61st Annual STS (2001–2002)
Finalists
Tahir Ahmed

NEW YORK Tahir Ahmed, 17, of Brooklyn, studied the role of a new adhesive molecule in human blood cells for his Intel Science Talent Search project in biochemistry. He reports that he has identified two specific domains of a receptor responsible for more than 50 percent of the adhesion to platelets, and that further research may generate therapeutic agents for use in the prevention and treatment of heart attacks and strokes. Tahir became interested in the field after the death of his grandfather due to a heart attack. Finding out things for himself has been his lifelong joy. While still in junior high, he noticed that plants near a computer and large speaker system in his home were dying. He set up an experiment that led him to conclude that an electrical field did degrade the overall health of plants. This was several years before the widespread use of cell phones sparked such health concerns. At Midwood High School at Brooklyn College, Tahir is in the science club and the Islamic society and tutors other students. He hopes to become a surgeon or research scientist and plans to follow a pre-med curriculum at Columbia University. His parents are Rafi and Amatul Ahmed.