|
Reno,
Nev., (Aug. 3, 2004) - Nicole
Ali’s work at a leading national research facility furthered the
understanding of how external umbilical cord stem cells can be
used in the treatment of blood disorders, including leukemia and
hemophilia. Jerry Guo developed an advanced spam filter that can
be customized by the user to be 99 percent effective in blocking
unwanted emails. Shuyu Wang unlocked part of the mystery
surrounding the behavior of DNA, particularly how it bends to form
RNA. And Harish Khandrika discovered a super massive black hole in
a neighboring galaxy using NASA data.
Not
one of these students is even old enough to vote.
These
young men and women are among 16 students from across the country
named as 2004 Davidson Fellows, an honor accompanied by a $50,000,
$25,000 or $10,000 scholarship. The Davidson Institute for Talent
Development, a national non-profit foundation that supports
profoundly intelligent young people, established the Davidson
Fellowship in 2001 to recognize and reward students under the age
of 18 who have made significant achievements in science,
technology, mathematics, music, literature and philosophy. Each of
the Fellows’ projects must make a positive contribution to
society.
“The
work completed by the 2004 Davidson Fellows could forever change
the world,” said Marie Capurro, director of programs and
services at the Davidson Institute. “Students such as these are
the ones who will lead future research, like developing the cure
for AIDS, ending our dependence on fossil fuels and discovering
new technologies. As a society, we could very well depend on their
genius to address some of today’s most important problems.”
Cultivating
such genius is not difficult, says the Davidson Institute, it just
takes flexibility on the part of educators, guidance from mentors
and, most importantly, support from parents.
At
present, nearly
half of all gifted students are underachievers and, alarmingly, up
to 20 percent of high school dropouts test in the gifted range.
Further, there is
no federal legislation that mandates gifted education nor are
there cohesive infrastructures in place that help parents
recognize -- and take advantage of -- resources to effectively
advocate for gifted children. The
absence
of such practices stifles the development of highly intelligent
youth, arguably the most under-served population in American
schools today, and poses significant concerns regarding the
development of future advances and inventions in all fields of
study.
“For
a society to ignore the development of its most talented young
people is like letting crops rot during a famine,” said Jan
Davidson, Ph.D., co-founder of the Davidson Institute and
co-author of Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest
Young Minds. “Ironically, these students may at first seem
like the last ones in need of help. But these students have very
specialized needs, and too often the education system can’t, or
won’t, try to meet them.”
Because
most states do not have mandatory identification programs in place
for all school districts, many parents and educators often times
do not realize how bright their student actually is until he or
she becomes a disciplinary problem or complains of being bored in
school.
“The
Davidson Institute works with students, parents, educators and
other professionals to ensure that all students are provided an
educational experience commensurate with their abilities,” said
Bob Davidson, co-founder of the Davidson Institute and co-author
of Genius Denied. “The 2004 Davidson Fellows are success
stories – they’re students who have resourcefully found ways
to nurture their genius by seeking out mentors, relying on strong
family support and working diligently to achieve their goals.”
Located
in Reno, Nev., the Davidson Institute for Talent Development is a
501(c)3 nonprofit operating foundation started 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 in order to make a
positive difference in society. Jan and Bob co-wrote with Laura
Vanderkam Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest
Young Minds, which chronicles the struggles faced by many
parents of gifted children and serves as a resource for other
parents. For more information on the Davidson Institute for Talent
Development or to request a copy of Genius Denied, please
visit www.DavidsonGfited.org.
2004
Davidson Fellow Laureates -- Scholarship Award: $50,000
-
Miss
Nicole Ali, 16 years old, St. Paul, Minn.; Science:
“Twisted
Gastrulation and Chordin Can Aid Primitive Human Hematopoietic
Cell Expansion Ex Vivo”
-
Mr.
Jerry Guo, 16 years old, Greer, SC; Technology: “Development
of an Advanced Bayesian Statistical Spam Filter”
-
Miss
Rachel Naomi Kudo, 17 years old, Northbrook, Ill.; Music:
“For
the Love of Music”
-
Miss
Shuyu Wang, 17 years old, East Lansing, Mich.; Science: “Statistical
Mechanics of DNA Bending”
2004
Davidson Fellows -- Scholarship
Award: $25,000
-
Miss
Athena Adamopoulos, 17 years old, New York, NY; Music: “Expressing
the Voice of the Individual in Music”
-
Mr.
Boris Alexeev, 17 years old, Athens, Ga.; Mathematics: “Minimal
Space DFA's for Testing Divisibility”
-
Miss
Molly Carr, 17 years old, Reno, Nev.; Music: “Heaven
Breaking In On Us”
-
Mr.
Matthew Goldstein, 17 years old, Delmar, NY; Technology: “DoorManBot:
Instant Message Relaying for Offline Users”
-
Mr.
Harish Khandrika,
17 years old, La Jolla, Calif.; Science: “Analysis
of X-Rays from the Core of Radio-Galaxy Centaurus A”
-
Miss
Natasha Simonova, 17 years old, Huntingdon Valley, Penn.;
Literature: “The
Renaissance: But Victual of Voracious Change”
-
Miss
April Wang, 17 years old, Cincinnati, Ohio; Literature: “Who
Am I?”
2004
Davidson Fellows -- Scholarship
Award: $10,000
-
Miss
Ann Chi, 17 years old, Terre Haute, Ind.; Science: “H2
and C2H4 Elimination Pathways in the Y + C2H6 Reaction”
-
Mr.
Illya Filshtinskiy,
17 years old, Westerville, Ohio; Music: “A
Step Toward My Dream”
-
Mr.
Lee Huttner, 15 years old, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Philosophy: “The
Religio-Spiritual Impulse and Its Biological Inherence in
Humans”
-
Miss
Anna-Katrina
Shedletsky, 17
years old, Brewster, NY; Science: “Disease
Propagation Through Connective Paths”
-
Miss
Stephanie Tse, 17 years old, Los Angeles, Calif.; Science: “SNP
Detection of a 410bp Region of the MTRR Promoter in Colorectal
Adenoma Patients”
###
Click
here to visit the Davidson
Fellows Press Room.
|
