Students Earn Top Prizes at Nation’s Premier
STEM Competition
Joseph Zurier of Providence, R.I., Wins Top
Individual Prize;Jason Lee and Allen Lee of Short Hills,
N.J. and David Lu of Henrico, Va., Win Top Team Prize
Months of dedication and hard work in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) paid off tonight for four
students named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in
Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s premier research
competition for high school students. Joseph Zurier of Providence,
R.I. earned the top honors and a $3,000 individual scholarship for
research that solved an open math problem. Research supporting the
discovery of a pharmaceutical solution to broad spectrum antibiotic
resistance earned Jason Lee and Allen Lee of Short Hills, N.J. and
David Lu of Henrico, Va. the $6,000 team scholarship.
Joseph Zurier is the individual category
winner of the Siemens Competition regional event held at Georgia
Institute of Technology. He advances to the National Finals in
Washington, D.C. (Photo: Business Wire)
The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of
judges from Georgia Institute of Technology, host of the Region Six
Finals. They will now present their work on a national stage in
Washington, D.C., December 5-9, 2014, where $500,000 in
scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.
The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens
Foundation, is administered by Discovery Education.
“These incredible students have invested significant time and
energy to advance research and exploration in critical fields,”
said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “I commend the
finalists for their outstanding achievements and wish them luck in
the next phase of the competition.”
The Winning Individual
Joseph Zurier, a senior at Classical High School in Providence,
R.I., won the individual category and a $3,000 scholarship for his
project, titled "Generalizations of the Joints Problem."
Joseph solved an open problem in counting the number of
intersections of lines and planes in space, improving on previous
results. One of Joseph's main outcomes was to show that, in a
mathematically precise sense, a certain number of lines cannot
create too many joints. This will have implications for digital
image processing both in general computer science and medical
imaging.
"The approach that Joseph took is very novel and elegant – an
overall smart idea. There is great potential for applications in
computer science and the medical domain," explained Dr. Eva K. Lee,
professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems
Engineering and director of the Center for Operations Research in
Medicine and HealthCare at Georgia Institute of Technology. "His
work is remarkable and beautiful. The quality of his work is at
least at the doctorate level; this is not something a high school
student would normally be able to address."
Joseph leads his school’s math team, is captain of the state
American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), speaks two languages,
is an avid runner and plays tennis. He has also been named a PROMYS
junior counselor for this upcoming summer and looks forward to
giving back to the community there. Math is Joseph’s favorite
subject because of its creativity, and because math is
philosophically universal. His father helped to foster Joseph’s
love of math and science at a young age by teaching him math
problems and tricks.
“I like science because of its ability to improve the human
condition – we've advanced tremendously in just centuries, decades
even, on the back of technology.”
Joseph’s mentor is Ben Yang, a Ph.D. student at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Winning Team
Jason Lee and Allen Lee, juniors at Millburn High School in
Millburn, N.J., and David Lu, a junior at Mills E. Godwin High
School in Henrico, Va., won the team category and will share a
$6,000 scholarship for their project, titled “Identification of
compounds to overcome carbapenemase-related multidrug resistance in
Enterobacteriaceae.”
Jason, Allen, and David discovered prospective new drug targets
for killing antibiotic resistant bacteria. The team blended
state-of-the-art computer screenings and lab-based validations,
with potential implications for combating a major and growing
challenge to human health. The project was multi-faceted and
demonstrated knowledge and techniques as diverse as complex
bio-informatics and lab-based molecular biology, to specifically
target broad spectrum antibiotic resistance. This research targets
some of the most serious bacterial infections posing major health
threats in the U.S.
“These students were able to take a grass-roots approach to
design and test new solutions for drug discovery,” explained Frank
Stewart, assistant professor, School of Biology at Georgia
Institute of Technology. “This was PhD-caliber work. The judges
were extremely impressed by the depth of this team’s expertise and
the potential broad applicability of their results to medical
science.”
