korean to go to space, especially because of her identity being the minority in this situation. That of, she may experience sexism in the workplace.

Let’s do a hypothetical of a woman – a wife, taking place in the 1950s. This wife was a very smart woman, that had the qualifications to be the thing that she desired so dearly to be, so let’s start with this sentence: This is a woman could have had adequate knowledge on space, or spaceships, and she could be more than qualified to step on the moon – she could have accomplished her dreams. But she can’t, because unfortunately, she was born with the “awful misfortune” of being a woman. That one woman that could have changed the world had to bend over tables and clean the dishes and serving her fine role as the traditional wife, while that woman’s’ distant, uncaring for husband would be working on his so-called “smart occupation”, he would not tell that woman a single thing – for he thinks, she is too weak and dumb to understand his newest advanced “complexity” that has been going on in his high salary job. While Yi So Yeon wouldn’t have to deal with that, in an interview in 2017 she said something along the lines of, “In Korea, we have a stereotype of the woman. So, kind of dream woman to date or dream woman to be wife ... It’s a thin, pale, white skin, and little bit weak, doesn’t have any muscle at all, and emotional … I’m not a kind of dream woman at all” (Soyeon Yi oral history interview · The Museum of Flight - Digital Collections) I’d argue that women don’t have it as bad as they did in the example I had mentioned before, not in America, at least. Although overseas? In South Korea? There are some women that refuse to even talk to men at all. “The animosity between Korean men and women has reached a point where some women are outright refusing to date, marry and have kids with men – a phenomenon known as the 4B movement” (Lee). The 4B movement is a radical feminist movement starting in Korea (hence the name being in Hangul). The 4Bs stand for bihon (no marriage), bichulsan (no childbirth), biyeonae (no dating (men) and bisekseu (no intercourse (with men). Yi So Yeon is not a radical feminist (from what I know), so this does not apply to her – although I feel that this shows that other men that come from her country are incredibly misogynist.

Yi so Yeon is important to her field of STEM because of her achievements and goals within her career, and of course, her representation for being the only South Korean that has ever gone to space. She has done a lot within her biotechnologist career, and her career in spacecraft. According to Britannica, she had originally blasted off in Kazakhstan from the Baikonur Cosmodrome space center. She also has earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mechanical engineering; she graduated from a Korean university called KAIST, located in Daejon. Yi So Yeon was in space for 10 days, 21 hours, and 13 minutes. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, she decided that she wanted to stop her space adventures. Although, she is still active in STEM, Yi So Yeon decided that she wanted to resign for an MBA (Master of Business administration). According to Heraldnet, Yi lectures at the University of Washington, “She is focused on nurturing the next generation of STEM leaders” (“Korea’s first and only astronaut shares her story in Stanwood”). She believes that this generation of scientists is important, they are the future in STEM. From the same interview with Heraldnet, Yi did enjoy being the only scientist, but it puts a lot of stress on her. Her exact words being: “It’s a great honor to be the first and only astronaut of South Korea, but at the same time I’m kind of alone,” she said. “I have a huge responsibility, and much more eyes watching me is sometimes hard to handle.” By reading this essay, I hope you have learned more about sexism, Yi So Yeon, her stem legacy, and a lot more.

Works Cited

Bruestle, “Yi So Yeon” Heraldnet, 17 Nov. 2019. https://www.heraldnet.com/life/koreas-first-and-only-astronaut-shares-her-story-in-stanwood.

The Information Architects of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Yi Soyeon". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/facts/Yi-Soyeon. Accessed 14 February 2025.

Nunn Geoff, 28 Museum of Flight, November 2017. Soyeon Yi oral history interview https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/45851

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Amelia Mercier

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Peggy Whitson Research Paper

The reason Peggy Whitson is interesting to me is because I was always fascinated by space as a kid, my love for space is what made me love science class so much, from second grade to now seventh grade. For me it has always been an easy subject to learn due to my fascination. Ever since I learned about planets and stars, I have always wanted to see them and study them. I first found out about Peggy when I was in fourth grade, and when I heard that she was a female astronaut that made so many accomplishments I knew I wanted to learn more about her. Especially because she was a woman working in a male dominated field.

One of the struggles that Peggy faced was sexism, she was a female in a male dominated career, due to this NASA rejected her four times over the course of nine to ten years. They were saying that they were not looking for female astronauts at the time, even though they had other women astronauts. Although NASA was trying to overcome the gender bias, women in NASA were still lagging behind men in achievements (Howell 2023). Even though she was rejected that many times she still went for it and tried her best, after around her fifth attempt to get into NASA, over the course of around ten years, she finally made it into NASA. Due to how long it took Peggy to get in she felt more confident because she had more time to learn and grow her knowledge on space, the solar system, and NASA. She also felt more prepared to be the first non-military chief of the astronaut office and the first female commander of the ISS (Brosh 2023). This shows that even through sexism you can push forward and make achievements and accomplish anything.

Peggy Whitson made many achievements for women, and NASA. Peggy did a lot of things as a woman for NASA in terms of space flight such as, her being the first female to command the ISS in 2008, and she did that for the second time in 2017, she also has spent the most days in space (665) for women and men in America, and she also has the most space walks for any woman in America. Peggy has in addition won countless awards for what she has done. Peggy has gotten six NASA awards such as, the Outstanding Leadership Medal, the  Space Flight Medal (twice), the Exceptional Service Medal, the Silver Snoopy Award, the Tech Brief Award, and the Space Act Board Award. She has also gotten other awards and medals, not just from NASA such as, the Micheal Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement, the Women in Aviation Lifetime Achievement, a medal for “Merit in Space Exploration,” and the Women in Space Award (Axiom Space). Due to her winning each of these medals and awards, she has led many women to want to explore space and walk in her footsteps, and eventually make greater achievements.

Works Cited

Broch, Bianca. “America's most experienced astronaut was rejected 4 times before joining NASA” MSNBC, 7 Aug 2023. https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/career-growth/america-s-most-experienced-astronaut-was-rejected-4-times-joining-n1306953

Howell, Elizabeth. “Peggy Whitson: Record-holding astronaut” Space.com, 3 sep 2023, https://www.space.com/38691-peggy-whitson-astronaut-biography.html

Space, Axiom. “Peggy Whitson” 2025, Axiom Space https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/peggy-whitson

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Kayla Caldwell

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

7 February 2025

Srinivasa Ramanujan Research Paper.

This man means a lot to me because I can relate to his struggles with finances, and he is an inspiration to me personally as he inspires me to work harder to achieve the things that mean the most to me. This is the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, India’s famous mathematician and physicist as well as why I chose him as my STEM professional for this project. Ever since he was a young boy he was raised in poverty. For example, “His father worked as a clerk in a local cloth shop, providing a modest upbringing” (Palmer Stone, 20 January 2025) So, therefore he means a lot to me because of his lower socioeconomic status and his unwavering will to achieve his goals.

