Newark Academy Junior Published in Prestigious IEEE Journal

Abigail Hsu, a junior at Newark Academy (NA) — an independent school for grades 6-12 in Livingston, NJ — had a research paper published in the 2023 IEEE 23rd International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BIBE).

For the paper, “Quantifying Exam Stress Progressions Using Electrodermal Activity and Machine Learning,” Hsu trained and tested a variety of artificial intelligence models to quantify stress levels and mental health of students during exams using Electrodermal Activity (EDA) signals.

“I was super interested in mental health because a lot of teens struggle with it,” Hsu says. “I did some preliminary research and found that a lot of mental health studies were based on qualitative observations and talks from therapists and there weren’t a lot of data-driven studies on mental health. So that’s why I decided to apply machine learning and AI to study mental health.”

Hsu conducted this research under the mentorship of an Oxford professor through the Cambridge Centre of International Research Academy program. Hsu was invited to present her work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Undergraduate Research Technology Conference this past October.

As a result of her findings, Hsu is working on creating Mental Metrics, a smart wristband and application that teenagers, doctors and parents can use to instantaneously track adolescent mental health. This business idea placed third in the 2023 BIG Idea Competition Out-of-State Competition. Hsu’s Mental Metrics also won the Wellness Award which provides a $500 cash prize and a $500 scholarship from Northern State University.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding this year, Newark Academy provides students in grades 6-12 with the knowledge and skills to become meaningful contributors to their communities and the wider world. The school has earned its outstanding reputation for transforming the lives of students through its dynamic program and student-centered approach, which enables NA students to develop a true love of learning. For more information about Newark Academy, visit www.newarka.edu.