Intel finalist is all-around achiever
By Mara M. Zonderman
February 08, 2008 | 03:59 PM Herman Gudjonson's resume is six pages long. It details his genetics research, his mastery of the violin — including stints playing in Germany and Iceland — and his achievements on the tennis court, including time at the Chris Evert Tennis Academy in Florida. The document could easily detail the achievements of a man three times his age, but Gudjonson is only 17 and not yet out of high school. Now he will have to make space for yet another achievement. Last week, Gudjonson, a senior at Ward Melville High School, was named one of 40 finalists nationwide in the Intel Science Talent Search. "I had been interested in science for a while," Gudjonson said. "After ninth grade I got interested in genetics." By being named as a finalist, Gudjonson guarantees himself at least $5,000 in scholarships and a new laptop computer. He will travel to Washington, D.C. in March for several days of presentations and judging, as well as some face time with national luminaries in science and, we'll bet, a politician or two. The overall winner of the competition, formerly known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, will receive a $100,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation. Gudjonson's project, which was completed under the watch of Maurice Kernan, an associate professor of neurobiology and behavior at Stony Brook University, was entitled "Reduced taste in Drosophila melanogaster mutated for an obesity syndrome protein." According to a document posted on the talent search website, Gudjonson's project studied the role that mutation of a human gene plays in the severity of Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that has been related to defects in sensory structures and is characterized by obesity, inability to smell, retinal degeneration and other defects. Gudjonson worked at Stony Brook's Center for Developmental Genetics and created a mutant fruit fly with an inability to taste by deleting the fly-equivalent of the human gene linked to BBS. Kernan, who called Gudjonson "one of the best" researchers he has worked with, said that his student needed little guidance. "I just had to explain the outline, point him at the files, and away he went," Kernan said. According to the website description of Gudjonson's project, because "flies taste with their feet … when a fly walks over sugar, it reflexively extends its proboscis. By observing proboscis extension reflex, Herman noted that flies that lack the gene cannot sense sugar, suggesting that the fly gene's human counterpart might play a similar role in BBS." Gudjonson is part of the InSTAR program at Ward Melville, which produced a national high of 13 semi-finalists in the Intel competition this year. "[Herman] is very eclectic," said InSTAR Director George Baldo. "He is an accomplished musician [and] obviously a very accomplished young scientist…. [He is] a pleasure to talk to and work with." Gudjonson, who is half Icelandic, traveled to Iceland during the summer of 2006, where he stayed with his grandfather and worked at deCODE genetics, Inc. there he learned how to decode genetics and, he said, "was assured that genetics is definitely something I would want to do in the future." While in Iceland, Gudjonson had time to pursue one of his other key interests, the violin, when he studied with Gudny Gudmundsdottir, the concertmaster of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Gudjonson said that he plays at chamber music festivals, and has performed at Carnegie Hall. He also likes to spend time improvising jazz on the piano. When not in the lab or playing music, Gudjonson can often be found on the tennis court, where he was named to the All State Doubles Tournament last year. "I used to play a lot more, but the New York Youth Symphony rehearses on Sunday," he said, explaining why he had to cut back on his tennis practice. Gudjonson's father, Gudjon Hermannsson, works with computers at Renaissance Technologies in East Setauket He has a younger sister. His mother, Yingxing Wang, is a homemaker who is very proud of her son. "... it was not easy for him to find a mentor," Wang wrote in an email. "It was an incredible experience for Herman learning to become a scientist in such a nurturing environment. Even if he had not won anything, this experience would be invaluable for life." Taking no credit for his mentoring, although he undoubtedly deserves some, Kernan said that Gudjonson's accomplishments are his own. "This wasn't a project that was made for Herman," the professor said. "He made it for himself."