Ward Melville student advances to International Science and Engineering Fair

Ward Melville High School senior Joe Sciotto will represent Long Island and compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair this May, the school district announced.

Sciotto, a participant in Ward Melville’s science research program InSTAR, placed first in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair on Tuesday, March 7. He’ll compete with pre-college research students from around the world at the fair in Dallas this May.

Sciotto’s project focuses on studying the mineral content of Martian soils. In conjunction with the exploration being completed by the Mars Rovers, Sciotto simulated Martian soils here on Earth to build a database to help identify the samples being collected on Mars’ surface.

“It is hoped that his work will contribute to our understanding of natural soil
building processes on Mars, leading to future breakthroughs as we expand our endeavors to
visit the red planet,” said Marnie Kula, chair of Ward Melville High School’s Science Department and science research coordinator of InSTAR.

_{Top photo: Joe Sciotto (Courtesy of Three Village School District)}