Hey Greenwich! ... Did You Know There are Scientists Among Us?

Today is Monday, May 21, 2012 and it's National Strawberries and Cream Day.

This day in history:

In 1881 in Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in partnership with the International Red Cross.

In 1901, Connecticut becomes the first state to pass a law regulating motor vehicles, limiting their speed to 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads.

In 1999, the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Actress was won by a tearful Susan Lucci of ABC’s All My Children—her first win after 19 straight years of being nominated in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of Erica Kane.

Things you should know:

Greenwich High School senior Ryota Ishizuka of Cos Cob is one of four Connecticut students who earned top honors at the 2012 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest pre-college science fair, held last week in Pittsburgh, PA.

Ishizuka won a first-place Grand Award earned a first-place ($3,000)
Grand Award in the ISEF’s Materials and Bioengineering category as well as a Best in Category Award. Mallory Madfes, a junior at Greenwich High School, earned a fourth-place ($500) Grand Award in the ISEF’s Environmental Management category.

Their trip to the Pittsburgh competition was part of their prize for earning top awards at the Connecticut Science Fair (CSF) and/or the Science Horizons regional science fair held earlier this year.

“Today’s awards are among the best results ever for the Connecticut delegation,” said George “Bob” Wisner, director and chairman of the board of the CSF, in a prepared statement. “These young people are shining examples of dedication, hard work and talent. We are very proud of them. Based on today’s results, I am happy to report that science and engineering are alive and well in Connecticut.”

David Liscinsky, Connecticut’s associate director of ISEF Week and a judging chair at the CSF, said, “The Connecticut delegation was well prepared and the hard work of our students paid off,” said Liscinsky, a
Pennsylvania native and Penn State graduate, settled in Connecticut in 1988 when he joined United Technologies Research Center.

“I had a unique perspective this past week,” Liscinsky said. “I saw our Connecticut kids compete against people from more than 68 countries in my home state. The number of awards captured by our state’s students is a reflection of the quality of the science curriculum and mentoring in Connecticut schools. We have a strong infrastructure that prepares students to compete at this level. To win awards among this caliber of competitors, students have to show up here with a high-quality product.

Ishizuka's Best in Category Award includes a $5,000 scholarship and a $1,000 grant to both GHS and the Connecticut Science
Fair Association. In a project called "An Organic Thin Film Transistor and Elastic Organic Solar Cell Based Electronic Skin for Biochemical and Tactile Sensing," Ishizuka demonstrated flexible organic thin film transistor pressure sensors powered by reversibly elastic organic
photovoltaic cells, which may serve as electronic skin, mimicking tactile sensing for artificial intelligence. At Thursday’s awards ceremony, he also earned a first award ($2,500) from the Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.

Madfes' project, "Mycroremediation of PCB Soil Contaminants with Pleurotus ostreatus," she researched the use of oyster mushrooms in the
mycroremediation of PCBs in a controlled soil-like environment. At the awards ceremony, she also received the Air Force Research Laboratory (first) Award of $3,000.

Traffic alert:

Connecticut Light & Power continues its power line and equipment upgrades around town. Drivers should expect some delays on:

• North Street, between the Merritt Parkway and Fairfield Road
• Fairfield Road, between North Street and Stanwich Road
• Stanwich Road, between Fairfield Road and East Putnam Avenue
• East Putnam Avenue, between Stanwich Road and Strickland Road
• Strickland Road
• Old Mill Road
• Sound Shore Drive
• Station Road
• Loughlin Avenue

Meetings today at Greenwich Town Hall:

If you prefer the clicker instead of being there, there's Greenwich Community Television (GCTV) on either Fios Channel 24 or Cablevision's Channel 79.

And if you prefer movie entertainment, here's the schedule for:

Sources: history.com