Top Achieving High School Students Selected for Research Science Institute
82 high school students participate in 33rd Research Science Institute at MIT
McLean, VA – June 16, 2016 – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces 82 top achieving U.S. scholars and international scholars, are attending the 33rd annual Research Science Institute (RSI), jointly sponsored with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from June 26th– August 5th. RSI is a six-week intensive program that provides students with the opportunity to conduct original, cutting edge research in state-of-the-art university laboratories, hospitals and corporate research facilities.
The RSI Selection Committee, comprised of professional educators and RSI alumni, convened at the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) in March 2016 to select high school students to attend the nationally recognized program. Students selected for RSI are exemplary as based on the following criteria: high school records, personal essays, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, research experience, potential for leadership, and honors and awards in math and science.
RSI is offered cost-free by CEE to competitively selected top achieving students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). RSI scholars participate in college-level research under the mentorship of leading scientists, engineers, and researchers in the Boston area.
The students, dubbed “Rickoids” after the late Admiral H.G. Rickover, Father of the Nuclear Navy and founder of the Center with CEE President, Joann DiGennaro, are studying pure and applied mathematics, physical and biological science, economics, and humanities. “The Research Science Institute offers scholars the opportunity to experience graduate level research and camaraderie with other academically talented STEM scholars,” said Joann P. DiGennaro, CEE President. “RSI has nearly 2,500 successful alumni with an 80% STEM career retention rate of the alumni.”
Dr. Nicole Nova, RSI ’07 alumnus and Research Associate, Department of Biology at Duke University, will lead RSI 2016. The RSI Academic Professors include:
- Dr. Christopher Skinner, RSI ’88, Princeton University – Mathematics
- Dr. Forrest Michael, RSI ’90, University of Washington – Chemistry
- Dr. Matthew Cain, RSI ’97, U.S. Army Natick Soldier R&D and Engineering Center - Biology
- Dr. Jason Nielsen, RSI ’89, University of California, Santa Cruz – Physics
- Dr. Steven Leeb, MIT – Engineering
- Mr. Lance Rhoades, University of Washington – Humanities
RSI is an annual, summer program consisting of one week of theoretical classroom work, followed by four-and-a-half weeks of research with a professor or research scientist in the students’ respective areas of interest. In the final week, students demonstrate their work through written academic papers and present oral findings to their peers and a panel of judges.
The RSI scholars learn about the careers, achievements, and challenges of the STEM environment and participate in question and answer sessions during the RSI Distinguished Guest Lecture Series. Leaders in STEM will share knowledge with the RSI scholars and include:
- Dr. Robert Horvitz, Professor, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David H. Koch Professor; Member, McGovern Institute for Brain Research; Member, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Nobel Laureate
- Dr. Eric Maskin, Adams University Professor, Department of Economics, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate
- Dr. Thomas Leighton, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Akamai Technologies
Thirty international students have joined the U.S. students from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Israel, Lebanon, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey at RSI 2016.
About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover, Father of the Nuclear Navy and civilian uses of nuclear power, and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP).
Media Contact: | Abby Mitchell, 703-448-9062 ext. 236 |
Sources: | Joann P. DiGennaro, 703-448-9062 |
Maite Ballestero,703-448-9062 | |
Nicole Nova,7502-203-1422 |
Related websites:
Center for Excellence in Education: http://www.cee.org/
Research Science Institute: http://www.cee.org/research-science-institute
Research Science Institute 2016 Students
Alabama Varsha R. Sridhar Jefferson County IB School Irondale |
Alaska Foster Birnbaum West Anchorage High School Anchorage |
Arizona Divya Vatsa BASIS Scottsdale Scottsdale |
Arkansas Ryan Ki-Hoon Kim Fayetteville High School Fayetteville |
