Schools

MHS Scores Big in State Science Day Competition

Millburn High School Earns 2nd Place in Merck State Science Day; Biology and Physics Teams Come in First.

 The student team from Millburn High School ranked 2nd in the state in the prestigious 61st Annual Merck State Science Day.  The Biology and Physics teams from MHS earned first place, and three MHS students are Merck Scholars, those who score at the highest individual levels. Students from 94 high schools around New Jersey competed in this annual competition, demonstrating their mastery in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Integrated Sciences. The total school score is based on the combined scores from all science disciplines in the competition.

As in 2010, the Biology and Physics teams from Millburn ranked 1st out of all competing teams.  Millburn’s Chemistry team placed 5th, compared to 10th last year.  The Integrated Science team, made up of students who have not taken any Advanced Placement courses, is tested on all of the above disciplines plus Earth Science. They scored 13thth out of all competing teams. The Advanced Integrated Science team, made up of students who have taken numerous AP courses and who are tested on all of the disciplines, ranked 6th.

Millburn students also performed well individually. The top four students in the state in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Integrated Science and Advanced Integrated Sciences are known as Merck Scholars. Students ranking 5th through 19th in the state receive an Honorable Mention award.

Find out what's happening in Millburn-Short Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Merck Scholar, sophomore Amir Taree, was second in the state in Biology, out of 327 students who took the test. Jeffrey Lai, Theodore Moskovitz and Sahil Gupta earned Honorable Mentions in Biology. In Physics, juniors William Krinsman and Henry Meng, who were Merck Scholars in Biology last year, achieved Merck Scholar status again in Physics, coming in 1st and 3rd respectively in a field of 321 students.  Antony Qian and Peter Baggaley placed 5th and 6th, earning them each Honorable Mention. In Chemistry, juniors Jacob Kaufman (7th) and Chanthia Ma (18th) both earned Honorable Mention. In Advanced Integrated, senior Qi Wang ranked 19h, also an Honorable Mention.

Millburn’s team members are:

Find out what's happening in Millburn-Short Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Biology – Amir Taree, Jeffrey Lai, Theodore Moskovitz, Sahil Gupta and Andrew Brod; Chemistry: Jacob Kaufman, Chanthia Ma, James Kiselik, Amanda Chin and Michael Harmon;

Physics: William Krinsman, Henry Meng, Antony Qian, Peter Baggaley and Joseph Wang;

Integrated: James Matin, Austin Gengos, Erica Leh, Jeremy Bergman and Ilan Weinschelbaum;

Advanced Integrated: Qi Wang, Sara Cohen, Jeffrey Fischer, Derek Wong and Joseph Vinegrad.

To participate in Merck State Science Day, students take a written test, given simultaneously around the state, which is scored both individually and as a team. The competition is sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education and the New Jersey Science Teachers Association. 

All of the state’s Merck Scholars were honored with their teachers, coaches, and parents at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, at Merck & Co., Inc., in Rahway, New Jersey.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Millburn-Short Hills