Jason is a tutor in math and science, speaks two languages, and
has taken seven advanced STEM courses. He also plays tennis, is in
the chess club, participates in Lincoln-Douglas debates, and enjoys
computer science. A visit to his father’s lab in first grade is
what initially piqued Jason’s interest in science.
“It amazes me how fast STEM subjects are developing right now,”
said Jason Lee. “Every day, there are new, exciting innovations
such as stem cells and promising materials like graphene.”
Allen, Jason’s twin brother, tutors in math and science, also
speaks two languages, and has taken several advanced STEM courses.
He participates in his school’s Public Forum Debate, enjoys tennis
and golf, and plays the piano. Biology is Allen’s favorite subject
because it exemplifies the intricacies and mysteries of life. When
he was young, Allen stumbled upon an old biology textbook in the
library, and was immediately fascinated by the pictures of cells
and the biological processes that he saw.
David speaks three languages, tutors and mentors younger
students, plays the piano and tennis, is founder and president of
the Kid-Motion Foundation, and is on the robotics and debate teams.
His favorite subjects are genetics and biotechnology because they
enable the discovery of how diseases work and how we can better
fight them, while also providing clues to evolution, developmental
biology, and pharmacology. David’s interest in STEM was first
piqued in the seventh grade, when he was assigned his first
scientific research project.
“Whether it’s using computer science to solve biology problems
or physics concepts to answer environmental questions,
inter-disciplinary research is taking the world by storm and I'm
excited to see what scientific discoveries will come of it,” said
David Lu.
Jason, Allen, and David’s shared mentor is Dave Durrant, Ph.D.
candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
Regional Finalists
The remaining Regional Finalists each received a $1,000
scholarship. Regional Finalists in the individual category
were:
- Carly Crump, Episcopal School -
Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Fla.
- Elizabeth Donoway, Pine Crest School,
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Noah Golowich, Lexington High School,
Lexington, Mass.
- Jenny Wang, North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics, Durham, N.C.
Team Regional Finalists were:
- Jesse Cai, Thomas Jefferson High School
for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; Matthew Yu, Montgomery
Blair High School, Silver Spring, Md.
- Kristen Surrao, Lakeside High School,
Evans, Ga.; William Wu, Lakeside High School, Evans, Ga.
- Yifei Wang, East Chapel Hill High
School, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Sabina Iftikhar, East Chapel Hill High
School, Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Michael You, Thomas Jefferson High
School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; Andrew
Charbonneau, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology, Alexandria, Va.
The Siemens Competition
This year marks the 15th Anniversary of the Siemens Competition,
the nation’s premier research competition for high school students.
A record 4,428 students registered for this year’s competition and
submitted a total of 1,784 projects for consideration – a 12%
increase over the number of projects submitted last year. 408
students were named semifinalists and 97 were named regional
finalists, representing 38 states. Entries are judged at the
regional level by esteemed scientists from six leading research
universities which host the regional competitions: California
Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
University of Notre Dame and The University of Texas at Austin.
For news and announcements about the Regional Competitions and
the National Finals, follow us on Twitter @SFoundation
(#SiemensComp) and like us on Facebook at SiemensFoundation.
About the Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation supports educational initiatives in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the
United States. Its signature programs include the Siemens
Competition in Math, Science & Technology and Siemens Science
Day. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of
innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark
of Siemens’ U.S. companies. For further information, visit
www.siemens-foundation.org or follow @sfoundation.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based
digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming
teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks,
multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core,
professional development, assessment tools, and the largest
professional learning community of its kind. Available in over half
of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community
colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education
partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to
captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with
customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement.
Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:
DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in
the world. Explore the future of education at
www.discoveryeducation.com.
Photos of winners available on
request.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141122005014/en/
SiemensAmanda Naiman,
484-680-4427amanda.naiman@siemens.comorSiemensErin Brown,
202-344-5532erin.brown@siemens.com
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