Students Earn Top Prizes at Nation’s Premier
STEM Competition
Anvita Gupta of Scottsdale, Arizona, Wins
Top Individual Prize; Eli Echt-Wilson and Albert Zuo of
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Win Top Team Prize
Months of dedication and hard work in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) paid off tonight for three
students named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in
Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s premier research
competition for high school students. Anvita Gupta of Scottsdale,
Arizona earned the top honors and a $3,000 individual scholarship
for research on intrinsically disordered proteins for drug
discovery. Research on computational models of tree growth earned
Eli Echt-Wilson and Albert Zuo of Albuquerque, New Mexico the
$6,000 team scholarship.
Eli Echt-Wilson and Albert Zuo are the
team winners of the Siemens Competition regional event held at the
University of Texas at Austin. They advance to the National Finals
in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Business Wire)
The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of
judges from the University of Texas at Austin, host of the Region
Two Finals. They will now present their work on a national stage in
Washington, D.C., December 5-9, 2014, where $500,000 in
scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.
The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens
Foundation, is administered by Discovery Education.
“These incredible students have invested significant time and
energy to advance research and exploration in critical fields,”
said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “I commend the
finalists for their outstanding achievements and wish them luck in
the next phase of the competition.”
The Winning Individual
Anvita Gupta, a student at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale,
Arizona, won the individual category and a $3,000 scholarship for
her project, titled “A Novel Method of Targeting Intrinsically
Disordered Proteins for Drug Discovery: Application to Cancer and
Tuberculosis.”
Anvita’s computational project used machine learning algorithms
to find promising drugs for diseases like cancer and tuberculosis.
She developed a novel method to rank these possible leads for
certain molecular targets, chosen specifically for diseases with
intrinsically disordered proteins. These proteins make up 70
percent of all cancer proteins and are also implicated in
Alzheimer’s, Tuberculosis, and Ebola.
“Anvita’s approach was able to replicate some of the possible
leads that have already gone into drug trials,” explained Dr.
Chandrajit Bajaj, Computational Applied Mathematics Chair in
Visualization at the University of Texas at Austin. “This is an
exciting use of computer science and bioinformatics, and the fact
that a program like hers can start to give you potential drug leads
is highly promising.”
“My interest in math and science was piqued by playing
with and learning to program LEGO Mindstorms robots that I received
for my birthday,” explained Anvita.
In addition to founding and heading a computer science program
for middle schools girls (LITAS), Anvita has taken 16 advanced STEM
courses, and speaks two languages.
Anvita’s mentor is Dr. Gil Alterovitz, Assistant Professor of
Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School.
The Winning Team
Eli Echt-Wilson and Albert Zuo of Albuquerque, New Mexico won
the team category and will share a $6,000 scholarship for their
project, titled “A Detailed Computational Model of Tree
Growth.”
Echt-Wilson and Zuo created a computer model that simulates how
a tree will grow in varying conditions. Their research can replace
long term planting experiments.
This research is both interesting and innovative, because it
combines the biological and physical principles of trees with
computer modeling.
“By defining the low-level rules governing the growth of the
tree, the model showed that the emergent properties of these
simulated trees also captured certain aspects of real trees,” said
Timothy Keitt, Associate Professor in Integrated Biology at the
University of Texas at Austin. “That is important because growth of
trees is a means to sequester carbon from the atmosphere – meaning
this tree growth can mitigate C02 pollution.”
A spokesman for New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge, Eli is an
AP computer science mentor, and volunteer website designer. He also
speaks two languages, and plays both soccer and tennis.
“I am excited about applications of machine learning to
scientific problems and the everyday world,” explained Eli.
In addition to coaching middle school Mathcounts, Albert speaks
two languages and plays tennis and chess.
“I like making the world a more interesting place,” said Albert.
“Stuff that we used to see only in science fiction can now become a
reality.”
The biggest challenge that faced the team was fixing the bugs
that would arise each time new biological factors were
introduced.
The team is grateful for the support they received from their
shared mentor Dr. Sean Hammond, University of New Mexico.
Regional Finalists
The remaining Regional Finalists each received a $1,000
scholarship. Regional Finalists in the individual category
were:
- Venkata Macha, Loveless Academic Magnet
Program High School, Montgomery, Alabama
- Yuyan Mai, Memorial High School,
Houston, Texas
- Vincent Tang, Los Alamos High School,
Los Alamos, New Mexico
- Jianing Xie, A&M Consolidated High
School, College Station, TX
Team Regional Finalists were:
- Scarlett Guo, Dougherty Valley High
School, San Ramon, CA; Laura Pang, Texas Academy of Mathematics and
Science, Denton, TX
- Agni Kumar, Milton High School, Milton,
GA; Patricia Chang, Milton High School, Milton, GA
- Napasorn Kuprasertkul, Texas Academy of
Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX; Sumedha Mehta, Texas Academy
of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX; Akash Wadawadigi, Texas
Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
- Susmitha Sayana, Texas Academy of
Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX; Gerald Hu, Texas Academy of
Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX; Sanchit Sachdeva, Texas
Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
The Siemens Competition
This year marks the 15th Anniversary of the Siemens Competition,
the nation’s premier research competition for high school students.
A record 4,428 students registered for this year’s competition and
submitted a total of 1,784 projects for consideration – a 12%
increase over the number of projects submitted last year. 408
students were named semifinalists and 97 were named regional
finalists, representing 38 states. Entries are judged at the
regional level by esteemed scientists from six leading research
universities which 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.
For news and announcements about the Regional Competitions and
the National Finals, follow us on Twitter @SFoundation
(#SiemensComp) and like us on Facebook at SiemensFoundation.
About the Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation supports educational initiatives in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the
United States. Its signature programs include the Siemens
Competition in Math, Science & Technology and Siemens Science
Day. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of
innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark
of Siemens’ U.S. companies. For further information, visit
www.siemens-foundation.org or follow @sfoundation.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based
digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming
teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks,
multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core,
professional development, assessment tools, and the largest
professional learning community of its kind. Available in over half
of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community
colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education
partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to
captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with
customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement.
Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:
DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in
the world. Explore the future of education at
www.discoveryeducation.com.
Photos of winners available on
request.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141116005042/en/
SiemensErin Brown, 202-344-5532erin.brown@siemens.comorAmanda
Naiman, 484-680-4427amanda.naiman@siemens.com
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