McLean Students Place In National Science Contest

WASHINGTON, DC—Two students in McLean placed third and fifth among the finalists in the 78th annual Regeneron Science Talent Search, the oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition in the U.S.

Adam Ardeishar, a McLean senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, won third while Carolyn Beaumont, a senior from Arlington at The Potomac School, claimed fifth. They were among the 40 finalists invited to present their research projects in Washington DC on March 10 and won $150,000 and $90,000, respectively.

"This was one of the best weeks of my life. I didn’t feel pressured to make the top 10," said Beaumont. "All I was hoping to get out of the experience, I had already gotten. It was great to be able to share my research, and I loved talking with so many people who are passionate about science! I was really happy about the entire process; winning fifth place was just the icing on the cake."

The winners were announced on March 12. Ana Humphrey of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria won the top prize of $250,000.

Ardeishar's project combined an unsolved math problem with extreme value theory, which determines the likelihood of a maximal event, such as a 1,000-year flood. By integrating these two concepts, he found a way to calculate average maximum values of distributional datasets, which could be applied to predicting the expected amount of time for a given number of different randomly-timed events to occur.

Beaumont, who is part of the Science and Engineering Research Center program at The Potomac School, worked on her research for two years. Her geochemistry research project tested geologists' favored theory about water's composition during a volcanic eruption. Using technology to create models of magma reacting with water, she found volcanoes react differently depending on the amount of water present in the magma.

Her findings differ from those of professional geologists, making her project a source of information in the geochemistry field. She worked with Potomac School advisor Dr. Isabelle Cohen and mentor Dr. George Cody of the Carnegie Institute of Science’s Geophysical Laboratory on her research. Beaumont will attend Harvard University this upcoming fall.

"Not many high school students can say that they have disproved a scientific theory," said Cohen of Beaumont's findings. "That accomplishment indicates the magnitude of Carolyn’s potential as a scientist."

Regeneron STS named the top 300 scholars, followed by the 40 finalists in January. Finalists were selected based on their scientific research and potential as future scientific leaders. Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars have gone on to make significant contributions to science and hold honors including the Nobel Prize and the National Medal of Science.