Regional Winners Move on to Final Phase of Competition: National
Finals in Washington, D.C.
Brian Huang, Fresh Meadows, NY Wins Top Individual Honors;
Jillian Parker, Dix Hills, NY, Arooba Ahmed, Melville, NY and Jiachen
Lee, Dix Hills, NY Win Top Team Honors
ISELIN, N.J. -- (Business Wire)
Four more students have been named National Finalists in the Siemens
Competition in Math, Science & Technology after earning top spots in one
of two regional competitions that took place this past weekend. The
Competition is the nation's premier science research competition for
high school students and promotes excellence by encouraging students to
undertake individual or team research projects. For more information go
to: www.siemens-foundation.org
.
Brian Huang of Fresh Meadows, NY, earned top individual honors
and a $3,000 scholarship for developing a theorem that offers insights
into the formation of black holes. Jillian Parker of Dix Hills,
NY, Arooba Ahmed of Melville, NY and Jiachen Lee of
Dix Hills, NY,shared the $6,000 team scholarship for their
project, which identified a protein that was not previously known to
play a role in cell division and could potentially play a role in a
number of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. They were among 101
students selected to compete in regional competitions across the country
this month out of a pool of more than 1,860 projects submitted to the
competition.
These regional winners now move to the final phase of the Siemens
Competition to present their work at the National Finals in Washington,
D.C., December 4-5, 2017, where $500,000 in scholarships will be
awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000. Each of the finalists
will receive at least $25,000 in scholarship money.
The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges
at Carnegie
Mellon University, host of the Region Four Finals.
"It’s amazing to see the knowledge and determination students bring to
the competition each year," said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens
Foundation. "These high school students are presenting top-notch,
graduate-level research and they deserve recognition for their efforts
to improve so many lives."
The Siemens Competition, launched in 1999 by the Siemens Foundation,
increases access to higher education for students who are gifted in STEM
and is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational
support that is the hallmark of Siemens. The competition, administered
by Discovery Education, develops a pipeline for the nation’s most
promising scientists, engineers and mathematicians.
The Winning Individual for Region Four
Brian Huang, a senior at Hunter College High School in New York,
NY, won the individual category and a $3,000 scholarship for his project
entitled, “On Sufficient Conditions for Trapped Surfaces in Spherically
Symmetric Spacetimes.”
Brian’s work built on a previous paper published in 1988 about the basic
properties of black holes and curved space-time. For his project, he
built a new mathematical model describing the structure inside black
holes.
As much of the scientific community—and society at large—is discussing
recent breakthroughs in proving the existence of gravitational waves,
Brian’s theorem can provide a new way to interpret the data that
scientists are collecting from LIGO (Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and the Virgo collaborations.
"Brian’s work offers foundational insights into the nature of time,
space and gravity. Everyone knows about black holes, but what he has
done is look at the underlying theory and determine new conditions
relevant to black hole formation," said competition judge Dr. Tina
Kahniashvili, an Associate Research Professor in the Department of
Physics at Carnegie Mellon University. "This is the type of research
people will be doing more intensely since the detection of gravitational
waves."
Brian began doing math at an early age as a family activity. He has
attended the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS) at
Boston University for two years, where he had a chance to learn
college-level mathematics and conduct his first math research
experiment. This love of math extends to a passion for music
composition, as well as the physics behind his golf swing.
Brian’s mentor is Dr. Marcus Khuri, of Stony Brook University.
The Winning Team for Region Four
Jillian Parker, Arooba Ahmed and Jiachen Lee won the team
category and will share a $6,000 scholarship for their project entitled,
" The Cilium and Centrosome Associated Protein CCDC11 is Required for
Cytokinesis via Midbody Recruitment of the ESCRT-III Membrane Scission
Complex." Jillian attends Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix
Hills, NY and Arooba and Jiachen both attend Half Hollow Hills High
School East in Dix Hills, NY.
Jillian, Arooba and Jiachen found that when the presence of a specific
protein (CCDC11) is decreased in a cell, the division of cells that
produces new cells cannot be carried out properly. This finding has
implications in understanding the genetic basis of many diseases,
including neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease.
While many proteins are known to be involved in successful cell
division, this is the first time that CCDC11 has been shown to be part
of this process. CCDC11 is also known to be involved in early
development to ensure that organs develop on the correct side of the
body. Understanding its role in cell division has the potential to
better understand a number of diseases, including heart disease.
“This discovery can help better understand the complex defects that
patients with mutations in the CCDC11 gene present in the clinic,” said
competition judge Dr. John Woolford, Professor, Department of Biological
Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. “This could alert us to the fact
that people who present with one disease or problem might have other
seemingly unrelated problems. This could help us understand how
different diseases stem from to the same genetic mutation.”