Srinivasa Ramanujan overcame poverty to achieve his goals. He was raised in poverty, and it almost seemed to follow him for the rest of his life, but he continued to push through and make remarkable discoveries as well as supporting his family. When he was younger, he valued math over the other subjects and this intern costed him a scholarship and he became unemployed. Srinivasa struggled with finances for a long while, writing paper after paper but still not making enough money. He sought unemployment benefits from the government, but he kept writing papers and eventually his luck turned. The text says, “His talent eventually led to a position as a shipping clerk at the Madras Port Trust, allowing him to continue nurturing his mathematical aspirations while building a local reputation” (Palmer Stone, 20 January 2025).

This proves that he wasn’t making that much money because it said that he was making a modest income. Srinivasa later met a woman named Janaki Ammal who became his wife. Ramanujan's family life was also influenced by the socio-economic conditions of the time. Biography Host told me, “His income from his job at the Madras Port Trust was modest, and financial struggles often loomed over them” (Palmer Stone, 20 January 2025). This proves that Srinivasa struggled with finances because it called out the fact that financial struggles loomed over them. Srinivasa Ramanujan, although making a modest amount of money, provided for his family in a way that showed his determination and love while also making sure they were all comfortable. So, Ramanujan overcame poverty to achieve his goals by his sheer willingness to continue with his passions.

Ramanujan is important to the Mathematic field of STEM due to his remarkable discovery with the theory of numbers. According to the text, “He was born on December 22, 1887, in Erode, India, before his family relocated to Kumbakonam. Growing up in a small town, he soon displayed an extraordinary skill in mathematics, which soon became evident during his early years in school” (Palmer Stone, 20 January 2025). This proves that even when he was young, he had a calling for math. His love for math grew and he became a master at it, although the other subjects he was taking suffered because of his love for math, he put more effort into it.

At age 15, Srinivasa Ramanujan obtained a mathematic book containing thousands of theorems, which he verified and from which he developed his own ideas. His singular focus on mathematics caused him to neglect other subjects during his schooling, which resulted in losing his scholarship at both the Government College in Kumbakonam and the University of Madras. Despite this setback he continued to study. Britannica says, “Those contributions to the theory of numbers include pioneering discoveries of the properties of the partition function” (Britannica, 20 January 2025). This proves that he made a significant impact on the mathematical field of STEM due to his theorems and discoveries. He wrote awe inducing papers about mathematic theorems and we still remember him today as Indias famous mathematician for his large strides in mathematical evolution with the theory of numbers. Ramanujan is amazing for his discoveries and how he overcame his struggles. Srinivasa truly impacted the STEM mathematical field greatly with his wonderous ideas and theories. Thank you for reading this article about Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Works Cited

Britannica. “Srinivasa Ramanujan” Britannica, 20 January 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Srinivasa-Ramanujan

Stone, Palmer. “Srinivasa Ramanujan | Biography” Biography Host, 20 January 2025. https://biographyhost.com/p/srinivasa-ramanujan-biography.html.

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Grade:7th

Name: Emy Johnson

Class: Ela

Date:1/28/2025-2/12/2025

Mae Jemison

Mae Jemison is a great inspiration to many black girls. One of the reasons I like her so much is because it’s very easy for people to connect to her because when she was younger, a lot of people told her that she should not even try to become an astronaut because she would never make it, but man, did she prove them wrong. Many young women have to suffer from being told that they are not capable of doing something because they are females, but sometimes all I need is to hear that I am not the only one  going through this. Sometimes seeing other people like me do something great,  makes me feel like I can do it too. It is essential that there are a lot of people out there like her because she overcame things that others struggle to do all because she had a dream. I can't  wait to tell you all about how amazing she is, so let's jump right on in.

Mae Jemison had to overcome so many challenges to get to where she is now. While she was growing up many people including her teacher told her that  she should not even try to become an astronaut because she would never make it. But no matter how many people put her down, she always rose to the top. Most of the reasons that people told her she couldn't do it was because she a black female (Wise-Answer). Sadly, in the time she was living in it was really hard for people like her to get taken seriously or even get a job. When she first tried to get a job, people turned  her down because they did not want a woman working for them.

When Mae Jemison first took flight in space during the year 1992, Mae Jemison became very important to astronomy. She was the first black female astronaut to go into space, causing her to inspire so many other black women, to become amazing astronauts just like her. Thanks to Mae Jemison we have female astronauts taking up about 11 percent overall in astronauts today(statista). One of my favorite things is seeing women fighting through all the people who judge them. Thank you so much for reading about Mae Jemison,  I hope that I was able to help you. Have a wonderful rest of your day.

Works Cited

Mae Jemison: Biography, First Black Female Astronaut, Doctor

Mae Jemison Biography - life, family, childhood, children, parents, school, young, information, born, college

statista.com

Wise-Answer.com

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Jordan Bridgers

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

12 February 2025

Titles

Going into this project I knew exactly the type of person I wanted to highlight, and Christine Darden is the perfect choice. She didn’t invent something large like the light bulb or the traffic light but can be largely recognized in the field of mathematics or aerospace engineer. Christine Darden was the first African American woman at NASA's Langley Research Center to be promoted to the Senior Executive Service. Since I was able to recognize what I was seeing, I was always thrilled when I would learn about or meet an African American woman. Mae Jemerson, Katherine Johnson, Rosa Parks, all amazing women who looked like me and who have helped shaped my future but what about Christine Darden? A human, skin and bone, just like everyone else being denied an opportunity just because she was a woman. There are stereotypes about every race, every gender, one’s height. The list goes on and being a young, African American, in a school with many kids, the list of different assumptions that people make of you seem to never end.

Growing up with people saying different things about you it becomes discouraging. You start to believe the comments, believe that other people’s words make you who you are when they don’t, and Christine Darden didn’t let this happen. For a large period, I tried convincing myself that peoples words don’t affect me, that they don’t matter, and they are irrelevant, but they did, and I learned how to become used to racist comments when I shouldn’t have. I had trouble speaking out about what was being said because of how used to it I had become. I thought it was normal and okay for people to say what they were saying. It felt as if every day, I was putting on a mask to hide how I was really feeling. I started letting people’s words title who I was and what I was going to be, and it took a while to learn how to continue making my own title. I chose Christine Darden because she ignored the words of other people and showed others, she was going to be the one who would make her title, not them. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.  you have a dream, go for it and work hard to make it a reality” (Darden).

The youngest of five children was born in Monroe, North Carolina on 10 September 1942, this child being Christine. Darden knew from a young age she enjoyed learning how things were created. After attending a boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina the determination to become an engineer was set. When she was a child, she was isolated from white people because of segregation. In a Scholastic interview,  “Breaking Barriers: NASA's Science Superstar | Christine Darden”, Darden speaks about how she remembers an incident when she was sitting at the front of the bus and a non-colored family got on. She explains how the driver got up and told her to move to the back. She remembers not liking that and wanting to speak out against it, but she didn’t because she didn’t want to cause any problems. Because of the poor education that Darden had gotten growing up she was surprised that all the other kids had already taken calculus, trigonometry, and higher-level math classes when she was only provided with algebra and geometry.

