Boys' Discoveries Accepted for Publication in Harvard Science Journal

Browning boys’ scientific discoveries will receive wider attention as three of their manuscripts have been accepted for publication in Harvard University’s Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI). 

Connor Fischetti, Spencer Russell, Khai Shulman, and Liam Messinger, working with science department chair Emilie D. Wolf and former Browning science teacher Louise Bodt, submitted a manuscript entitled "Observing how the Distance from the Mouth of a Bahamian Mangrove Affects Biodiversity." This manuscript was the result of work done as part of the Form III trip to the Island School in Eleuthera last spring.

Separately, Form VI students Logan Flynn and Taran Pandya submitted "Creating a Phenology Trail Around the Central Park Pond" and Form VI student Carlton Stephenson, working with Max Gregori and Stone Abramson submitted "An Investigation Into the Mislabeling of Fish in New York City." These papers were written as part of the advanced genetics research class taught by Ms. Wolf. The findings were presented at the Urban Barcoding Symposium last May. 

In a letter announcing the acceptance of the Form III students’ paper, Michael Marquis, the Journal’s editor, noted, “The editors and reviewers believe this to be a solid manuscript with well-conducted experiments and clear relevance to ecology and the preservation of biological diversity. This type of data was difficult to obtain and we applaud the authors on their dedication to this work.”

The boys’ manuscripts have been reviewed by scientists and the reviewers’ feedback will be incorporated into the revisions that the students will make on the pieces before they are published. 

Ms. Wolf said that the publication in the JEI, which is aimed at middle and high school students, is important to students’ budding understanding that scientific breakthroughs aren’t just the domain of adults. “It’s a nice validation of their work that it’s worthy of being published by a journal associated with Harvard,” she said. “The boys are going to take away a lot of great things from their experience and we will continue to support others who are interested in submitting to the publication.”