Jillian is a junior who is a member of her school’s Women in Science and
Engineering (WiSE) Club, which she joined because of the
underrepresentation of women in STEM fields and the encouragement and
opportunities the club offers to young women. Jillian hopes through her
exploration of the STEM field, she can become a role model to other
young girls and encourage them to take interests in science or math as
well. She also dances competitively, golfs and does community service.
Arooba is a junior and is working towards becoming a cardiologist or
researcher. Her interest in science was sparked through visits to
museums as a child and she quickly became a consumer of National
Geographic and non-fiction literature. She is a cross country runner and
participates in her school’s speech and debate club. She was an
octo-finalist in the New York State Debate Tournament.
Jiachen, also a junior, is fascinated by science with a particular
interest in molecular biology and the role of vital molecules in life
and disease. She runs track, participates in martial arts and plays
cello in her school orchestra.
The team's mentor is Dr. Ken-Ichi Takemaru of Stony Brook University.
Regional Finalists
The remaining regional finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship.
Regional Finalists in the individual category were:
- Benjamin Firester, Hunter College High School, New York, NY
- Skyler Jones, Ossining High School, Ossining, NY
- Rahul Parthasarathy, Syosset High School, Syosset, NY
- Sri Yalamanchi, Staten Island Technical High School, Staten
Island, NY
Team Regional Finalists were:
- Jang Hun Choi, Jericho High School, Jericho, NY, Soohyun Ahn,
Middlesex School, Concord, MA, and Chris Lee, Seoul
International School, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
- Alan Jian, Garden City Senior High School, Garden City, NY, Caitlyn
Chen, The Spence School, New York, NY, and Austin Lee,
Roslyn High School, Roslyn Heights, NY
- Sahith Vadada, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY, Rushikesh
Patel, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY, and Vedant Singh,
Wheatley School, Old Westbury, NY
- Stanley Wong, Hunter College High School, New York, NY, and Baokun
“Jack” Gu, Manhasset Senior High School, Manhasset, NY
The Siemens Competition
For the 2017 Siemens Competition, 1,860 projects were submitted for
consideration. 491 students were named Semifinalists from which 101 were
named Regional Finalists. For the regional finals, the students present
their research in a closed, online forum, and entries are judged by
esteemed scientific experts at six leading research universities which
host the regional competitions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(November 4); University of Notre Dame (November 4); The University of
Texas at Austin (November 11); California Institute of Technology
(November 11); and Georgia Institute of Technology (November 18); and
Carnegie Mellon University (November 18).
The winners of each regional weekend will be announced at 12 noon (ET)
on the following Monday at http://siemensusa.synapticdigital.com/US/Siemens-Foundation.
Winners of the regional events will advance to the National Finals to be
held at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., December
4-5, 2017, where $500,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including the
two top prizes of $100,000 and one of the most prestigious science
honors awarded to high school students in the country today. Every
finalist will receive at least $25,000 in scholarship money.
For up-to-date news and announcements about the Regional Competitions
and the National Finals, follow us on Twitter @SFoundation
and Instagram @SiemensFdn (#siemenscomp) and like us on Facebook at SiemensFoundation.
Interviews, video and photos available by visitinghttp://siemensusa.synapticdigital.com/US/Siemens-Foundation.
About the Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation has invested more than $100 million in the United
States to advance workforce development and education initiatives in
science, technology, engineering and math. The Siemens Foundation's
mission is inspired by the culture of innovation, research and
continuous learning that is the hallmark of Siemens' companies.
Together, the programs at the Siemens Foundation are helping close the
opportunity gap for young people in the U.S. when it comes to STEM
careers, and igniting and sustaining today's STEM workforce and
tomorrow's scientists and engineers. For further information, visit www.siemens-foundation.org or
follow us on Twitter @sfoundation or Instagram @SiemensFdn.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital
content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning
digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the
largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million
educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education's services
are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the
UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with
districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students,
empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions
that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one
nonfiction media company in the world. Stay connected with Discovery
Education on social media through Facebook,
follow us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd,
or find us on Instagram and Pinterest.
Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171120005745/en/
Contacts:
Media:
Siemens
Elizabeth Cho, 917-622-2413
elizabeth.cho@siemens.com
or
Discovery
Education
Charmion Kinder, 240-274-2173
Charmion_Kinder@Discovery.com
or
Follow
us on Twitter @sfoundation and
Instagram @SiemensFdn
(#SiemensComp)
Source: Siemens
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.