Once completing her mathematics master’s degree in 1967 she was hired by NASA to serve as their last generation of human computers. “Human computers were groups of women who commonly analyzed data and solved complicated math equations which were crucial to the U.S. space program” (NASA). Darden becoming a human computer was a big deal at the time. Solving math that applies to the real world is called applied mathematics. Human computers started off with mostly white woman but when Darden had gotten there both races, black and white worked in the same office together. Darden spent years doing calculations, watching males with the same background moving up in ranks quicker than females before she starts to question; “Why weren’t more opportunities showing?” Darden didn’t just want to stop here; she wanted not only to analysis the data but create it and become an engineer (NASA). So, she asks for a promotion. Her boss was surprised, given it had never been asked before but a few weeks after inquiring she was told she had been promoted to an aerospace engineer in 1973.

Her first task was to write a computer program for sonic boom. Sonic boom is created when aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound. NASA claims, “That assignment led to a 30-year career in flight research, specializing in supersonic noise characterization, analysis and reduction.” She did all of this while continuing her education and earning her doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1983. Darden’s team that she became the leader of in 1989 worked to help decrease the environmental impact of supersonic aircraft and atmospheric pollution. “In 1999 she became the director of NASA’s Aero-Performing Center Management Office where she was responsible for Langley research in air traffic management and aeronautics programs managed at other NASA centers” (“NASA”). Even with all the amazing things she is doing it doesn’t just stop here. She goes on to write more than fifty publications in the field of high lift wing design in supersonic flow, sonic boom prediction, flap design, and sonic boom minimization (The History Makers).

Darden retires in 2007 after four long decades of her hard work for NASA. She continues to spread her story at high schools and educate young people about how it is important to never give up. Darden’s story made it into the 2016 Hidden Figures book, but she isn’t found the movie because she was in a later generation of those woman at NASA. Thank you for taking the time to read my paper and I hoped you learned a little more about Christine Darden. “Don’t let what people say about you define who you are. Know who you are and be confident in yourself” (Darden).

Works Cited

“Best Christine Darden Quotes – Inspiring Words From A Pioneer” Quotesanity, 12 September 2024. https://quotesanity.com/christine-darden-quotes/

“Breaking Barriers: NASA's Science Superstar | Christine Darden.” YouTube, uploaded by Scholastic, 29 January 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQOMxZqwLgA.

“Christine Darden”  The History Makers, 26 February 2013. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/christine-darden

“Christine M. Darden” NASA, 11 July 2022. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/christine-m-darden/.

Greicius, Anthony. “When Computers Were Human” NASA, 2 November 2016. https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/when-computers-were-human/

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Xanther Blair

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

2/13/25

Fred Begay

Fred Begay was a nuclear physicist that was not known well at all. I chose to write about Fred because he seemed interesting, and I would like to bring new light to somebody relatively unknown. Because of his field of STEM, he works with some things that have to do with nuclear subjects. Along with that, we have similar interests when it comes to fields of STEM. I think that anything in the nuclear field is interesting, so I felt that he would be a good person to research to find more about a nuclear field. A project that he worked on is the LANL (Los Almos Laser Program). The LANL proves that he worked on lasers, and I am interested in lasers and want to know how they work.

Fred Begay overcame many struggles in his life, such as the fact that he was Navajo. Because Fred was a Navajo, he was constantly being plucked in and out of reservations, schools, etc (NASA and Carlson Casper). He could barely speak English when he was in school and that must have made it tough to learn anything at all! The Navajo nation ended  up attending him into college at the University of New Mexico. Because of that, he was the first Navajo to get a PHD in physics according to Colorado State University.

Fred Begay was important to his field of STEM because of the projects that he worked on and the accomplishments he made. Because of his field of STEM, he worked with subatomic particles and helped with collecting greenhouse gasses. He was awarded with the National Science Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. A few projects that Fred worked on were the NASA High-Energy Gamma Ray Project and the LANL laser program. It was important that he worked on these projects because for one, the Gamma Ray Project would help scientists understand gamma ray bursts. With the LANL laser program, he worked on quantum dot technology to make lasers. If Fred wasn’t in the laser program, he might have never been able to work on the Gamma ray project because he would have less knowledge, and his help was crucial so if he didn’t help them the project may have failed, therefore he was important to his field of STEM.

Carlston Caspers | Fred Begay

https://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2005/na/bio_fred.htm

Ancient Observatories | Native American Connections | Biographies | Fred Begay

https://www.carlsoncaspers.com/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-spotlight/dr-fred-begay/

Colorado State University

https://rmamp.colostate.edu/people-of-color-in-stem-dr-fred-begay/

LANL

https://www.lanl.gov/media/news/1122-liquid-semiconductor-lasers

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Rudra Mahapatro

Mrs. Bhandari

7th grade ELA

14 February 2025

STEM Scientist: Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Did you know, Dr. Abdul Kalam made the first intermediate-range ballistic missile of India? Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is an inspiration to me as he went from poverty to an aerospace scientist, to being the President of India. According to Biography.com, the text states, “Kalam served as India’s president for one term from 2002 to 2007, and died of a heart attack on 27 July 2015.” He was born on 15 October 1931 in Rameswaram, a town in the state Tamil Nadu, which is in south India. I am from south India, which is one of the reasons he is an inspiration to me. Next, he was an aerospace scientist, and I was always interested  in aircraft and rockets/satellites, and how they work. He also came from an extremely poor background, and he went from poverty to being the president to India and getting the highest citizen’s honor awards. These awards honor him for being a major contributor to the research of many things, ranging from satellites to bombs. From highest to lowest, here are some of the awards he earned: Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and the Padma Bhushan. All of those are awards which honor people who do noble things for their country. These make me think believe that anything is possible no matter what.

Next, the adversity that Dr. Abdul Kalam faced was that he was in poverty. Due to many bad financial decisions and overwhelming costs, he went into poverty. Much before he was born, his family were wealthy, however as time passed, the family lost their wealth and were in poverty. At the age of eight, Abdul Kalam had to deliver newspapers just to help support his family for food. He did this because his family was struggling to generate enough income, and he decided to help. He had to go to the train station every morning and after school to collect baches of newspapers, and doing so made him exhausted (Biography.com). His mother was worried for him. Despite being impoverished, Abdul Kalam persevered with his education and got a degree in aerospace engineering. This is shown by that in Biography.com, the text states that despite his modest beginnings, when his dad built and rented boats, he was a bright student who was seen to excel in science and mathematics. According to Britannica, in 1958, he joined and first worked in the Defense Research and Development Organization (the DRDO). Eleven years later, in 1969, he moved to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). In between the 2 periods, he worked on a few different projects, such as Projects Valiant and Devil, however those did not prove to be successful (Dataquest).

