Brainy Bronx Teens Win Trip to Sweden

Winners of The Laureates of Tomorrow – Nobel Essay Contest attend the world’s most exclusive prize ceremony.

Published January 2, 2008

By Bill Silberg
Academy Contributor

Three New York City high school juniors were among those celebrating with the winners of the Nobel Prizes at the December awards ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.

Seventeen-year-old Mingzhu Li of the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Melanie Plaza of Bronx High School of Science, and William Rifkin of Horace Mann School enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to the Nobel Prize festivities as winners of The Laureates of Tomorrow – Nobel Essay Contest, now in its final year. The grand prize winners were announced at a June ceremony held at the Nobel Monument at Theodore Roosevelt Park in Manhattan.

The trio enjoyed a tour of Stockholm that included a visit to natural history and science museums, a “meet and greet” with students from Kungsholmens gymnasium, and entry to the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, which gathers approximately 25 young scientists from around the world. They also attended the Nobel Lectures, the exclusive talks given by the 2007 Nobel Prize winners in the categories of chemistry, physiology/medicine, and physics.

“I always dreamed of attending the Nobel Banquet,” said Mingzhu Li, an immigrant from China. She said she was especially thrilled that the trip was her first since becoming an American citizen. “Winning this prize is a dream come true to me.” Her essay, Niels Bohr and His Model of the Atom, received the award in the “Physics” category.

A Deep Dedication to Their Field

Melanie Plaza, winner of the Chemistry award for her essay on Linus Pauling: Changing Chemistry and the World, agreed. She understands how the Nobel Prize is given to those who share a deep dedication to their field. “I love science. When you really enjoy doing something, it’s easy to get absorbed by it and make time to do it,” she said.

Knowing that he was a witness to history was exciting for William Rifkin, who won the Physiology/Medicine award for Andrew Fire and the Discovery of RNA Interference: Silence is Golden. “This is the site where the world’s [most] important science award is being handed out,” he said. “I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to experience such a great, yet private, event.”

The 2007 competition represents the last year for The Laureates of Tomorrow – Nobel Essay Contest, a three-year effort by the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, The New York Academy of Sciences, and Nobelprize.org—the official Web site of the Nobel Foundation. The goal of the competition was to inspire and educate New York City high school juniors by having them write an essay examining the impact on science and society of major scientific achievements by Nobel Prize winners in physics, chemistry, or physiology/ medicine. Collaborators included the New York City Department of Education and the City University of New York.

The competition was open to all juniors in New York City public, private, and parochial schools. Thirty finalists from 18 different city schools had to defend their essays before a panel of outstanding scientists and journalists. With the official end of the competition, the partners thanked all of the participating students, as well as educators, parents, and supporters of the essay contest.

Also read: Supporting Scientists in the Bronx