Posted on: Thursday, September 2, 2004

Seven named science semifinalists

Advertiser Staff

Seven Hawai'i middle school students have been named among 400 semifinalists in this year's Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge.

The field will be narrowed to 40 on Sept. 20. The 40 finalists will travel to the University of Maryland in October to compete for more than $100,000 worth of scholarships and special prizes, as well as the title of "America's Top Young Scientist of the Year."

The semifinalists, from 41 states and Puerto Rico, were chosen from a field of 1,795 formal entries. The entrants were selected from a pool of 75,000 students who participated in science fairs across the nation.

The Hawai'i semifinalists are:

• Alan Kenji Suzuki, of Honoka'a, Hawai'i, an eighth-grader at Connections Public Charter School, for "Do Your Heart a Favor: Go Nuts!"

• Mark Masao Masutani, of Pearl City, a sixth-grader at Iolani School, for "Salinity Tolerance of Grasses."

• Joseph Jin Woo Fala, of Honolulu, a sixth-grader at Iolani School, for "Detecting Cancerous Moles: Can U.V. Be Used?"

• Karla M. Chikamoto, of Honolulu, a sixth-grader at IolaniSchool, for "Is Noni a Natural •nsecticide Against Mediterranean and Oriental Fruit Flies?"

• Keala Alexis Martins-Keliihoomalu, of Kea'au, Hawai'i, a seventh-grader at Kamehameha Schools Hawai'i Campus, for "Do Stinging Nettle Caterpillars Have Predators in Hawai'i?"

• William Lewis Sims, of Kailua, Hawai'i, a seventh-grader at Kealakehe Middle School, for "Rotifer Refinements: Determining the Optimum Salinity for the Growth of a Rotifer Culture."

• Philip Mocz, of Mililani, an eighth-grader at Mililani Middle School, for "Obtaining Details in Astronomical Images of the Full Moon With Color Filters."