Earth Science Astronomy and Gelogical Map Display Wall

Dr. DiTullio worked hard to transform this blank wall on the third floor of the C building to accommodate the permanent installation of some geological survey maps and pictures related to astronomy.

In a galaxy.......far....far......away.......

More Bronxville Students Presenting and Exploring

In Forensics, Alex examines a pelvic girdle and sacrum looking for characteristics that will enable him to identify the sex of the individual.

First year Science Research students practice presenting scientific papers they have read in their search for a topic to pursue in their own original research. Here Tepi is introducing a paper she read relating Korsakoff's Syndrome to damage in the frontal lobe of the brain.

Ivan describes the occipital bone's characteristic structure to Xavier as he examines a skull to determine its sex, race, and age.

Jackie, another first year Science Research student, presents the paper she read on the use of "low tech" additives to cleanse water of human fecal contamination, effectively, simply, and most importantly cheaply!.

Janelle, Ally and Nick examine casts of human maxillae to determine their race.

Bronxville Science Students at Work

In Chem II Honors, Luke is identifying some of the physical properties of a variety of substances. Here he observes the magnetic properties of iron filings.

AP Biology students are examining the phenomenon of osmosis and the effect of a synthetic membrane on the movement of water into or out of a cell. The dialysis bags were filled with various strength sugar  (1M, 0.8M, 0.6M, 0.4M, and 0.2M) solutions  and then placed in distilled water. The students noted the mass of the bags before and then after the bags were immersed in the distilled water for 30 minutes.

AP Biology students, David and Brad, are determining the water potential of potato samples by measuring their mass change in various sugar (1M, 0.8M, 0.6M, 0.4M, and 0.2M) solutions.

Chem II Honors students, Claudia and Jack, analyze their observations of the physical properties of various substances.

Chem II Honors student, Luke points out how the iron filings are attracted to the magnet.

In Chem II Honors, "Big Henny" shows the proper technque needed to assess if a particular solid substances will react with a specific liquids using a spot plate.

Forensics' students collate their data for the Maggots and Murder Lab in which they studied four cases by measuring the "maggots" found on the corpses and estimated a TOD (time of death) based on the species present and their growth.

Devon and Kyrie measure the length of their "maggots" while Michael tabulates their data.

Rivalry Among DNA Sleuths Comes Alive in Letters

Read this very interesting article from the NY Times by Nicholas Wade. It is based on information discovered in long lost letters from one of the principals involved in the discovery of the structure of DNA. It reinforces some of the more recently published information on how poorly Rosalind Franklin was treated by her fellow scientists.

Nicholas Wade DNA Rivalry Article

The article seems to support the story depicted in the 1986 movie, "Race for the Double Helix", in which Jeff Goldblum played James Watson and Timothy Pigott-Smith played Francis Crick.

In 1975, Anne Sayre wrote the book "Rosalind Franklin and DNA" in answer to the unflattering picture presented by James Watson's 1968 book "The Double Helix". More recently Brenda Maddox's book "Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA" resurrected interest in the role this female researcher played in discovering the structure of DNA.

Inspiring Teachers

The following is an interesting video posted on the White House's web site regarding efforts to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education in the USA.

The video was "born" from a discussion of members on the president's council........."Those of us who have the privilege of serving on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology were talking about this recently and comparing stories about our own favorite and life-changing teachers, and we had an idea: Why not make a short video in which we could tell our stories, as a means of amplifying a message we were already developing about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education?"

I think the opinions voiced in the video are true for any profession....we have followed the paths  of our lives because at some point in our education a particular teacher made a personal, meaningful connection that inspired each of us. That teacher may have taught us English, History, Latin, or even Calculus....whatever they did they changed our lives.

My personal inspiration came from two of  my high school science teachers at Fordham Prep....one I will name and the other shall remain nameless. My biology teacher, Mr. Cornelius McCarthy, made every biology class fun and easy, with his humor and skill at simplifying the difficult. On the other hand, my chem teacher on parents' night informed my parents that I was not bright enough to pursue science as a career. I just had to prove him wrong!

Science Research Students Participate in White Plains Invitational Sophomore Symposium

The White Plains Invitational Symposium/Competition was held this past Saturday afternoon at White Plains High School.  In this competition, sophomore students in science research programs from Westchester County High Schools present their work. This entails the production of a project display which must include the following sections: an abstract, a review of literature,  a hypothesis, methods and materials, and projected results. Each student stands by their display to explain and answer questions about the work. Each display is judged four times by judges, who meet individually with the student.

There were a total of 198 students from schools including but not limited to Scarsdale, Edgemont, Ossining, Yorktown, and  White Plains. Projects were placed into categories based on the branch of science being investigated. A few of the many categories included  Botany, Behavior, Medicine and Health, Computer Programming and Astronomy. In each category, the top three scorers are awarded prizes.

Dr. Lee DiTullio and Mr. Charles Ippolito served as judges at the invitational. Bronxville was very well represented by our five students (Shea Braumiller, Steven Chrappa, Joey Colvin, Nick Capasso, and Basil Sunier).  Nick Capasso was awarded third place in the environmental science category.

First Annual Bronxville Science Reseach Symposium

On Friday, June 4th the Science Research Program held its first annual science symposium in the fireplace room.

The symposium is a platform for the students in the program to present the projects they have worked so diligently to complete in the past year.


The symposium opened with a presentation by Dr. Nicole K. Davi a staff scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University's Tree-Ring Laboratory in Palisades, NY 10964. Dr. Davi was awarded her Ph. D in Physical Geography (Paleoclimatology) from the Department of Geography at Rutgers New Jersey. The presentation described her use of tree rings to trace the periods of drought that have impacted the nomadic peoples of Mongolia.

Following the guest speaker's presentation the current students in the program presented and explained the displays they produced to illustrate the completed work investigating the current knowledge in the topics and how they plan to develop into an original investigation. The displays include anticipated results of their line of inquiry. This work, when completed, will be presented in future symposia and scientific competitions.

This evening was a good "dry" run as all of the students participated the next afternoon in the White Plains Invitational Symposium, where they competed with other sophomores in science research programs in high schools from across Westchester County.