Two High School South teachers and one of their students will be honored at the Professional Engineers Society of Mercer County 50th awards banquet on Saturday, February 20, at Mercer Oaks Golf Club in West Windsor. First Edition, High School South’s a cappella group, will sing. Call Gene R. O’Brien of West Windsor at 609-799-1301 to reserve $75 a ticket.
Sharang S. Phadke, a senior at High School South, will receive the organization’s Michael A. Valenti, a $2,000 scholarship award toward enrollment in an engineering college of his choice. President of the Future Problem Solving Club, Phadke is a member of the Model United Nations team, a violinist in the South Symphony Orchestra, and a varsity athlete on the cross-country, indoor and outdoor track teams. He is also a mentor to younger children in various roles at three different day camps, as well as through the A2Z mentoring program. An accomplished Boy Scout of Troop 168 of Plainsboro, he earned his Eagle Scout award after completing a clothing drive for children in Mongolia.
Last summer he was a research intern under Professor Steve Schnetzer in the Rutgers University Department of Physics, where he studied cosmic ray muon detection. He continues to work with Schnetzer on constructing a muon detector.
Phadke will pursue a degree in mechanical engineering and has applied to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and Georgia Tech.
Nancy Pica, a math teacher at High School South for 17 years, received the Math Teacher of the Year award. A graduate of Trenton State College, she received a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. “I was always interested in math and when a position as a mathematics teacher was offered to me by Notre Dame High School, I decided to go back to college to earn my mathematics teaching certificate,” she says. She taught math at Notre Dame High School for five years, coached its gymnastics team, and attended a mathematics teacher training class three nights a week. She received a master’s degree in the Art of Teaching (MAT) in 2004.
“As a teacher, I am a strong advocate of active learning and have my students work with a partner or a group on a daily basis,” she says. “I feel that the student interaction enhances their grasp on the concepts presented.” At South she has also been a class advisor, the Red Cross Club advisor, and a chaperone for ski trips, Disney trips, and a tour of Austria last year with the high school music program.
Meenakshi Bhattacharya, a science teacher at High School South, receives the Science Teacher of the Year award. Born and raised in India, she received her master’s degree in zoology from Calcutta University in 1980, and a doctorate in genetics from Delhi University in 1986. A research associate at the University of Nebraska from 1986 to 1997, she obtained her teaching certification in science from the University of Nebraska, and taught for one year at the Pius X High School at Lincoln, Nebraska. At South since 1999, she has taught biology both regular and at the honors level, advanced biology, human anatomy and physiology, and genetics.
An advisor to the school’s science club since 2002, she led the science Olympiad team to their first ever win at the state competitions in 2006. They represented New Jersey at the National Science Olympiads in 2007 and 2009.
Bhattacharya became the advisor for the Waksman research club at the request of two students in 2004. “Since then this club has been actively engaged in cutting edge molecular biology research that includes laboratory work as well as bioinformatics,” she says. “Since this work has never been done before, all results are published on the NCBI website alongside scientists all over the world. Right now we have about 10 to 15 students who are published.”
She and her husband Prabir have two daughters who graduated from South. Saveri is in medical school and Sumona is a junior at Cornell.
Awards Banquet, Professional Engineers Society of Mercer County, Mercer Oaks, 725 Village Road West, West Windsor. Saturday, February 20, 6:30 p.m. Register. $75. 609-799-1301..
