STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today announced the results of her annual Black History Essay Contest.

This event is open to high school juniors and seeks to explore facts about black history that are not well known. It is sponsored by the Office of the State Comptroller with the support of Fleet Bank and People's Bank.

"I am delighted to honor these talented students whose research is not only educational, but is a tribute to a very important part of American heritage," Wyman said.

• First place recognition is given to Raymond Taylor of James Hillhouse High School in New Haven. Raymond's essay focused on Philip Emeagwali, an internationally recognized engineer whose pioneering work with supercomputers in the 1970s has earned him a reputation as the "Father of the Internet." Raymond is awarded a $500 U.S. Savings Bond.


• Second place is awarded to Charna Edwards of Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven. Charna wrote about Norma Merrick Sklarek, considered to be the first female African American architect. Charna will receive a $200 U.S. Savings Bond.


• Third place goes to Glenn Brice of the Academy of Information Technology in Stamford, who wrote about Daniel Hale Williams, a turn-of-the-century doctor and hospital administrator who performed the first successful open-heart surgery in 1893. Glenn is awarded a $100 U.S. Savings Bond.


• Fourth place is awarded to Thomas Cookson, also of the Academy of Information Technology in Stamford. His essay on scientist Ralph Gardner - a prolific inventor who played a role in development of the first atomic bomb - was based on e-mail correspondence between Gardner and Cookson. He will receive a $75 U.S. Savings Bond.


• Fifth place recognition goes to Alyssa McGhee, of Bulkeley High School in Hartford. Her essay was about Garret Augustus Morgan, who obtained a patent in 1914 for a breathing device that he would later refine into a modern gas mask. Alyssa is awarded a $50 U.S. Savings Bond.

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

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