Students in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan Win High Honors in 2011 Siemens Competition
Dec. 2011
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John Wen, West High School, Iowa City, Iowa (Biology) |
Students from three schools in the Midwestern Region were named Finalists in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, America’s premier science research competition for high school students.
John Wen of West High School in Iowa City earned a $20,000 scholarship in the Individual category. Edgar Wang, Wayne Shu and Justin Yuan of Troy (Mich.) High School will share a $50,000 scholarship, and Julia Crowley-Farenga and Patrick Loftus of Evanston (Ill.) Township High School will split a $40,000 scholarship for their work in the Team category.
“The Siemens Competition has a proud history of attracting awe-inspiring research projects from America’s best and brightest, and we are pleased to see that this year is no exception,” said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, president of the Siemens Foundation. “We can all take heart in the remarkable work being done by this next generation of young innovators as exemplified by John Wen, Edgar Wang, Wayne Shu and Justin Yuan.”
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(From left) Edgar Wang, Justin Yuan and Wayne Shu, Troy High School, Troy, Mich. (Biology) |
The Winning Individual
Wen, a senior at West High School in Iowa City, won for his biology project, which explored the most common cause of childhood liver failure and the leading cause of liver transplants in children in the United States.
His project, titled “A Novel Lectin-Like Ubiquitin Ligase Degrades Disease-Causing A1AT-Z,” studied liver disease, specifically characterized by the deficiency of the Alpha 1-Antitrypsin (A1AT) protein in children.
“Mr. Wen demonstrated a deep understanding of his topic,” said competition judge Crislyn D’Souza-Schorey, professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame. “His research enhances the current understanding of how the A1AT-Z mutant enzyme is removed from liver cells. This work is beneficial in that it could inform new therapies to treat the No. 1 genetic cause of liver disease in children.”
Wen is the first student from his school to be named a National Finalist in the Siemens Competition, and is a National AP Scholar with Distinction. Wen also is an accomplished pianist who took part in the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and has performed on NPR’s “From the Top.” After recent floods devastated his home state, he performed in benefit concerts to help Iowa’s music program recover. His mentor on the project was Kevin Glenn.
Wang and Yuan, both seniors, and Shu, a junior, all of Troy (Mich.) High School, won for their project, “MicroRNA 17-92 Cluster Mediates Sonic Hedgehog Induced Neurogenesis on Neural Stem Cells After Stroke,” which studied the molecular changes that occur in the brain after a stroke, focusing on neural stem cells.
“This team’s energy, comprehension of their research topic, and exemplary teamwork captured the imagination of the judges,” said competition judge Rebecca Wingert, assistant professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame. “Their research found that particular molecules that can regulate gene expression were produced in response to stroke and were linked to neural cell proliferation. Their research may contribute to future medical treatments for brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Wang was a finalist in the Future Problem Solvers International Competition, a gold medalist in the World Piano Competition Young Artists Division and a U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad finalist with honors. He aspires to be a biochemist.
Yuan is president of the Spanish club and plays trumpet in his school’s marching band, as well as piano and guitar. A member of the Boy Scouts and a long-distance runner for the track team, he hopes to study chemistry, biology or premedicine in college.
Shu is president of his class Student Government and Model United Nations. A passionate musician, he is the leader of his school’s a capella group and concert master of its orchestra. He loves to write music and play the piano, violin, guitar, ukulele and harmonica. The team’s mentor on the project was Michael Chopp of Henry Ford Hospital.
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Julia Crowley-Farenga and Patrick Loftus, Evanston Township High School, Evanston, Ill. (Astrophysics) |
Crowley-Farenga and Loftus, seniors at Evanston (Ill.) Township High School, were honored for their astronomy project, titled “Morphological Classification of Post-Starburst Galaxies”, in which the team examined and classified 2,811 galaxies.
“Ms. Crowley-Farenga and Mr. Loftus have conducted a comprehensive visual classification of ‘post-starburst’ galaxies in order to explain how galaxies progress from star-forming to non-star-forming states,” said competition judge Leigh Royden, chair of the program in geology and geochemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Their results indicate that large-mass and small-mass galaxies undergo this transition in different ways. Small-mass galaxies expel matter by supernova activity, while large-mass galaxies undergo mergers that disrupt the distribution of matter within the galaxies. These students have made a fundamental contribution to understanding the evolution of galaxies. Their results suggest a link between the end of star formation in large galaxies and the growth of black holes at the center of these galaxies.”
From a young age, Crowley-Farenga would search for shooting stars and dreamed of becoming an astronaut traveling across the universe. She still hopes to be an astronaut or work for NASA and plans to major in engineering, materials science or nanotechnology. A member of the varsity track and field team, she enjoys gardening and is an enthusiastic Chicago sports fan.
Loftus is a member of the Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra and percussion ensemble, as well as a member of his school’s gymnastics team. He plans to major in computer science, mathematics or physics and hopes to become a professor “with room for travel and research.” The team’s mentor on the project was Laura Trouille of Northwestern University.
Regional Finalists
The remaining Regional Finalists each received $1,000 scholarships. Regional Finalists in the Individual category were:
- Anirudh Prabhu, West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School, West Lafayette, Ind.
- Nicholas Sun, Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, Mo.
- Lilly Wang, Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest, Ill.
- Michael Yan, Orange High School, Pepper Pike, Ohio
Regional Finalists in the Team category were:
- Harsha Vemuri, Theja Bhamidipati and Vaibhav Vavilala, Carmel High School, Carmel, Ind.
- Andrew Zhou, John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Mo.; and Joel Sher, Parkway Central High School, Chesterfield, Mo.
Launched in 1998, the Siemens Competition is the nation’s premier science research competition for high school students. An all-time record of 2,436 students registered to enter the Siemens Competition this year, resulting in an unprecedented 1,541 projects submitted. There were 317 Semifinalists and 96 Regional Finalists, representing 21 states. Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at the six leading research universities that 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.
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