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Eastchester students win regional science honors as ASR teacher seeks college accreditation
Summary
Eastchester students placed at the Regeneron Westchester Science & Engineering Fair after presenting advanced research projects; ASR teacher Dr. Ken Miller described student publishing successes and said he plans to pursue SUNY Albany accreditation and build in‑house lab capacity.
Eight Eastchester high school students were recognized at the March 15 Regeneron Westchester Science and Engineering Fair, the district heard Tuesday.
Dr. Ken Miller, the district’s advanced science research (ASR) teacher, introduced students who described projects ranging from AI models of crystal stability to an automated text‑to‑Braille device. Max Lind said his neural‑network model predicting crystal stability attained “90 to 98% accuracy” and earned second place in the chemistry category. Amelia Chen said her work on latex balloon degradation showed that “latex balloon products shouldn't be considered biodegradable with the global biodegradability standards,” and Noman Unjak described an affordable automated text‑to‑Braille device that won the WESF engineering first prize and a $300 award.
Miller outlined ASR as a three‑year program that teaches philosophy of science, literature review, experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication, and he emphasized hands‑on student work: “The ultimate goal here is to make our students able to develop their own independent research project,” he said. He also noted that some students have published in peer‑reviewed journals and that the program produced recent regional and international awards.
Miller told the board he wants to pursue college accreditation for the course through SUNY Albany and to develop an in‑house laboratory so students can begin projects immediately rather than rely solely on outside mentors.
The board also introduced Adam Fryhoffner, a newly hired chemistry teacher, and thanked Miller and participating students for the program’s achievements. The superintendent’s report said the district will continue supporting ASR and encourage publication and competition opportunities.
The board did not take formal action on ASR accreditation at the meeting; Miller said steps remain to pursue SUNY Albany status.