Finally, Dr. Abdul Kalam was important to his STEM discipline, as he follows science, technology, and engineering. Dr. Abdul Kalam was mostly a scientist. He planned and researched ideas for missiles while he was at the DRDO. Britannica states, “In 1998 he was one of the chief coordinators of the Pokhran-II series of nuclear tests, in which five bombs were detonated at a test range in the town of Pokhran, Rajasthan state, north India.” According to Biography.com, the text states, “Kalam implemented the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. He then became the senior scientific advisor to India’s defense minister in 1992, a position he used to campaign for the development of nuclear tests.” For engineering,  he also worked on the SLV-III, the first satellite launch vehicle both produced and designed in India, as project director. This is proven because in Biography.com, the text states, “After moving to the newly formed Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1969, he was named project director of the SLV-III, the first satellite launch vehicle designed and produced on Indian soil.” For technology, he designed many missiles while at the DRDO, one of them being the AGNI missile, India’s first intermediate-range ballistic missile. In conclusion, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is an inspiration because he was Indian, struggled with poverty yet became the president of India, and was important to being an aerospace scientist/engineer.

Works Cited

“A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | Biography, History, Career, Books, Awards, & Facts” Britannica, 25 March 2004. https://www.britannica.com/biography/A-P-J-Abdul-Kalam

“A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: Biography, Scientist, President of India” Biography.com, 28 November 2023. https://www.biography.com/political-figures/a45972597/apj-abdul-kalam

“Contribution of APJ Abdul Kalam to ISRO and DRDO” Dataquest, 15 October 2019.

https://www.dqindia.com/contribution-apj-abdul-kalam-isro-drdo/

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Name: Kaela Dahlinghaus

Teacher/instructor: Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade Language Arts

14 February 2025

The Story of Hedy Lamarr

Have you heard of Hedy Lamarr? Hedy Lamarr didn’t just help invent WIFI and Bluetooth, but was also an actress in the 1900’s, which is one of the things I find interesting about her. Cool, right? I picked her because I thought she would be the most fun to write about, and research. She was born in the early 1900’s, specifically in 1914. She unfortunately passed later in 2000. Something that I find the most fascinating about Hedy, were all the movies she was in, which the number ranges around 30.

It was a struggle for Lamarr to receive recognition for what she had invented. She was gender stereotyped and judged because she was a woman. She helped invent WIFI and made the general base for it. It wasn’t until many years after making this invention that she then got recognized by the public. After receiving more recognition from people, she rose to fame. She didn’t just rise to fame because she was an actress, but because of what she had invented.

Without Lamarr, we probably wouldn’t have Bluetooth or WIFI today. She may have only made the general base for the two, but she was still a big help in the making. The National Women’s History Museum said, “Lamarr co-invented a radio communication system called “frequency hopping,” which was used commonly in wars to help spot targets. This method of communication was a huge help during the war against the Nazis.” By inventing this incredible system that now allows everybody to make wireless phone calls, and to use your phone without having to use up all your data, Hedy Lamarr really made a difference in life by creating this wonderful invention that is now used in today’s technology devices.

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Hedy Lamarr Biography” Biography. 2 April 2014

https://www.biography.com/actors/hedy-lamarr

Colleen Cheslak. “Hedy Lamarr: An inventive Mind” The National Women’s History Museum. 2018

https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/lesson-plan/hedy-lamarr

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Lathan McKeel

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

19 February 2025

Daniel Hale Williams

I picked Daniel Hale Williams because one of my career choices is to become a surgeon. I want to be a surgeon because my mom always watches surgery related movies and shows. This made an imprint on me at a young age and now I want to become a surgeon. I look up to Daniel Hale Williams because he was a very successful surgeon. In the Daniel Hale Williams Biography by The Famous People, they mention that ever since the beginning of his practice, he was thought by many as very skilled and thoughtful. This is why I picked Daniel Hale Williams.

Daniel Hale Williams had to overcome a few challenges throughout his life. He struggled with racism and financial hardships. In the Daniel Hale Williams Biography by The Famous People, it says, “Daniel was born in Pennsylvania and was of mixed parentage. He was the fifth child in a working-class family that struggled to make ends meet.”  This shows that he had to deal with money problems and racism. However, he was able to overcome these setbacks and become a successful surgeon.

Daniel Hale Williams was very important for surgery for many reasons. For example, he opened the first interracial hospital in America and performed the first successful open-heart surgery. The Daniel Hale Williams Britannica article says: “Williams performed daring heart surgery on July 10, 1893. Although contemporary medical opinion disapproved of surgical treatment of heart wounds, Williams opened the patient’s thoracic cavity without aid of blood transfusions or modern anesthetics and antibiotics. During the surgery he examined the heart, sutured a wound of the pericardium (the sac surrounding the heart), and closed the chest. The patient lived at least 20 years following the surgery.”

It also says, “In response to the lack of opportunity for African Americans in the medical professions, he founded the country’s first interracial hospital, Provident.” This shows that Daniel Hale Williams was important to advancements in surgery.

Works Cited

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Daniel Hale Williams". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Hale-Williams.

The Editors of The Famous People. “Daniel Hale Williams” The Famous People. 1 July 2024.

https://www.thefamouspeople .com/profiles/daniel-hale-williams-12329.php

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Autumn Kerley

Ms. Bhandari

Language Arts 7

18 February 2025

Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger was a scientist that studied physics and made significant contributions to quantum mechanics. Erwin Schrödinger was born on 12, August 1887, and he died on 4, January 1961. He was most famous for the Schrödinger equation, which was used to govern the wave function. This equation led to him winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933. Schrödinger also struggled a lot. At the time, World War II was in session. Schrödinger decided to leave Germany because of not believing in the ways of Hitler and fled to Italy in 1938.

I found them interesting because of their experiment, “Schrödinger’s cat.” The Nobel prize biography on Schrödinger explains that this experiment involved a cat, a flask of poison, and a Geiger counter all inside a sealed box. If the Geiger counter detected even the slightest radioactivity, the flask would shatter, releasing the poison and killing the cat. The theory explains that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead, but if one looks in the box, they will see the cat alive or dead, and not both. This questions where the Quantum Superstition ends and starts. I was curious on this experiment, because it really showed the interesting aspect of when time ends and stops, and how this affects the beginning and end of different things.

In conclusion, Erwin Schrödinger was a very interesting and bright individual. His studies on quantum mechanics, reflect his clever thinking. His “Schrödinger’s cat” experiment is one of the most astonishing works in quantum mechanics. His wave equations won him a Nobel Prize, and even with his struggles in Germany at the time, he still got back up to finish his outstanding studies.

Works Cited

“Erwin Schrödinger Biographical” The Nobel Prize, 1965. Erwin Schrödinger – Biographical - NobelPrize.org.

