Connecticut Teen Wins $10,000 Scholarship as Siemens Competition Finalist
Dec. 2011
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John Solder, Staples High School, Westport, Conn. (Biology) |
John Solder, a senior at Staples High School in Westport, Conn., earned high honors in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, America’s premier science research competition for high school students.
Administered by the College Board, the Siemens Competition is the signature program of the Siemens Foundation, which supports science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The 13th annual awards were presented earlier this month at The George Washington University, host of the 2011 Siemens Competition National Finals.
Solder was named a National Finalist for research. His project, “Optogenetic Interrogation of Prefrontal Cortex Dopamine D1 Receptor-Containing Neurons as a Technique to Restore Timing: A Novel Approach to Treat Prefrontal Disorders,” used a new technology called optogenetics, in which light of specific wavelengths is administered to a specific part of the brain to turn on or off genetically modified cells. He hopes to help the millions of people who suffer from injuries or disorders of the prefrontal regions of the brain, which include Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
“Mr. Solder has shown great scientific maturity and daring in probing the functioning of the prefrontal cortex — a key part of the brain,” said competition judge Mary-Lou Pardue, Boris Magasanik Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Using cutting-edge tools, he has shown the contribution of dopamine-related neurons in controlling the brain’s ability to estimate time, which many aspects of human behavior rely on. His experiments were elegantly designed and well controlled. The implications of his work are broad and relate to the many neurological conditions that arise from disorders of the prefrontal cortex.”
Solder was a first-place team winner at the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship. He is a classical and jazz bassist who has performed at Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood. He also helped develop easy-to-use educational software for children as part of the “One Laptop per Child” program and hopes to dedicate his career to researching innovative solutions for global challenges such as disease, pollution and hunger. His mentors on the project were Benjamin Land and Ralph DiLeone of Yale University.
The remaining Regional Finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship. Regional Finalists in the Individual category were:
- Daniel Ling, East Greenwich High School, East Greenwich, R.I.
- Kingston Pung, Hopkins School, New Haven, Conn.
Regional Finalists in the Team category were:
- Surya Bhupatiraju and William Kuszmaul, Lexington High School, Lexington, Mass.
- Michael Zhang, Belmont High School, Belmont, Mass.; and Yongyi Chen, Bedford High School, Bedford, Mass.
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