The three high school students traveling to Stockholm are:
- Jedtsada Laucharoen, Horace Mann School, The Bronx
- Alina Fradlis, Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island
- Michael Vishnevetsky, Midwood High School at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn
The program and trip to Sweden include attending the lectures by this year's Nobel Laureates, the Prize Award Ceremony and the world-famous Nobel Banquet where guests will include King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. The students will also visit a local high school, enjoy sightseeing and be able to experience one of Sweden's foremost traditions, the Lucia pre-Christmas celebration at the Stockholm Globe Arena.
Alina Fradlis can't wait to attend the Prize Award Ceremony. "It will be such a unique opportunity to be in a room with some of the greatest scientific minds in the world," she said. When the Nobel Prizes were awarded in October, she followed the news avidly.
"Since the contest, the word 'Nobel' has great significance to me," Jedtsada Laucharoen commented. "I've heard a lot about the uniqueness of the ceremony." A lover of maps, he observed that Stockholm is "built on many islands. Just viewing a map of the city and its surrounding areas makes this apparent."
Michael Vishnevetsky agrees that the most exciting part of this trip will be the awarding of the prizes and the festivities attending the ceremony. He hopes to converse with the Nobel Laureates of this year and believes that he will "rejoice in this amazing experience". In addition to sightseeing, he also looks forward to "enjoying a traditional Swedish meal."
The competition, launched in 2004 and open to all juniors in New York City high schools, required students to write essays examining the impact on science and society of major scientific achievements by Nobel Prize winners in physics, chemistry or physiology/ medicine. The finalists had to defend their essays before a panel of scientists and journalists, among them Nobel Laureates. The winners were announced at the ceremony at the Nobel Monument in Theodore Roosevelt Park on June 13, 2005, as the new inscription of names of the most recent American Nobel Prize Laureates was celebrated.
The Laureates of Tomorrow – NOBEL ESSAY CONTEST is exclusive to students enrolled in New York City high schools and the three students are the first ever to win the competition, which is now entering its second year.
Contest top prize winners' trips to Sweden and program are courtesy of the Consulate General of Sweden, which initiated the essay contest. Invitations to this year's Nobel Laureate lectures, the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and world-famous Banquet are provided via Nobelprize.org – the official website of the Nobel Foundation.
The contest is a partnership between the Consulate General of Sweden, New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and Nobelprize.org, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), and the City University of New York (CUNY). This year's essay contest has also been supported by Sony Ericsson, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
The contest is administered by NYAS, a worldwide nonprofit membership organization committed to building communities and advancing science. The Academy's collaboration with the Consulate General of Sweden, Nobelprize.org, NYCDOE and CUNY, is aimed at furthering public awareness of the Nobel Prizes, Nobel Laureates, and the science behind the discoveries, especially among students and teachers in New York. The essay question, designed by Academy staff and approved by a committee composed of NYC Department of Education representatives, encourages students to examine the impact of major scientific achievements by Nobel Prize winners on science and society.
For more information about the competition, visit the web portal: www.laureatesoftomorrow.org
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For information about the grand prize and the upcoming trip to Sweden:
Amelie Heinsjö, Consulate General of Sweden
212-583-2554
Email: amelie.heinsjo@foreign.ministry.se
Helén Daun Rosengren
Consulate General of Sweden
212-583-2583
For information about the essay contest:
Fred Moreno
New York Academy of Sciences
212-838-0230, ext. 230
fmoreno@nyas.org
For information about Nobelprize.org, the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Laureates:
Curtis Houlihan
Nobelprize.org
212-838-0230, ext. 420