“The Physics Behind Schrödinger’s Cat Paradox” National Geographic, 14 August 2013. The Physics Behind Schrödinger's Cat Paradox.

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Amelia Hunter

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

14 February 2025

Rita Levi-Montalcini Research Paper

I chose Ms. Montalcini because of her perseverance, not only did she face sexism in her youth, she experienced racism because of The Manifesto of Race which prevented Jews from getting certain jobs. Rita Levi-Montalcini was an extraordinary woman in neurology that pushed through struggles to become a scientist. Starting her life with a father who had very strict and old-fashioned ideas about what women should and shouldn’t do. She pushed through and eventually got her college education. The Manifesto of Race, dictated by Mussolini in 1938, forbade Jews from having an academic and professional career, but this didn’t stop her from finding out about the Nerve Growth Factor, and getting a Nobel prize.

Rita Levi-Montalcini faced many challenges such as sexism and racism. From the Rita Levi-Montalcini biography on The Famous People, it explains how her father’s ideas about what a woman could and couldn’t do were conservative like most in the early 20th century Italy. He discouraged his daughters from getting a professional career, but Rita had a very intelligent mind, and growing up with a mathematician had only fueled her love for the sciences. Then when The Manifesto of race came out, she couldn’t continue her journey for her career. Soon, she decided to keep studying in her apartment with a friend and ended up finding out about the nerve growth factor. The nerve growth factor is a protein like molecule that regulates growth and maintenance of a nerve.

These struggles were important to her becoming a neurologist because if it weren’t for her childhood surrounded by her father’s engineering and mathematics then she would have never become a neurologist. Rita Levi-Montalcini found the nerve growth factor and ended up getting a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1986 and lived to a whopping 103 years old. Miss. Montalcini once said, “If I had not been discriminated against or had not suffered persecution, I would never have received the Nobel Prize.” This shows that even though she had many obstacles, she feels they shaped the person she turned out to be. In conclusion, Rita Levi-Montalcini persevered through struggles to become a neurologist and a Nobel Prize winner.

Works Cited

The Famous People. “Rita Levi-Montalcini- famous people of the world” https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/rita-levi-montalcini-7464.php

The Nobel Prize. “RITALEVI-MONTALCINI | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986”

The Nobel Prize | Women who changed science | Rita Levi-Montalcini

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Pavitra Desai

Mrs. Bhandari

Language Arts 7

14 February 2025

Helen Taussig Research Paper

Helen Taussig was a lot of things. She was the first female president of the American Heart Association, and she was the cardiologist who created the cure for cyanosis, or Blue Baby Syndrome. Taussig helped ban thalidomide in the US, before it came back with warnings about the side effects of its use. She was a major influence for women and cleared the pathway to open-heart surgery and pediatric cardiology. If you just read her accomplishments, you would never guess Taussig’s struggles. Helen Taussig was born in 1898 with dyslexia. Her mother died from tuberculosis when she was 11 years old. Later, she was denied a medical degree because she was a woman and suffered hearing loss.

The reason I chose Helen Taussig as my STEM professional is because her and her accomplishments intrigued me. While I may not be interested in pediatric cardiology, I am interested in cardiology. My father, being a doctor himself, sparked my interest in the medical field. Sometimes in the past I sat with him while he looked at patients’ descriptions and he would ask me to read out different medical terms. Taussig’s situation was similar. Her father was an economist who supported Taussig to pursue her goals, but according to nih.gov, “…her grandfather, a physician who had a strong interest in biology and zoology, may also have influenced her decision to become a doctor.” I find it fascinating how, in a time where women weren’t considered equal to men, Taussig created a cure to help babies born with heart defects survive.

Despite the achievements, Taussig had her fair share of struggles. Helen Taussig, according to nih.gov, “Despite suffering from dyslexia—a reading impairment—Taussig excelled in higher education.” Another source, The American Heart Association, (AHA), tells us, “Her mother died from tuberculosis when Taussig was just 11 years old, and her own milder case left her frail…A bout with whooping cough damaged her hearing, a problem that would grow progressively worse as she got older.” We know that Taussig combated illness and impairments, but what about the struggles concerning education? The AHA also informs us that, “After college, Taussig was determined to become a doctor, despite the fact that women were largely excluded from the field. Harvard offered to let her take classes but wouldn't confer a medical degree to a woman.” Since this took place in a time place where women were not viewed as well as men. Despite the refusal of a degree, Taussig found a solution: John Hopkins University. There, Taussig would be able to get a medical degree, and continue to change the course of cardiology. While volunteering at a children’s heart clinic, Taussig developed hearing issued which made it difficult to use a stethoscope and hear heartbeats. She ended up using her hands to feel heartbeats and diagnose conditions (AHA).

The condition cyanosis, or Blue Baby Syndrome occurs when not enough oxygen is delivered to the lungs. According to The American Heart Association, “But Taussig figured out that the problem with ‘blue babies,’ a condition known as cyanosis, was that they weren't getting enough oxygen because there wasn't enough blood going to their lungs. She thought it might be possible to fix that by connecting an artery leading to the heart to one leading to the lungs.” The shunt was created by Taussig, Dr. Alfred Blalock, and his assistant, Vivien Thomas. Since cyanosis is caused by the lack of oxygen, it would connect the heart to the lungs via arteries to provide that air. Nih.gov states that, “On November 9, 1944, Taussig and Blalock first performed this new operation on a child with anoxemia... They later repeated it successfully on two more patients…The technique was named the Blalock-Taussig operation and was soon used worldwide.” The Blalock-Taussig operation/shunt has helped save many lives around the world and has opened more opportunities and ideas to others.

Another thing Taussig helped with that save people was the ban of thalidomide in the US, before it came back with warnings of its use. Thalidomide is a drug pregnant women took to relive morning sickness. As a result, more babies were born with deformities. To avoid this in her own country, Taussig talked to women in Europe who took thalidomide. She then shared what she learned with the Food and Drug Administration. “Along with…Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, Taussig's diligence prevented the drug from being distributed in the U.S.” (AHA). If Taussig had not spoken up against thalidomide, thousands of babies in the U.S. would have been born with birth defects. Could you imagine that? Deformity rates would be much higher than it is currently.

Works Cited

“Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig” Nih, October 14, 2003. Changing the Face of Medicine | Helen Brooke Taussig

Williamson Laura. “Dr. Helen Taussig's work saved 'blue babies' and made her the mother of pediatric cardiology” The American Heart Association, March 28, 2024. Dr. Helen Taussig's work saved 'blue babies' and made her the mother of pediatric cardiology | American Heart Association

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Songli Googe

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

14 February 2025

Dian Fossey

Dian was always interested in animals, and she began horse riding when she was six years old. She worked with animals on a ranch in Montana during the summer break after her first year in college and discovered her love for animals. According to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, “Initially, the gorillas would flee into the vegetation as soon as Dian approached. Observing them openly and from a distance, over time she gained their acceptance. She put the gorillas at ease by imitating their regular activities, like scratching and feeding, and copying their contentment vocalizations.” This shows how she slowly managed to befriend the gorillas and learned more about them. According to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Dian was found dead the morning on December 27, 1985, struck twice with a machete on her head and face with evidence of forced entry, but nothing was stolen. Dian Fossey influenced many people, and a lot of people and gorillas mourn her.

