Top Achieving High School Students Selected for RSI

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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