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Seventeen Young People Honored for Groundbreaking
Work in Science, Mathematics, Technology, Music, Literature

 Davidson Institute Awards Achievers with $10,000 and $50,000 Scholarships

Reno, Nev., (July 15, 2002)Research findings that could revolutionize automobile engine design to reduce gasoline consumption, research leading scientists closer to a cure for cancer, a breakthrough in human genome research, innovative computer programs maximizing storage capacities of wireless and handheld devices - these projects are only a few of the 17 significant works of the 2002 Davidson Fellows. In recognition of their achievements, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development will award five of the Davidson Fellows $50,000 scholarships and 12 will receive $10,000 scholarships.

The Davidson Institute, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people, established the Davidson Fellows Award in 2001 to encourage, recognize and reward young people for a significant achievement in science, technology, mathematics, music, literature or philosophy.  Applicants must submit a significant piece of work that has the potential to make a positive contribution to society.  On September 25, the 2002 Davidson Fellows will receive their scholarships and will be recognized for their accomplishments at an awards ceremony  to be held in their honor in Washington, D.C.

"All of the 2002 Davidson Fellows recipients presented projects that have been highly acclaimed as innovative breakthroughs and prodigious works by recognized professionals in a particular field of study," said Marie Capurro, Director of Programs and Services at the Davidson Institute.

This year, five Davidson Fellow Laureates will each receive a $50,000 scholarship:

  • Wenyi Cai, a 17-year-old from Naperville, Ill. whose technology project was titled Quantitative Analysis of Highly Transient Gasoline Sprays by Time-Resolved Synchroton X-Radiography

  • Sebastian Chang, a 14-year-old from Trabuco Canyon, Calif. whose music portfolio was titled Music Composition, with Performance and Improvisation 

  • Allan Chu, a 17-year-old from Saratoga, Calif. whose technology project was titled LZAC Lossless Data Compression: A Novel Approach to Minimum Redundancy Coding

  • Jason Chu, a 16-year-old from Hockessin, Del. whose science project was titled Fibrogenesis Retardation

  • Marcin Mejran, a 16-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y. whose science/technology project was titled Measuring Transcriptional States with a Highly Parallel Single Molecular Resequencing Approach

Twelve Davidson Fellows will each receive a $10,000 scholarship:

  • Jennifer Alyono, a 17-year-old from Silver Spring, Md. whose science/technology project was titled Development of an Electrochemical Biosensor for Phospholipase C Based on Supported Hybrid Lipid

  • Christopher Falzone, a 16-year-old from Richmond, Va. whose music portfolio was titled At the Piano - A Celebration of Human Expression and Creativity

  • Sheel Ganatra, a 17-year-old from Newark, Del. whose mathematics project was titled Escaping a Forest of Circular Mirrors: A Topological Analysis of Phase Spaces

  • Jennifer Hall, a 17-year-old from Mt. Pleasant, S.C. whose literature portfolio was titled Afloat

  • Louis Malcolm Hutson, III, a 17-year-old from Mandeville, La. whose technology project was titled Hashing Algorithms: An Evolutionary Approach

  • Alexandra Morris, a 10-year-old from Ventura, Calif. whose literature portfolio was titled Into the Archway: A Writing Portfolio by Alexandra Morris

  • Ashvin Mysore, a 17-year-old from Louisville, Colo. whose technology project was titled Fractal Terrain Generation with the ROAM Terrain System 

  • Alexander Power, a 15-year-old from Cedar Falls, Iowa whose mathematics project was titled On Chromatic Polynomials and the Properties of their Chromatic Growth Ratios 

  • Britta Redwood, a 14-year-old from Grapevine, Texas whose literature portfolio was titled The Singing Earth

  • Benjamin Schwartz, a 16-year-old from Wesport, Conn. whose science/technology project was titled A New Tool for the Measurement and Analysis of Grain Boundary Energy with the Atomic Force Microscope 

  • Kavita Shukla, a 17-year-old from Ellicott City, Md. whose science project was titled Food Preservation Technology Utilizing Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum Graecum) 

  • Amyie Vuong, a 16-year-old from Oklahoma City, Okla. whose science project was titled Autoimmunity and Cancer

Former educational software entrepreneurs, philanthropists and co-founders of the Davidson Institute, Jan and Bob Davidson are committed to making a difference among America's highly intelligent young people.

"We are happy to celebrate and recognize the 2002 Davidson Fellows," said Bob Davidson. "These young people are the ones who will fuel advances in science, mathematics and technology, as well as propel society to new heights in music and literature."

"We hope that by recognizing these outstanding young people that we will be encouraging them to further develop their talents, inspire other young people and help make positive contributions to our nation's future," added Jan Davidson.

Located in Reno, Nev., the Davidson Institute for Talent Development is a 501(c)3 nonprofit operating foundation, founded in 1999 by educational software entrepreneurs, Bob and Jan Davidson.  The mission of the Davidson Institute is to recognize, nurture and support profoundly intelligent young people and to provide opportunities for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference. For more information on the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.

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