Siemens Competition Regional Winners Announced at UT Austin Will
Compete for $100,000 at National Finals in New York AUSTIN, Texas,
Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemistry and computer science research
received top billing in the Region Two Finals of the 2008 Siemens
Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier
high school science research competition. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO) The
Siemens Competition is a signature program of the Siemens
Foundation and is administered by the College Board. Tonight's
winners will receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships
and be invited to compete at the National Finals in New York City,
where the winners of six regional competitions across the United
States will vie for scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the top
prize of $100,000. "These students have competed with some of the
greatest young minds in our country, and are now on an amazing
journey to the finals of the most coveted high school science prize
in the nation," said James Whaley, President of the Siemens
Foundation. "The fact that we've experienced a record-setting year,
including a 10% increase in both team and individual project
submissions and more than a 16% increase in the number of
registrations, makes their achievement even more commendable. We
congratulate them on their hard work, and look forward to welcoming
them to the national event." The students presented their research
this weekend to a panel of judges from The University of Texas at
Austin (UT Austin), host of the Region two Finals. Individual
Winner Wen Chyan, a senior at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and
Science, in Denton, Texas, won the individual category, and a
$3,000 college scholarship, for his chemistry research of
antimicrobial coatings. Mr. Chyan's project titled Versatile
Antimicrobial Coatings from Pulse Plasma Deposited Hydrogels and
Hydrogel Composites, looked to design a specialized coating aimed
to prevent nosocomial infections, which are infections caused as a
side effect of treatment in a hospital and afflict more than two
million patients each year, killing more than 100,000 of those
patients. "The full spectrum knowledge of Mr. Chyan demonstrated to
the judging panel was unparalleled today," said Dr. Jennifer
Maynard, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin.
"By taking on complex reactions, assay development, the measurement
of silver release kinetics, and finally the testing of his proposed
coating, Mr. Chyan showed true expertise on a wide range of topics
that have direct applications in the field." Mr. Chyan enjoys
Organic Chemistry in school, and he would like to major in
Chemistry or Chemical Engineering once in college. Upon completing
his schooling, Mr. Chyan would like to pursue a position in
academia, preferably at a research university where he can continue
conducting research and teach at the same time. His various honors
in science include recognition from the likes of: US National
Chemistry Olympiad, USA Biology Olympiad, and Yale Science and
Engineering Fair. He is the recipient of the Texas Academy of
Mathematics and Science Summer Research Scholarship (2008),
National Merit Semifinalist (2008), as well as an inductee to the
National Honor Society. Mr. Chyan developed an early interest in
science from encouragement of his parents, who are both scientists.
At an early age, his father would take him to tour his laboratory
and perform chemistry demos. Mr. Chyan also plays piano and violin
in his spare time. His mentor for this project was Dr. Richard B.
Timmons of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the
University of Texas at Arlington. Team Winners Erika A.
DeBenedictis, a junior at Albuquerque Academy, and Duanni (Tony)
Huang, a senior at La Cueva High School, both of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, won the team category and will share a $6,000 scholarship
for their project, entitled Optimizing the Direct Simulation Monte
Carlo Algorithm for Multi-Core Processors. The goal of the team's
project is to create a physically realistic Direct Simulation Monte
Carlo (DSMC) model and optimize its performance on multi-core
processors, making simulation available on desktop computers. The
research could open doors to simpler methods of simulation of
physical systems; such systems include the weather, re-entry of
space vehicles (which this project studied), and even modeling of
biological processes such as molecular docking. "This research
makes a lot of cross-disciplinary problems, such as auto
collisions, more approachable by offering simulation and computing
from a desktop processor versus a supercomputer that may cost tens
of millions of dollars," said Dr. Gordon S. Novak Jr., Professor of
Computer Sciences at UT Austin. "The judges were impressed with the
amount of work and the deep knowledge demonstrated by this team."
