1st Place – Morgan Polk, Georgia Institute of Technology
Morgan’s work shows that amylose, a common component of starch, has been discovered to act as a catalyst for chemical reactions — a finding that fundamentally rethinks the role sugars may have played in the chemistry of early life.
2nd Place – Isuru P. Silva Ethige, The University of Alabama
By finding green algae performing photosynthesis in the near-dark, red-shifted twilight zones of Carlsbad Caverns, Isuru’s research explores how oxygen-producing photosynthesis may be possible on planets orbiting the dim, cool stars that are the most common in our galaxy.
3rd Place – Samantha Pryor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Samantha’s experiments show that tiny airborne droplets at the ocean surface turn out to be surprisingly efficient chemistry labs, pointing to these droplets as a possible birthplace for the genetic molecules that gave rise to life.
