Regional Winners Move on to Final Phase of Competition: National
Finals in Washington, D.C.
Franklyn Wang, Falls Church, VA
Wins Top Individual Honors;
Gabrielle Liu, Nashville, TN,
and Allen Liu, Chattanooga, TN Win Top Team Honors
ISELIN, N.J. -- (Business Wire)
Three 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
Franklyn Wang, of Falls Church, VA earned top individual honors
and a $3,000 scholarship for solving a longstanding mathematical problem
that has a wide range of potential applications, from creating better
algorithms for telecommunications to designing safer infrastructures,
like roads and bridges. Gabrielle Liu of Nashville, TN, and
Allen Liu of Chattanooga, TN,shared the $6,000 team
scholarship for developing a faster computational system that could lead
to improvements in data processing speed and facial recognition
software. 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 The
Georgia Institute of Technology, host of Region Six 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 Six
Franklyn Wang, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for
Science & Technology in Alexandria, VA, won the individual category and
a $3,000 scholarship for his project entitled, “Monodromy Groups of
Indecomposable Rational Functions.”
Using algebra, Franklyn worked through a complicated mathematical
problem that has a wide range of potential applications, from creating
faster, more secure algorithms for telecommunications to designing safer
infrastructures, like bridges resistant to strong winds. His work is
broadly relevant to a variety of problems in cryptography and various
mechanical systems.
Through his project, Franklyn classified the local singularities
and behavior of rational geometric functions. In mathematics, a singularity
is a point at which a given mathematical object is not defined, or a
point where it fails to be well-behaved in some predictable way.
Building on several previous studies in the field, Franklyn’s work
brings this mathematical problem closer to completion.
“For as long as I can remember, mathematicians have been obsessed with
mathematical functions that behave erratically," said competition judge
Dr. Tom Morley, Professor Emeritus at The Georgia Institute of
Technology. "Franklyn worked through a professional piece of mathematics
that will almost surely be published in a top mathematical journal. The
findings are a significant step toward the understanding of applications
requiring unusual function behavior.”
Franklyn became interested in math in the 7th grade when he participated
in the MATHCOUNTS National competition, one of many math and science
competitions he has joined over the years. He was recognized as a
finalist at the 2017 USA Computing Olympiad, placing him in the top 26
among all high school competitors in the country. Franklyn also serves
as captain of his school’s National Science Bowl team, which placed 2nd
at the national competition in 2017. When he grows up, Franklyn hopes to
be a researcher in math, computer science or economics, and use
artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve problems facing
mankind.
Franklyn’s mentor is Dr. Michael Zieve of the University of Michigan.
The Winning Team for Region Six
Gabrielle Liu of Nashville, TN, and Allen Liu of
Chattanooga, TN, won the team category and will share a $6,000
scholarship for their project entitled, “Neural Networks without
Multiplications.”
Gabrielle and Allen came up with a new mathematical concept for
improving the running time in convolutional neural networks—a
type of artificial intelligence computing system used in new
technologies like facial recognition and driverless cars.
By replacing multiplications with addition operations, Gabrielle and
Allen’s mathematical framework could lead to significant improvements in
data processing speed and machine learning. Today, the computational
time for pattern and facial recognition can sometimes limit the
application of these technologies to real-world problems, a limitation
that will increase in importance as these technologies continue to
advance.
“Gabrielle and Allen won not only because the mathematics for the
project were outstanding, but because their framework has broad and
important applications across the field,” said competition judge Dr. Eva
Lee, Director, NSF-Whitaker Center for Operations Research in Medicine
and HealthCare and Virginia C. and Joseph C. Mello Chair Professor of
Industrial and Systems Engineering at The Georgia Institute of
Technology. “Their results allow for faster running time for computer
vision and pattern recognition, and may open up real-time detection
possibilities that lead to major breakthroughs for the field.”
Gabrielle, a junior at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN, is most
passionate about mathematics and artificial intelligence. She was named
a Broadcom MASTERS
semifinalist and won the Grand Prize at the Middle Tennessee Science and
Engineering Fair. In 2017, she was recognized as a semifinalist at the
USA Biology Olympiad and a finalist at the Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair. Gabrielle is a member of her school’s
Forensics/Speech and Debate Team, the founder and president of the
Computational Biology Club, and a member of the Nashville Fencing Club.
Allen, a senior at McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN, is most
passionate about math and music. He is a classically trained violinist
and has performed at Carnegie Hall with the National Youth Orchestra. He
has also served as concertmaster of the Tennessee All-State Symphony
Orchestra, and regularly organizes concerts and community projects as an
intern with String Theory, a chamber music concert series based in
Chattanooga that has performed across the country. Allen’s interest in
science led him to placing in the Top 150 in the United States National
Chemistry Olympiad. He is President of his school’s Young Democrats Club
and co-captain of the Mock Trial team.
The team's mentor is mathematics teacher Peter Lowen of Ravenwood High
School in Brentwood, TN.
Regional Finalists
The remaining regional finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship.
Regional Finalists in the individual category were:
- Saadh Ahmed, Northview High School, Johns Creek, GA
- Kevin Jin, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics,
Durham, NC
- Karna Morey, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics,
Durham, NC
- Jaewon Sung, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN
Team Regional Finalists were:
- Shinbe Choi, Mclean High School, McLean, VA, Kelly Cho,
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria, VA,
and Junhyun Chong, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science &
Technology, Alexandria, VA
- Ryan Li, Walton High School, Marietta, GA, and William
Ellsworth, Walton High School, Marietta, GA
- Surbhi Mathur, Loudoun Academy of Science, Sterling, VA, and Janie
Wu, Loudoun Academy of Science, Sterling, VA
- Alicia Pan, Madison High School, Vienna, VA, and Allen Pan,
Madison High School, Vienna, VA
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/20171120005757/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 Foundation
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