California Jessika Baral Mission San Jose High School Fremont Benjamin Y. Chen Diamond Bar High School Diamond Bar Kalyani Ramadurgam Torrey Pines High School San Diego Anushka Walia Irvington High School Fremont David Zhu The Harker School San Jose |
Colorado Avi Z. Swartz Cherry Creek High School Greenwood Villiage |
Connecticut William Yin Greenwich High School Greenwich |
Delaware Adithya Dattatri The Charter School of Wilmington Wilmington |
Florida River C. Grace West Shore Junior/Senior High School Melbourne Adam B. Snowden Ponte Vedra High School Ponte Vedra |
Georgia Nicolas R. San Miguel Campbell High School Smyrna |
Illinois Pranav A. Upadhyayula Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Aurora Sushil B. Upadhyayula Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Aurora |
Indiana Caleb He Carmel High School Carmel |
Iowa Gabriel L. Mintzer Valley High School West Des Moines |
Kentucky Mukund Venkatakrishnan duPont Manual Magnet High School Louisville |
Louisiana Tolson K. Frantzen Episcopal School of Acadiana Broussard |
Maryland Sonia M. Reilly Bilingual Academy Homeschool Columbia Nolan M. Reilly Bilingual Academy Homeschool Columbia |
Massachusetts Emily Z. Xie Boston Latin School Boston |
Michigan Helen J. Xu Detroit Country Day School Beverly Hills |
Mississippi Sichen Shawn Chao Oxford High School Oxford |
Missouri Jeffrey M. Wang Ladue Horton Watkins High School St. Louis |
Nevada Dhruv W. Rohatgi The Davidson Academy of Nevada Reno |
New Hampshire Andy K. Dienes St. Paul's School Concord Tom J. Dienes St. Paul's School Concord |
New Jersey Jiwoo Lee Academy for Medical Science Technology Hackensack Nishita Sinha Chatham High School Chatham |
New York Adam A. Pahlavan Jericho High School Jericho |
North Carolina Angela Deng North Carolina School of Science and Math Durham Joshua Dong North Carolina School of Science and Math Durham |
Ohio Dhweeja Dasarathy Hawken School Gates Mills |
Oregon Ashwin N. Datta Glencoe High School Hillsboro |
Pennsylvania Joseph R. Feffer Home School Boalsburg Mihir T. Garimella Fox Chapel Area High School Pittsburgh |
Rhode Island Morgan E. Kane Mt. Hope High School Bristol |
South Carolina Jenning N. Chen Spring Valley High School Columbia |
Tennessee Jennifer R. Xiao White Station High Memphis |
Texas Steven T. Elliott Magnolia Academy (Home school Parker Krithika S. Iyer Plano East Senior High School Plano Kavita A. Selva Clear Lake High School Houston |
Utah Kathy F. Liu West High School Salt Lake City |
Virginia Prathik Naidu Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHSST) Alexandria Neeraj Prasad Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech Alexandria |
Washington Naveena A. Bontha Hanford High School Richland |
West Virginia Aarohi Srivastava Morgantown High School Morgantown |
Wisconsin Arundhati Pillai University School of Milwaukee Milwaukee |
Wyoming Lia G. Eggleston St. Paul's School Concord, New Hampshire |
Research Science Institute 2016 International Students
Australia Matthew J. Craigie Noosa District State High School Cooroy Viney Kumar Knox Grammar School Wahroonga |
Bulgaria Dona-Maria R. Ivanova Baba Tonka High School of Mathematics Ruse Dimitar N. Karev NSMHS "Acad. Boyan Petkanchin" Haskovo |
Canada Dina Mohamed Sami Abbass Shehata Holy Heart of Mary High School St. John's, Newfoundland |
China Yilin Huang Camford Royal School of Zhongshan Zhongshan Chaoqun Tao High School Affiliated to Shanghai JTU Shanghai |
India Asha Ramanujam P. S. B. B. S. S. School Chennai |
Israel Omer R. Prives Be'er Tuvia High School Be'er Tuvia |
Lebanon Rawan M. Diab Hariri High School 2 Beirut Ghina M. El Darazi Rafic Hariri High School Saida Anis D. Ismail Rafic Hariri High School Saida |
Poland Pawel A. Burzynski 3rd High School in Gdynia Gdynia |
Saudi Arabia Rakan Albarghouty Dhahran Ahliyya Schools Dhahran Fares S. Alshehri Dar AlFikr Schools Jeddah |
Singapore Clara-Ann Cheng Raffles Institution Singapore Chih Ying Ho Raffles Institution (Junior College) Singapore Joel Jun Han Hong Hwa Chong Institution Singapore |
Singapore Yuhua Lim River Valley High School Singapore Chen Lin Ng NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Singapore Xuan Rong Thong National Junior College Singapore |
South Korea Seung Hyun Hong Taejon Christian International School Daejeon |
Spain Magalí Luna Institut Poeta Maragall Barcelona Marc Montalbo Burges Agora Sant Cugat International School Sant Cugat del Vallès Jan Olivetti Auladell Aula Escola Europea Barcelona |
Sweden Alexandra Alice Margareta Berg The Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville Elias W. Waagaard Bromangymnasiet Hudiksvall |
Switzerland Raphael I. Mahari International School of Berne Gümligen |
Turkey Zeynep Karacan Galatasaray High School Istanbul Berke Saat Robert College Istanbul |