Two Comsewogue High School seniors' hard work has paid off - big time.
On Friday - their last full day of school at Comsewogue - Shilpa Iyer and Shweta Iyer received a surprise announcement that they each won a $50,000 scholarship from Proton OnSite, a green technology solutions company.
The two sisters spent all summer long and many hours after school in 2012 devising a way to use soybeans to extract hydrogen atoms from water and turn them into hydrogen fuel.
The company, which manufactures air gas generators using air, water an electricity, challenged students to solve an existing energy problem by designing a unique solution.
For the past four years Proton OnSite Chairman Tom Sullivan has given close to $2 million in scholarships to deserving students across the country.
"This year's winners demonstrated the passion, drive, curiosity and DIY initiative in applying science and technology to meet a real-world need," the company said in a statement.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
