60th Annual STS (2000–2001)
Finalists
Eve Ariel Henry

NEW YORK
Eve Ariel Henry, 17, of Armonk, evaluated cruciferous vegetables as sources of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) and tested methods of increasing those levels for her Intel Science Talent Search project in botany. PEITC shows great promise for the prevention and treatment of cancer. From her research Eve concluded that among common grocery vegetables, watercress produced the highest concentrations of PEITC-40 times more than broccoli, the second best source-with no detectable concentrations of allyl isothiocyanate, thought to be toxic and possibly carcinogenic. She also concluded that adding methyl jasmonate, a chemical messenger for plant defense, and chitosan, a component of fungal cell walls, to the hydroponic solution the watercress was grown in increased PEITC by 5-fold and 8-fold respectively. Eve is a student-mentor at Byram Hills High School and teaches a ninth-grade class daily and is in the National Honors Spanish Society. She is active in theater as a featured performer and writes for the school newspaper and literary magazine. The daughter of Donald and Jocelyn Henry, Eve hopes to study biology and botany at Princeton and become a trauma surgeon.