59th Annual STS (1999–2000)
Finalists
Zachary Howard Cohn

NEW YORK
Zachary Howard Cohn, 17, of Dix Hills, entered a mathematics project in the Intel Science Talent Search that brings a new perspective to the study of squares of integers. For a prime number p, it is useful to recognize when an integer differs from a perfect square by a multiple of p. Zachary provides his own approach for proving a key result in number theory-the result known as quadratic reciprocity. In doing so, he obtains algorithms for testing for squares. He also provides analogous results about squares in polynomials over fields of prime order. First in his class of 312 at Half Hollow Hills High School East, Zach is captain of the science olympiad team, a competitor in speech and debate, and a member of the French culture club. An avid runner on the championship cross country and track teams, he has been a New York State Scholar-Athlete Award winner. Zach plays violin and viola in the All-County Orchestra and at Long Island String Festivals, and, for the past two years, he has been a weekly volunteer at a geriatric center. He is the son of Leslie and Regina Cohn, and plans to pursue a career in education and research after college.