Westhampton Beach High School senior Jack Schultz has advanced to the final round of the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair finals, to be held May 14-19 in Dallas, Texas. He will be one of only 20 student researchers from New York State and 1,800 from across the world to compete for nearly $6 million in awards during the fair.
Schultz was selected following submission of his work and an in-person interview surrounding his research related to the alteration of mineral and elemental composition in Saccharina latissima exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide.
Of the honor, Schultz said, “It is surreal.”
Schultz said he is looking forward to making long-lasting connections with fellow student researchers.
Schultz is also the first Westhampton Beach High School senior to be named a scholar in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search. He is one of only 300 students from across the nation to earn the honor from the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition.
To earn that honor, a $2,000 scholarship and a chance to become a finalist in the competition, Schultz demonstrated his research skills, leadership, community involvement and commitment to academics through an application process. He submitted three of his research projects, including the one he will be presenting at the Regeneron ISEF.
Schultz, an AP Scholar with Distinction, has also conducted extensive paleontology research, finding inspiration through dinosaur dig trips he took to Wyoming and Montana as part of the Westhampton Beach School District’s paleontology program. Recently, a paper that he and a Westhampton Beach alumnus wrote and researched, regarding methodology for dissolution of sediment and calcareous deposits for paleontological specimen collection and identification, was published by the peer-reviewed journal MethodsX. Schultz is currently preparing two additional manuscripts for publication on kelp and on the KPg extinction event.
Schultz recently completed a project to restore a 65-million-year-old dinosaur fossil along with his science research classmates and has devoted time to researching microfossils.
When not researching, Schultz can be found outdoors running, fishing and skiing.
He intends to study biochemistry and molecular biology in college.
“It’s wonderful to see a student who works his tail off be recognized in this world-renowned competition,” said science research teacher Dianna Gobler. “This couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. Jack is as kind as he is smart and always willing to help everyone around him.”
Date Added: 3/13/2023