Ms. DeBenedictis enjoys the study of physics the most because it
allows you to not only get to know something, but also to
understand how it works. She would like to pursue an undergraduate
degree in Aerospace or Physics to satisfy her interests in the
field. Ms. DeBenedictis enters the Science Fair, Supercomputing
Challenge, Science Olympiad and USACO (Computing Olympiad) nearly
every year. Her dream job would be to work on aerospace research
for such exploration as Mars missions and beyond. As part of her
hobbies she participates in Girls Ensemble at her school and plays
piano. Mr. Huang notes the sciences as his favorite subjects, and
thus would like to continue on to major in Electrical Engineering
once in college. He has participated in many science competitions;
among his credits are honors at Science Olympiads, Science
Bowl/Quiz Bowls and MATHCOUNTS where he also acts as an Assistant
Coach. Mr. Huang is also a member of the National Honor Society
Mentorship at the Center for High Tech Materials. He would like to
become a professor one day and is interested in aerospace and
engineering because of the admiration for his dad, an Air Force
research physicist. He was born in Shanghai, China where he lived
until he was three. The team's mentors for this project were Dr.
Michail Gallis and Dr. Erik DeBenedictis; both are research
scientist at Albuquerque-based Sandia National Laboratories.
Regional Finalists Regional finalists each received a $1,000
scholarship. In addition, the Siemens Foundation awards $2,000 per
project to the high school of every regional finalist. Regional
finalists in the individual category were: · Anika R. Petach,
Fairview High School, Boulder, CO · Amanda J. Lu, Plano West Senior
High School, Plano, TX · Nilesh Tripuraneni, Clovis West High
School, Fresno, CA · Nayana Ghosh-Choudhury, Northside Health
Careers High School, San Antonio, TX Regional finalists in the team
category were: · Qingliu Yang, Elisa B. Lin, Plano West Senior High
School, Plano, TX and Hui Miao, The SMIC Private School, Shanghai,
China · Jacob S. Schaffert, Jess Schwartz College Prep, Phoenix, AZ
and Hayley M. Browdy, Deerfield Beach High School, Deerfield Beach,
FL · Jeffrey D. Chan, William P. Clements High School, Sugar Land,
TX, Alicia Q. Zhang, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, TX,
and Sameer K. Deshpande, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science,
Denton, TX · Yi Zhang and Joshua Y. Chang, Bellaire High School,
Bellaire, TX About the Siemens Competition The Siemens Competition
was launched in 1998 to recognize America's best and brightest math
and science students. This year, 1,893 students registered to enter
the Siemens Competition this year with a total of 1,205 projects
submitted - this includes an increase of more than 10% in team and
individual project submissions and an increase of more than 16 % in
the number of registrations. Entries are judged at the regional
level by esteemed scientists at six leading research universities
which host the regional competitions: Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (November 7-8); University of Notre Dame (November 7-8);
University of Texas at Austin (November 14-15); Carnegie Mellon
University (November 14-15); California Institute of Technology
(November 21-22); and Georgia Institute of Technology (November
21-22). Winners of these regional events are invited to compete at
the National Finals at New York University, December 5 - December
8, 2008. Log on to http://www.siemens-foundation.org/ on December
8, 2008 at 9:30am EST to view a live webcast of the National
Finalist Award Presentation in New York City. About the Siemens
Foundation The Siemens Foundation provides more than $7 million
annually in support of educational initiatives in the areas of
science, technology, engineering and math in the United States. Its
signature programs, the Siemens Competition in Math, Science &
Technology and Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, reward
exceptional achievement in science, math and technology. The newest
program, The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, encourages
K-12 students to develop innovative green solutions for
environmental issues. By supporting outstanding students today, and
recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence,
the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers.
The Foundation's mission is based on the culture of innovation,
research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens'
U.S. companies and its parent company, Siemens AG. For more
information, visit http://www.siemens-foundation.org/. About The
College Board The College Board is a not-for-profit membership
association whose mission is to connect students to college success
and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of
more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities, and other
educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves
seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and
3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college
admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and
teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the
SAT(R), the PSAT/NMSQT(R), and the Advanced Placement Program(R)
(AP(R)). The College Board is committed to the principles of
excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of
its programs, services, activities, and concerns. For further
information, visit http://www.collegeboard.com/. NOTE TO EDITORS:
Event B-roll and Photos of winners are available upon request.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Siemens Foundation CONTACT:
Valerie Francois, Siemens Foundation, +1-732-590-5292, ; Alexander
Aizenberg, +1-212-445-8414, , or Jennifer Sheeley, +1-212-445-8430,
, both of Weber Shandwick, for the Siemens Foundation Web Site:
http://www.collegeboard.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/908729.html
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