Dian Fossey is an interesting person to me because she has been through a lot and dedicated most of her life to collaborating with gorillas and trying to save them. She learned horseback riding when she was six, eventually became a veterinary student, travelled to Africa, and befriended gorillas. According to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, “In the course of her years of research, Dian developed close attachments to many of the gorillas she studied. However, there was one gorilla with whom she formed a particularly close bond. She named the gorilla Digit, and he was about 5 years old and lived in her study Group 4 when she encountered him in 1967. He had a damaged finger on his right hand (hence, the name) and no playmates his age in his group. He was curious and drawn to her and she came to consider him a close friend.” This is why I think Dian Fossey was interesting, as she does many interesting things like befriending gorillas. Dian dedicated her life to protecting gorillas, and in my opinion, that is interesting.

Dian Fossey overcame several adversities to achieve her goals, including sexism, conflicts with poachers, and communication with gorillas, but she mainly struggled with sexism. Dian struggled for others to recognize her because she was a woman, and she also struggle against poachers who tried to hurt the gorillas. For example, Dian was in a picture from Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund with Jane Goodall, proving she faced a lot of sexism due to how Jane also faced a lot of sexism. According to Brittanica, “Though no assailant was ever identified, it is widely suspected that she was killed by the poachers against whom she had struggled for so long.” This proves how much she struggled against the poachers she was fighting. Dian Fossey faced a lot of challenges, but still prevailed despite them all.

Works Cited

Brittanica.: Dian Fossey American Zoologist”.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Rwanda/Demographic-trends

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. “Dian Fossey Biography”. Gorillafund.org.

https://gorillafund.org/who-we-are/dian-fossey/dian-fossey-bio/

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Ben Barres: the Neuroscientific Visionary

Before you begin the rest of this passage, I want you to know, Ben Barres was a person. A generous, selfless, inviting, indiscriminatory person. I don’t mean to say he was a saint, but humanity can learn from his experiences. In fact, thousands of people go through what he did every single day. He died not long ago in 2017 of pancreatic cancer. He was only 63.

Ben Barres was born in New Jersey in 1954. He was born a woman and assigned the name Barbara A. Barres. Early on, he learned that he was gifted in math and science but was denied access to these classes because he was a woman. During the first 43 years of his life this was the story. Although he studied at MIT, Darthmouth, Cornell and Harvard, he often struggled through sexism. When Ben Barres was 43, he transitioned from Barbara to his known name, Ben. Dr. Barres once stated that, “People who don’t know I am transgendered treat me with much more respect” (Ikiz). Other than being transgender, he also had the challenge of being face blind. He had a condition called prosopagnosia, which makes it hard to tell faces apart; he often had to depend on voices or what their hair looked like to identify people. In his many seminars where he motivated the science community to do better, he frequently addressed the challenges being a woman in his field cause and some of the barriers women and underrepresented groups, like LGBTQ+ people, members of BIPOC, and disabled people, still face today (Ikiz).

Ben didn’t just create waves by being an openly transgender scientist, he also discovered information about important cells. 90% of the cells in our brain aren’t the popular neurons, they are called glial cells and are often overlooked in science. Ben Barres focused his research on these elusive cells which scientists knew next to nothing about. Before Dr. Barres’s research, scientists believed that glial cells had an inactive role in brain functions. Glia is important in the upkeep of pathways through which neurons send signals to each other, and he found that when glia does not work the way they are supposed to, it could lead to “neurodegenerative disorders” (Goldman). Dr. Barres also discovered a specific type of Glial cell that can be harmful to neurons and cause disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. During his career, Barres won many awards and served on numerous editorial boards of respected science journals like the Journal of Neuroscience. He was also elected as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and was the first openly transgender member of the National Academy of Sciences (Goldman).

Barres was an inspiration for many people. A few weeks ago, I learned that a long-time friend of mine was a member of the LGBTQ+ community. For privacy reasons, I will not say their name. My friend has an interest in science, specifically biology. I decided when this project started that I wanted my scientist to be someone who was a beacon of hope for my friend. I wanted a scientist whose field focused on bodily systems. Most of all, I wanted a scientist that was part of the LGBTQ+ community and felt comfortable letting others know about it. Ben Barres was the perfect choice as he was transgender and face-blind, yes, but he was much more than that. He was an important neuroscientist, an amazing and inviting mentor, and an activist for underrepresented groups and his own beliefs about customs in the science community (Ikiz). During the final years of his life, he once said, “I lived life on my terms: I wanted to switch genders, and I did. I wanted to be a scientist, and I was. I wanted to study glia, and I did that too. I stood up for what I believed in, and I like to think I made an impact or at least opened the door for the impact to occur. I have zero regrets, and I am ready to die. I have truly had a great life” (Ikiz). Ben Barres was a role model for all of us.

Works Cited

Goldman, Bruce. “Neuroscientist Ben Barres, who identified crucial roles of glial cells, dies at 63” Wu Tasi Neurosciences Institute Stanford University, December 27, 2017. https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/neuroscientist-ben-barres-who-identified-crucial-roles-glial-cells-dies-63.

Ikiz, Burcin. “Remembering Ben Barres, the trailblazing trans neuroscientist and mentor, on his birthday” Massive Science, September 13, 2021. https://massivesci.com/articles/ben-barres-trans-birthday-neuroscience-stanford/.

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Mikaela Kennedy

Mrs. Bhandari

Language Arts 7

14 February 2025

Eileen Collins Research Paper

Why did I choose Eileen Collins as my STEM professional? Few people know this, but Eileen Collins was the first female shuttle commander. Eileen Collins is currently 68 years old and is retired in her field, but she is still an inspiration for many young minds. Eileen Collins took four trips into space, two being a space shuttle pilot, and the other two being a mission commander. These were goals that she set in fourth grade. Although, the thing about space is that space is so big we cannot explain it, its infinite. There are so many parts of space that have not been discovered. It is my dream to explore space and be in a part of the world that no one else has seen. I eventually want to be the woman that little girls look up to and think, “I can do this too,” just like Eileen Collins was to me.

