62nd Annual STS (2002-2003)
Finalists
Lester Wayne Mackey

NEW YORK
Lester Wayne Mackey, 17, of Wheatley Heights, submitted a mathematics project to the Intel Science Talent Search researching Seymour's Conjecture using a combinatorial methodology and a focus on regular graphs to confirm Seymour's claim. Seymour's Conjecture proposes that the square G2 of an oriented graph G will always have a vertex with at least twice as many edges going from it as has G. He shows that Seymour's Conjecture is valid for graphs with certain regularity conditions. First in his class at Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, Lester sings in the jazz choir and chorus, and takes part in Key Club, National Spanish Honor Society, yearbook and the quiz bowl. He has received numerous academic honors including the Rensselaer Math and Science Medal and the Brown Book Award. In his spare time, he enjoys robotics, bowling, drumming and rock collecting, and he serves as a deacon of the church youth group and vice president of the church choir. The son of Lester and Dr. Sharon Mackey, he earned a perfect 1600 on his SATs and hopes to major in computer science or computer engineering at Princeton or Carnegie Mellon University.