Girls interested in studying STEM now have two new role models with the announcement of the 2015 Siemen's Competition $100,000 Grand Prize winners: Kimberly Te and Christine Yoo from Manhasset High School.

The pair, who've known each other since grade school, took their interest in environmental science and decided to find out how polluted our water is.  The result was a device they call 'mud power' because it takes naturally occurring bacteria in sediment and uses it to clean up oil spills.

Read more at Manhasset's website.

The Child Mind Institute of Manhattan has announced the five 2015 Rising Students, an award recognizing "exceptional promise in science and a specific interest in neuroscience."  Available only to high school students in the metro area, this year's winners include three from Long Island and two from Manhattan.

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology recently announced this year's 97 nationwide regional finalists, which includes 15 Long Island students:

David Herman, Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School

Vishal Nyayapathi, Half Hollow Hills High School East

Brian Rhee, Half Hollow Hills High School East

Alia Rizvan, Half Hollow Hills High School East

Bongseok Jung, Herricks High School

Kameron Sedigh, Kings Park High School

Julian Ubriaco, Kings Park High School

Jun Yan He, Manhasset High School

Kevin Sadhu, Manhasset High School

Kimberly Te, Manhasset High School

Christine Yoo, Manhasset High School

Sarah Lee, Syosset High School

Kunal Shah, Syosset High School

Yujin Kim, The Stony Brook School

Roshan Patel, Ward Melville High School

New this year, the regional finalists will be presenting their projects to judges remotely using web conferencing and other digital tools.  The winning national finalists selected will then travel to Washington, D.C. in December where they will compete for scholarship awards ranging from $10,000 to $100,00.

Red Hook was once a large shipping port, whose history is getting a nod from a local collaboration by Pioneer Works and the Red Hook Initiative.  The participants will design and create remote controlled boats using 3-D printers.  The fleet will then be tested in a regatta that will include tranporting foam "shipping containers" from the shore to "cranes" along the pier with the winner delivering the most "freight" in 15 minutes.

Read more in The Brooklyn Paper.