Eileen Collins faced many adversities during her career. As a female in a male-dominated field, she experienced sexism. She was one of the first women to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and became the first female space shuttle pilot and commander. Eileen Collins had to overcome the pressures and responsibilities of commanding space shuttle missions. Additionally, she had to overcome technical and operational challenges during her flights, such as managing a short circuit that occurred during the launch of STS-93. Her decisive leadership during the mission earned her widespread admiration. Beyond her space missions, Eileen Collins has been an inspiration for education and STEM fields, inspiring young people to pursue careers related to hers. (Harland)

Eileen Collins is interesting to her profession because she achieved many groundbreaking goals. As you know she was the first female shuttle commander which made her very well known. She advocated for STEM education, encouraging young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She also received many awards and honors for her contributing to the exploration of Space. Some of the awards that she received was the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Eileen Collins achieved so much in her time of being an astronaut. This was the story of Eileen Collins who inspires and empowers young women to do what they have always dreamed of. (Harland).

Works Cited

Harland, David. “Eileen Collins” Britannica. Eileen Collins | Biography, NASA, & Facts | Britannica.

Ward, Jonathan H. “Eileen Collins” NASA Former Astronaut Eileen Collins - NASA

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Levi Braswell

Mrs. Bhandari

7th grade Language Arts

14 February 2025

John Urschel Gleason Research Paper

John Urschel is an assistant professor at the MIT Math department and a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. His research focuses on matrix analysis, which is the study of basis dependent linear algebra (Urschel’s Homepage), and numerical analysis. He has a PhD in mathematics that he completed in 2021. Dr. Urschel’s thesis, ‘Graphs, Principal Minors, and Eigenvalue Problems’ (Eye Gehn Value) was awarded the SIAM DiPrima Prize, which recognizes early career researchers in applied mathematics and is based on the doctoral dissertation (SIAM). Previously, Dr. Urschel was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, which is one of the world’s foremost centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry (understanding through questioning).

I think this person is interesting because he had to decide between football, which is a very athletic sport, and mathematics, which has only 4-6% African Americans, which Dr. Urschel is. So am I. I’m also thinking about going into a STEM career, engineering specifically.  From the source Onward State, John Urschel states that, “ I believe that it’s important that more attention is drawn to the things athletes do outside of sports, That sort of narrative sort of perpetuates and environment in which people don’t feel completely comfortable pursuing something outside of sports. Not just me, but the majority of athletes.” He also explains that his love for a challenge is something that he has had since he was a child. Like me, I also like having some sort of challenge to overcome.

Even though his career seemed great, there are bound to be some obstacles. Some of them can include racism; according to www.ams.org , John Urschel had faced it at his welcoming reception for entering his class of math graduate students. He was asking a fourth-year graduate math student for directions to the main math office, and he told him directions, but also told him he could, “tie a rope to the ceiling and swing over to the other side.” Which was extremely disrespectful. First year graduate John Urschel was left feeling unwelcome and angry. He also struggled to choose between mathematics and football because he liked the adrenaline he got from it, but also was very good at math.

WORKS CITED

“John Urschel’s homepage” John Urschel, Biography 2020

“Richard C. DiPrima Prize” SIAM, 2025

“John Urschel talks challenges”  Onward State,  2025

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June Stayrook

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Marie Nyswander Research Paper

Dr. Marie Nyswander helped develop a solution to heroin addiction by using methadone. She is interesting to me because both my mother and father were drug addicts, and in 2016, when I was four, they were arrested and put in jail, and later, in rehab. When this happened, I had to live with my grandmother. I couldn’t see my parents for a couple of years. They would write letters to me when they were in rehab, a couple saying they’d be out by the holidays, but then, after Christmas, another letter would come, apologizing for not being out of rehab yet. My mom and dad were never married, but they split after they got out of rehab. My mom was pregnant when she went to jail, and she had my little brother, Henry, in 2017, but he was put up for adoption. I didn’t even know I had a little brother until 2022, when my mother told me at a restaurant, where I felt trapped. I couldn’t yell at her for not telling me, I couldn’t cry, because I didn’t want to make a scene. I couldn’t even ask my father about my little brother, because my father died earlier that year. My father died from drug overdose, from an addiction that rehab tried to fix. He died July 16th, 2022, twelve days before my birthday. I hope that no one else must go through this, and because of Dr. Nyswander’s work, overdose will be prevented.

Dr. Marie Nyswander was a psychiatrist who had many achievements and helped develop a cure for heroin addiction. According to the New York Times, Dr. Nyswander was born in Reno on March 13, 1919, and she graduated for Sarah Laurence College and then after, from Cornell University Medical College. She first is shown the problem of heroin addiction in the 1940’s when she had worked with the United States Public Health Service. Dr. Nyswander then became a psychiatrist and was one of the few doctors treating drug addicts. Then, in 1964, started working with Dr. Vincent P. Dole and together, started a research group on the study of the biology of addictive diseases. Then, her and Dr. Dole got married the next year. With the help of Dr. Dole, they discovered that if they give high ‘maintenance doses’ of methadone, they could free patients from the disabling effects of their addiction and could start getting better.

When Marie Nyswander had just started working, she was faced with sexism. In the article “Dr. Marie Nyswander, Early Leader in Methadone Maintenance Treatment” by Rebecca J. Anderson, it talks about how when Marie Nyswander was 26, she was single and the only female doctor in her entire facility. All the other doctors were married men. Many of the men in the facility looked down on Nyswander and didn’t care for her ideas because she was a woman. But this didn’t stop her from following what she has always wanted to do. Her dream was to help others struggling with addiction, and she achieved it when she used methadone to treat heroin addiction.

Works Cited

Kolbert, Elizabeth. “Dr. Marie Nyswander Dies at 67, Expert in Treating Drug Addicts” The New York Times, 21 April 1986. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/21/obituaries/dr-marie-nyswander-dies-at-67-expert-in-treating-drug-addicts.html

Aufses, Arthur. “Dr. Marie Nyswander, Early Leader in Methadone Maintenance Treatment” MD Archives Blog, 26 March 2021. https://archives.icahn.mssm.edu/dr-marie-nyswander-early-leader-in-methadone-maintenance-treatment/

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Kinley Hedger

Ms. Bhandari

7th Grade English Language Arts

14 February 2025

Kiara Nirghin Research Paper

Kiara Nirghin is an award-winning AI technologist and tech entrepreneur. Kiara Nirghin believes creativity to be the foundation to her future. At just 16 years old, she became globally recognized for creating a sustainable, superabsorbent polymer made from avocado skins and orange peels. Her invention won the grand prize at the Google Science Fair. Nirghin is now 24 and fighting for gender equality in STEM. She believes all genders should be recognized when it overall comes to STEM careers. I have consistently observed the unfairness in privileges given to individuals based solely on their gender. It is extremely disrespectful how people can overlook amazing scientists simply because they are women. Collectively, I relate to my scientist because I believe that STEM careers and opportunities should be open and offered no matter someone’s gender.

