So it is my great honor to write the last newsletter of our Intel ISEF experience, which has truly been a week to remember.

Today was our last full day, filled with moments of nervousness to great sights in San Francisco. We again found ourselves waking up to delicious, fresh baked goods such as blueberry-cream croissants, banana-nut muffins, and fresh fruit.

The Grand Awards was the feature presentation of the day, starting at 9 am and running till around 12 noon. Here, Connecticut was strongly represented by Jason Gandelman of Westport, who won 3rd place in the Biochemistry category for his research pertaining to diabetes. William Cummings Newberry of Greenwich won 1st place in the Materials and Bioengineering category for his work enhancing the efficiency of solar cells.

After the awards ceremony, we hurried over to the exhibit hall to tear down our poster boards and display areas, preparing them for shipment home. The tearing down of our projects went surprisingly quickly, which allowed our group to move on and sit down for lunch in one of America’s favorite dining establishments, McDonalds or regional chain Jack in the Box, before starting the drive to San Francisco.

Our first stop in San Francisco was the original Ghirardelli Chocolate store, where our group purchased over 6 pounds of assorted Ghirardelli chocolates. We then embarked on a unique Fire Truck tour of San Francisco, culminating in a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. We were able to see this historical architectural creation from many different perspectives, something that we will surely cherish and remember for the rest of our lives. Then we toured San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, where we had a terrific dinner at famous Alioto’s restaurant, overlooking the bay.

So that ends our week at the Intel ISEF in San Jose, a truly fun and inspiring experience to take part in.

The opportunity to meet wonderful people from all around the world to building friendships with the most brilliant minds in Connecticut could never be achieved in a better way!

-Jason Gandelman Senior, Staple High School