Shireen Dhir from Georgia, Pinaki Bose from Texas and Maryam Khadijah Mohammed from Florida were chosen among the 40 middle school finalists (grades 5 through 8) in the 6th annual 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC) on Sept. 20.

The finalists will now compete for the title of ‘America’s Top Young Scientist of the Year,’ at the Cole Field House, University of Maryland, in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 23-27, said a press release issued by the Discovery Communications, Inc.

They will compete in team-based, interactive challenges, celebrating 100 years of scientist Albert Einstein’s relativity theories. Scholarships worth $100,000 and special prizes are at stake.

The finalists were chosen based upon the excellence of their projects presented at local Science Service-affiliated science fairs across the country. During the DCYSC finals, the finalists will present their research projects to judges to demonstrate their communication skills and creative thinking, the release said.

Dhir, who is in 7th grade at Feagin Mill Middle School in Georgia, presented the project titled ‘How Can You Propagate Stevia By Using The Method Of Tissue Culture?’

Bose, who is a 7th grader at the Dunbar Middle School in Texas, won on her project titled ‘Biodegradable Polymers And Their Composites.’

An 8th grader at the C.W. Ruckel Middle School in Florida, Maryam Khadijah Mohammed presented the project, titled ‘Keeping Antibiotics Working: Modulatory Effects Of OTCMs, Dietary Supplements And Fresh Fruits On The Sensitivity Of S. Aureus To Antibiotics.’

More than 7,500 children have entered the DCYSC since its inception. Winners have received more than $400,000 in scholarship awards, federal government recognition and participated in science-related trips that have taken them to the far corners of the globe.

Discovery Communications launched the competition in partnership with Science Service to nurture the next generation of American scientists at a critical age when interest in science begins to decline, the release said.

(Compiled from a press release by Nishant Arora)