At the age of 13, Nirghin was unfortunately afflicted by bilharzia, a parasitic disease that resulted in significant weight loss, severe jaundice, and a serious case of bacterial meningitis. As a consequence, she required several weeks of hospitalization followed by an extended recovery period. Additionally, Kiara faced gender-based discrimination. People undervalue her capabilities solely due to her gender, with pervasive societal beliefs suggesting that women are less competent than men because in the article “Kiara Nirghin on the gender divide in science, technology, engineering and mathematics” it states that, “In America men vastly outnumber women majoring in most STEM courses in college and women make up only 28% of the workforce in STEM fields.” Kiara Nirghin’s fight with serious health problems as well as gender-based discrimination is a clear indication of her strength and determination to overcome these challenges.

Kiara Nirghin was an AI technologist and tech entrepreneur. She was the youngest AI technologist, specializing in researching and building generative AI models. She co-funded Chima, a company using large-scale, venture-backed technology with a focus on sustainability and ethical practices. She won an award for her seminal research in AI algorithms and predictive modeling for real-world applications. She also created a polymer that increased water retention in soil that can increase crop survival during droughts by 84%. In the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN article, it states, “For her project, Nirghin created a biodegradable and superabsorbent material that can be “planted” alongside crops to create “mini reservoirs of water in the soil,” she explained in her presentation.” Nirghin describes herself in the STEM field as an AI technologist whose contributions to generative AI and sustainable practices reflect the challenges she has overcame throughout her successful career.

Works Cited

Caruso, Catherine. “Teen Wins Big for a Homemade Polymer” December 1, 2016. Teen Wins Big for a Homemade Polymer | Scientific American

Nirghin, Kiara. “Kiara Nirghin on the gender divide in science, technology, engineering and mathematics” March 14, 2022 Kiara Nirghin on the gender divide in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — Assembly | Malala Fund

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Jo Schmaltz Nelson

Mrs. Bhandari

Language Arts 7

14 February 2025

Sally Kirsten Ride Research Paper

Sally Kristen Ride is an amazing household name known for being the first American women in space and the third women to travel into space in general. However, what many people don’t know is that she was in a gay relationship for 27 years before she passed in 2012 due to pancreatic cancer (O’Shaugnessy). That’s what inspired me to write about her, because I always thought Ride was an amazing person in general, but I was ecstatic to learn she was part of the LGBTQ+ community like me! Dr. Ride is very inspiring to me as I am interested in the STEM field and as I mentioned, are part of the LGBTQ+ community too. She also had many other accomplishments such as multiple degrees and being one of the few women in the first astronaut training group allowing women. (Garcia).

Ride’s professional life was filled with many accomplishments and firsts! Ride’s most memorable and talked about accomplishment is her ride on the Challenger. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics and English, a Ph.D. in astrophysics and a pilot’s license and completing NASA training, she was eligible to work on the Challenger as a mission specialist (Garcia).  She was launched into space and history on 18 June 1983. The mission consisted of many experiments and multiple satellite launches in the span of six days. The next year, 1984, Ride was onboard on another mission in the Challenger accompanied by Katheryn Sullivan who became the first women to complete a spacewalk. (Mark A. Garcia).  This was also the first time two women were in space together.  After Ride left NASA in 1987, she wasn’t done inspiring the world! She went on to write books, help young girls get interested in science and mathematics, and so much more! (O’Shaugnessy). Her professional life was a truly amazing and she was very important to physics and astrology.

She faced many struggles to get to the place where she paved a path for women and LGBTQ+ people in STEM. Firstly, she was obviously discriminated against based on her gender. Not evening mentioning the struggles that must have come with being one of the first NASA female training selections, she faced many sexist comments such as Johnny Carson joking that the flight would be delayed because Dr. Ride would need to find a bag to match her shoes on the “Tonight Show” (Eveleth). She was also considered the first openly gay astronaut. Though Ride wasn’t very public about her personal life before her obituary, she still must have faced challenges from those who she told and possibly from herself. Ride is an amazing example for women in STEM, young girls, and the LGBTQ+ community alike. She will always be remembered as the first American women in space and the first openly gay astronaut!

Works Cited

Eveleth, Rose. “How Sally Ride Was Even Tougher than Ripley in Alien.” Smithsonian Magazine, 24 July 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-sally-ride-was-even-tougher-than-ripley-in-alien-6137787/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.

Garcia, Mark A. “Sally Ride – First American Woman in Space - NASA.” NASA, 18 June 2018, www.nasa.gov/history/sally-ride-first-american-woman-in-space/.

O’Shaugnessy, Tam. “From Girlhood Pals to Life Partners: Tam O’Shaughnessy Reflects on Her Relationship with Astronaut Sally Ride.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Nov. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/from-girlhood-pals-to-life-partners-tam-oshaughnessy_b_5a01bc7ee4b05c84181665e5.

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Adrian Hughes

Mrs. Bhandari

7th Grade ELA

14 February 2025

J. Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb.

J. Robert Oppenheimer; Legally Julius Robert Oppenheimer, a Jewish man, later a Nuclear Physicist in his life. He was born in Newark, New Jersey. He interests me due to his contributions to Nuclear Physics and importance to the end of World War II. One popular nickname, ‘The Father of The Atomic Bomb; Most likely given to him after 1945. One thing that makes him popular today was his Historical relevance to World War II, and Nuclear Physics in-general. During the last year of World War II, two atomic bombs we’re dropped on the Imperial Japanese cities of Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. From videos being spread in the 60s, it appears Oppenheimer dreadfully regrets his creation, calling himself ‘Death’ in an interview once, referring to the deaths his creation had caused. To sum it up, he is interesting to me because of his relevance to Nuclear Physics, World War II, and nuclear weaponry. As I said before, as long as he never gives anything away about his political life, he would be fine.

One interesting part about Oppenheimer, was his political affiliation. Which to be true, wasn’t the average alignment as most Americans in his time. He had turned communist during World War II, and due to it being heavily oppressed he hid it and only told very specific people. Even though he wasn’t officially communist (Little, 3). Despite that, he was able to hide it successfully and then later became the pinnacle of success for America in World War II. As I said before, as long as he never gives anything away about his political life, he would be fine as communism was heavily frowned on during his time.

The reason Oppenheimer was so important to his part of STEM is just because of his impact around the world. He revolutionized Nuclear Physics and led to many weapons being invented and ready in the sight of war. His impact isn’t denied by anyone, but what he did isn’t exactly condoned, since what he created is now classified as a war crime. Despite that, his contributions to science have lead the path for advancements of the field in various ways. His legacy may not be thought of so fondly, but it’s one of the most interesting and important ones in the last one-hundred years.

Works Cited

Rouzé, Michel. “J. Robert Oppenheimer” Encyclopedia Brittanica, February 14th, 2025 J. Robert Oppenheimer | Biography, Manhattan Project, Atomic Bomb, Significance, & Facts | Britannica

Little, Becky. “J. Robert Oppenheimer: 5 Facts About the ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’” August 1st, 2024 J. Robert Oppenheimer: 5 Facts About the 'Father of the Atomic Bomb' | HISTORY