Antonia Kolb (far right), a senior at King School in Stamford, finished in 2nd place among Oral Presenters in the Math and Computer Science category at the 2024 National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Two hundred forty-one high school students from across the country presented their original research and competed for scholarships at this year’s event, which took place in Albuquerque, NM, May 1–4, 2024.
Kolb gave a presentation on DETICKT IT, a mobile app she developed to identify ticks and assess tick-borne disease risk. The app is currently available for free in the Apple App Store.
The top finisher at the Connecticut regional JSHS on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at UConn Health in Farmington, Kolb was one of five students who comprised the Connecticut delegation to the national symposium. The other four Connecticut competitors were Snigtha Mohanraj, junior, Engineering and Science University Magnet School in West Haven; Harshil Yerrabelli, junior, Conard High School in West Hartford; Ashley Malkin, junior, Greenwich High School; and Cole Galla, senior, Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center.
“The Connecticut delegation always does an amazing job representing our state,” said Dr. Brittany Knight, director of the CT-JSHS program. “Our hope is that the research these talented students have conducted and presented will be just the first step in a rewarding career in science, engineering, or healthcare.”
CT-JSHS is part of the Junior Science and Humanities Symposia Program sponsored by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Connecticut regional symposium is sponsored by UConn Health and Connecticut Area Health Education Center (CT AHEC), under contract with the National Science Teaching Association.