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Contact: Jolene Goldade |
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Media Release |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Edina High Student in the Running to Receive Prestigious Science Award Edina, Minn., Jan. 28, 2009 – An Edina High School student will soon meet the president of the United States. Michael Cherkassky, a senior at Edina High School, has been named a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a pre-college science competition. As a finalist, Cherkassky has earned an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., where he will compete for the grand prize of $100,000. The event will take place in March and includes a meet-and-greet with President Obama and notable scientists. “This is an honor for both Michael and the Edina District,” said Anna Sheng, Cherkassky’s mother. Cherkassky is one of 40 students nationwide to make Intel’s finalist round. The finalists were selected from a pool of 300 semifinalists. Of those students, Cherkassky was one of two students representing Minnesota. Each semifinalist receives $1,000 award with an additional $1,000 going to his or her respective high school. The Intel Science Talent Search encourages students to tackle challenging scientific questions and develop the skills to solve the problems of tomorrow. Cherkassky’s submitted project is called Application of the Machine Learning Methods to Medical Diagnosis. Over the summer, Cherkassky received a $25,000 scholarship when he submitted the same project to the Davidson Institute for Talent Development and was named a Davison Fellow. Sheng attributes a large part of Cherkassky’s success to the dedicated educators who have taken the time to mentor him. “Without the school’s excellent teaching and counseling staff, Michael would have not made it this far,” said Sheng. Intel will announce its top finalists at a black tie gala held on March 10. About the Intel STS: About Edina Public Schools: ###  |
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