Young Scientists Bring New Discoveries with Talent Search
The Regeneron Science Talent Search is one of the most prestigious competitions worldwide for high school students. This year, from March 5-11, 40 high school student finalists competed, and they earned over 1.8 million dollars together for their discoveries and hard work.
The purpose of the Talent Search is to find students who use problem-solving skills in STEM to solve an issue or challenge in the world. Each year, students submit their original research in important scientific fields, showing people their studies and discoveries they have made. This year in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, 2,600 people participated in the competition, with 40 finalists chosen.
Out of the 40 finalists competing in Washington, D.C., first place went to 17-year-old Connor Hill from Pennsylvania. He earned the first place price of 250,000 dollars. He created a mathematical study on the topic of “noble polyhedra”, a type of shape where all the faces are the same shape, and the angles at each corner are the same. Connor created a program in order to find every noble polyhedra. His research concluded that, besides the 2 infinite types of noble polyhedra, 146 were identified, 85 being new. Connor hopes that his program is able to identify many other shapes in the future.
In second place, earning a prize of 175,000 dollars was 17-year-old Edward Kang from New Jersey for his work and research on the human eye and brain. He developed AI models to recognize and screen for “neurodevelopmental disorders using images of the eye” (Society for Science). His main focus was the retina, the part of our eyes responsible for responding to light. Through his research, he was able to find differences in the retinas of people with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) or ADHD(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Using this information, he was able to train AI models, which he now calls “RetinaMind,” using retina images to recognize these patterns and potentially help doctors find these disorders much faster.
Earning a prize of 150,000 dollars in third place is 17-year-old Iris Shen from Texas. Her research focused on finding a faster way to test cancer cures besides using animals. This led her to test a possible cancer treatment drug using clams. Her study not only showed faster results, but it also showed that clams have similar effects and reactions to humans. Further tests conducted by Iris showed more evidence of clams having the same effects and reactions to the drugs. Iris’s tests could provide scientists with a faster way to not only test the cancer drugs, but also be more cost-effective.
Many other people earned awards and prizes during this competition. The Regeneron Science Talent Search aims to discover and inspire young scientists. This year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search has brought many new exciting discoveries, and many cannot wait for what discoveries will be uncovered in the future by these young scientists.
Sources:
Main source: Society for Science
https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/