66th Annual STS (2006-2007)
Finalists
Erin Marie Schikowski

OHIO
Erin Marie Schikowski, 17, of Solon, experimented with synthetic polymers for the materials science project she submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search. In working toward the development of metal-containing polymers that could potentially exhibit mechanical, electronic and luminescent properties, Erin focused on establishing the binding control between the ligand-containing (macro)monomers and the metal ions to form the metallo-supramolecular complex. She synthesized several model ligands that have already been used as the (macro)monomers in several binding studies. She believes her research suggests the formation of a definite, ordered metallo-supramolecular complex that may be suitable for use in the preparation of reversible, metallo-supramolecular block polymers, which are extremely valuable in applications including thermoplastic resins, membranes and polymer blends. Erin is co-captain of the varsity diving team and co-president of the math club at Hathaway Brown School, in Shaker Heights, and is an accomplished pianist and artist. She is the daughter of Drs. Carl Schikowski and Carolyn Nemec and hopes to study chemical engineering at Brown or Stanford.