(Reno, Nev.) –
Producing highly-qualified professionals, including scientists,
engineers and entrepreneurs is critical to maintaining economic
productivity in the United States. Public discourse on our nation’s
competitiveness tends to focus on the needs of low-performing students.
As important to our country’s future success are the most capable of
students, who are reaching high levels of academic excellence and, if
given the proper support, can help propel the U.S. forward in an
ever-competitive world.
Among these high achievers,
22 bright young people named as
2012 Davidson Fellows
exemplify the extraordinary work that can be accomplished by U.S.
students who are given opportunities to excel.
The Davidson Fellows program
offers $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships to students 18
or younger, who have created significant projects that have the
potential to benefit society in the fields of science, technology,
mathematics, literature, music and philosophy. The Davidson Fellows
scholarship program has provided nearly $5 million in scholarship funds
to 206 Fellows since its inception in 2001, and has been named one of
the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by
U.S. News & World Report.
The Davidson Fellows is a program of the Davidson Institute for Talent
Development, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Reno,
Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.
“The Davidson Institute is
built on the belief that individuals, who have extraordinary
intelligence and talents, when encouraged and supported, can improve the
quality of life for us all,” said Bob Davidson, co-founder of the
Davidson Institute. “We are delighted to recognize this group of
resourceful and distinguished young people for their fascinating
projects – projects that have the potential to benefit society.”
Positive contributions to society made by the 2012 Davidson
Fellows include:
- Discovering how intracellular signaling in plants works to produce an
effective immune response against bacterial pathogens.
- Contributing to a better understanding of consciousness with
implications in fields ranging from medicine to artificial intelligence.
- Identifying the biomechanism to provide a therapeutic target to curing
Parkinson’s disease.
- Investigating a tumor suppressor gene and its usefulness as a
biomarker for liver cancer.
- Fabricating a novel dual hydrogen production and water purification
device using wastewater as its sole fuel source.
- Developing algae as an effective oil source for biodiesel.
The 2012 Davidson Fellows Award Ceremony is scheduled for Wed., Oct.
3 in Washington, D.C. with all scholarship recipients attending.
About the Davidson Institute
Founded by Bob and Jan Davidson in 1999, the Davidson Institute for
Talent Development recognizes, nurtures and supports profoundly
intelligent young people, and provides opportunities for them to develop
their talents to make a positive difference. The Institute offers
support through a number of programs and services, including the
Davidson Fellows and
The Davidson Academy.
For more information about the 2012 Davidson Fellows, please visit
www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows.
2012 Davidson Fellow Laureates
$50,000 Scholarships
-
Mr. David Ding, 18, Albany, Calif.;
Infinitesimal Cherednik Algebras of gl_n
-
Mr. Manoj Kanagaraj, 18, Chino Hills, Calif.: A
Novel Mechanism for HER2 Targeted Drug Resistance: The Role of
t-DARPP in a Compensatory Signaling Shift Between the EGFR and HER2
Pathways
-
Miss Sara Volz, 17, Colorado Springs, Colo.;
Enhancing Algae Biofuels: Investigation of the Environmental and
Enzymatic Factors Effecting Algal Lipid Synthesis
-
Mr. Michael Yan, 18, Pepper Pike, Ohio; Genetic
Mutation of LRRK2 Causes Autosomal Parkinson’s Disease by Disrupting
Mitochondrial Dynamics
2012 Davidson Fellows
$25,000 Scholarships
-
Mr. Nathan Chan, 18, Burlingame, Calif.; The
Importance of Passion
-
Miss Ashley George, 18, Port Jefferson Station,
N.Y.; Creating a Framework for a Flexible, Biodegradable, and
Biocompatible Gelatin-Chitosan Biosensor
-
Mr. Philip He, 17, Okemos, Mich.; A Novel Role
of an Actin Capping Protein in Plant Immune Signaling
-
Mr. Duligur Ibeling, 18, Osseo, Minn.; The
Metallicity-Dependent Transition between White Dwarfs and Type II
Supernovae
-
Mr. Ryota Ishizuka, 18, Cos Cob, Conn.;
Optimization of a Microbial Fuel Cell to Drive a
Bioelectrochemically Assisted Wastewater Treatment Reactor
-
Miss Nina Lu, 18, Rockville, Md.; Determination
of Binding Energy Hotspots on a Broadly-Neutralizing Antibody
against HIV-1
-
Miss Naomi Shah, 17, Portland, Ore.; An
Experimental Study of the Impact of Airborne Pollutants on the Peak
Expiratory Flow (PEF) Rate of Asthmatic Subjects PLUS A Novel Risk
Assessment Model to Predict the Effect of PM10 and TVOC on the PEF
Rate
-
Mr. Lijia Xie, 17, Lansdale, Pa.; Location Matters
- Specificity of the RASSF1A Gene as a Biomarker for the Detection
of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
$10,000 Scholarships
- Mr. Saumil Bandyopadhyay, 17, Glen Allen, Va.; A
Novel Frequency-Selective Detector of Light and β Radiation Implemented
with Self-Assembled Quantum Wires: An Application of
Quantum-Mechanical Wavefunction and Density-of-States Engineering
-
Mr. Alex Chen, 16, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; A
Maximum Power Point Tracking Hardware with an Improved Hill Climbing
Algorithm
-
Mr. Sitan Chen, 17, Suwanee, Ga.; On the Rank Number of Grid
Graphs
-
Miss Ioana Grosu, 17, Troy, Mich.; Consciousness and the
Hard Problem: Discovering the Mind
- Mr. Bryan He
, 18,
Buffalo, N.Y.; A Simple Optimal Binary Representation of Mosaic
Floorplans and Baxter Permutations
Mr. Xiaoyu He, 18, Acton, Mass.; On the
Classification of Universal Rotor-Routers
- Mr. Kamden Hilliard, 18, Mililani, Hawaii.;
Reflections on Everything There Ever Was
-
Mr. Ian McKeachie, 16, Reno, Nev.; Attitudes of Existence
- Miss Vaishnavi Rao, 17, San Diego, Calif.;
Activity-dependent Regulation of Nitric Oxide Expression: Novel Form
of Neurotransmitter Plasticity
- Mr. Anand Srinivasan, Roswell, Ga.; "Doc Ock" -
Development of Novel Filtration Techniques to Facilitate Accurate
Pattern Detection in EEG Signals
###
Click
here to visit the
Davidson Fellows Press
Room.
High-resolution photos are available at
www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows.
Coordinate interview opportunities with the Davidson Fellows and their
nominators by emailing
DavidsonFellowsMedia@DavidsonGifted.org.
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