Schools
Ridgefield Student Earns Top Awards At Research Science Institute
A Ridgefield student was honored by The Center for Excellence in Education
News Release Submitted by The Center for Excellence in Education
McLean, VA – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) is pleased to announce its Research Science Institute (RSI) top 5 award winners for oral and top 5 written presentations — chosen from 84 participants by an eminent panel of judges at the 37th annual RSI held this summer in a virtual format. The $1,000 scholarship awards were presented by Dr. Ross Grossman, retired SVP, Human Resources, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., on behalf of Regeneron. Dr. Grossman is currently a CEE Trustee.
Awardees:
Top 5 Written Presentations in alphabetical order:
Kenneth Choi – Ridgefield, CT
Constructing General Hamiltonian Ground States on a Quantum Computer Using the Projected Cooling Sensor Algorithm
Mentor: Dr. Dean Lee - Michigan State University
Yunseo Choi – Exeter, NH
On Two-sided Matching in Infinite Markets
Mentor: Dr. Scott Duke Kominers - Harvard Business School
Jay Iyer – Baton Rouge, LA
Integrative Analyses of Large-Scale Proteomics Datasets from Huntington’s Disease Mouse Models to Define Pathogenic Protein Networks
Mentors: Dr. X. William Yang and Dr. Peter Langfelder – David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Victor Kolev – Sofia, Bulgaria
Towards Neural Abstract Logical Reasoning
Mentor: Dr. Svetlin Penkov - Sciro Research
Vivian Yee – Beverly Hills, MI
Social Determinants of Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Health Equity
Mentor: Dr. Asad Moten - U.S. Department of Defense
Top 5 Oral Presentations in alphabetical order:
Oreoluwa Alao – Lincroft, NJ
Modeling Spatiotemporal Systems with Echo State Networks
Mentors: Mr. Peter Lu and Dr. Marin Soljačić - MIT
Alexandre Benoit – Bishop, GA
A Novel Gene Homology Comparison Technique Elucidates Evolutionary Emergence of Respiratory Complex I With Increased Proton Pumping Capacity
Mentor: Dr. Grayson Chadwick - Caltech
Blanca Gilabert López – Tortosa, Spain
Transit Detection and Characterization of Candidate Exoplanets Using TESS Data
Mentor: Ms. Mariona Badenas Agustí - MIT
Addison Liu – Westchester, PA
Simulation and Analysis on the Self-Foldability of the Origami Hyperbolic Paraboloid
Mentor: Dr. Cynthia Sung - U Penn School of Engineering
Melanie Quan – Alamo, CA
Analysis of Plastic Pellet Distribution Using Citizen Science Nurdle Patrol Data and Batch Identification to Differentiate Spills Within Samples
Mentor: Ms. Colleen Johnson - EarthCon Consultants, Inc.
In addition, Eldar Urkumbayev, a student at Nazarbayev Intellectual School, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, was chosen by his RSI peers for the top honor — Rickoid of the Year — at the Center for Excellence in Education’s (CEE) 37th annual Research Science Institute (RSI). The award recognizes academic acumen, leadership and personal demeanor, and is named for the late Admiral H.G. Rickover, father of the nuclear Navy and a founder of CEE.
“These scholars are our future creators, inventors, scientists and leaders of the 21st century, and their research represents a high level of academic acumen,” said Joann P. DiGennaro, CEE President. “RSI students experience graduate-level research and camaraderie with other academically talented STEM students.”
RSI is offered cost-free by CEE to competitively selected top achieving students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The intensive, six-week summer program gives students the opportunity to conduct original, cutting-edge Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) research in state-of-the-art university laboratories, hospitals and corporate research facilities. CEE’s committee of educators and RSI alumni selects students based on high school records, personal essays, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, research experience, potential for leadership, and honors and awards in math and science.
The 2020 RSI summer program (June 21 to Aug. 1) consisted of one week of theoretical classroom work, followed by four-and-a-half weeks of high-level research under the mentorship of leading scientists, engineers, and researchers in the students’ respective areas of interest. In their final week, students demonstrated their research work through written academic papers and oral presentations to their peers and a panel of judges.
In addition to 53 U.S. high school rising seniors, 31 international students participated this summer from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
CEE’s nearly 3,000 successful alumni have a STEM career retention rate of over 80 percent and benefit from the Center’s referral, networking and enrichment activities throughout their collegiate and professional careers.
About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE’s programs include the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biolympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP).
