SEVERAL ASIAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS RECEIVE NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR UNMATCHED ACHIEVEMENTS |
| Cynthia Chen to be awarded $50,000, William Wang, Madeleine Yang to each be awarded $25,000, and Evan Hu, Brian Wu, Daniel Zhu to each be awarded $10,000 as a 2019 Davidson Fellow Scholarship Winners |
From Davidson Institute for Talent Development
Reno, Nev. – The Davidson Institute for Talent Development has announced the 2019 Davidson Fellows Scholarship winners. Among
the honorees are six Asian-American students, Cynthia Chen, 17, of Cupertino, Calif.; William Wang, 17, of Tulsa, Okla.; Madeleine
Yang, 17, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Evan Hu, 17, and Daniel Zhu, 17, of Potomac, Md.; and Brian Wu, 17, of Scarsdale, N.Y. Only 20
students across the country are recognized as scholarship winners each year.
“I am truly honored and humbled to be named a 2019 Davidson Fellow,” said Chen. “Receiving this award means a lot to me, and I am
extremely grateful to the Davidson Institute for their support of my academic and scientific pursuits.”
Chen’s research is an important first step towards a better understanding of deep learning models that are used in cancer research.
The computational pipeline she developed not only provides a novel framework for decoding sequence-based deep neural networks but
also identifies the genetic signatures of multiple types of cancers. Chen’s work could help reduce the time and cost of developing more
effective and targeted cancer treatments for patients.
Wang developed a new method to generate high quality, energy-efficient white light in LEDs. Since artificial lighting consumes
approximately 19 percent of the world’s total energy and is responsible for around 10 percent of all carbon emissions and LED lighting
is still far away from its theoretical efficiency limit, this project contributes to the efforts leading to more energy-efficient lighting, which
would help to reduce electricity costs, decrease carbon emissions and help to combat climate change.
Yang’s universal vaccine method has the potential to solve the flu vaccine’s low efficacy problem. One reason for the influenza vaccine’s
inefficacy is the traditional egg-based platform, which has a six to nine-month production time. During that time, viral mutations lead to
vaccine inefficiency, and the need for hundreds of millions of chicken eggs make the method unequipped to handle pandemics. Yang’s
approach incorporates the highly conserved influenza matrix protein M2 into engineered virus-like particles (VLPs), eliminating the need
for chicken eggs, enabling a shorter timeframe for development, decreasing production costs, and allowing for a larger production scale.
Hu’s project, Inspiring Hope, Note by Note, consists of a collection of CD recordings that were donated to various hospitals and medical
institutions across the nation. Through the recordings, Hu hopes to bring joy and rejuvenation to thousands of ill patients, elders, as well
as inspire young musicians to reach out and share their music to benefit others. He hopes his project will fill the hearts and restore the
hopes of people of all genders, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Zhu’s mathematics project, On the Okounkov-Olshanski Formula For The Number Of Skew Shapes, combines several areas of math
with applications in design theory, developing cryptosystems that are resistant to attacks by quantum computers, and fluid dynamics.
Wu’s project identified a planet very similar to Tatooine from the Star Wars movies, and he developed a confirmation system to prove the
planet’s existence. His work in advancing the field of radial velocity astronomy will increase the number of stellar companions
discovered using this method. Wu feels strongly that finding planets capable of supporting life will be critical should Earth become
uninhabitable, and plans to continue his work in astronomy.
“We are proud to announce the 2019 Davidson Fellows Scholarship recipients and applaud them for their hard work and achievement in
their fields of study,” said Bob Davidson, founder of the Davidson Institute. “By being awarded this recognition, these students have
shown immense skill and work ethic, and they should be commended as they continue their educational and research journeys while
continuing to work to solve some of the world’s most vexing problems.”
The 2019 Davidson Fellows will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 27, 2019.
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program offers $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships to students 18 or younger, who
have completed significant projects that have the potential to benefit society in the fields of science, technology, engineering,
mathematics, literature and music. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship has provided more than $7.5 million in scholarship funds to
more than 300 students since its inception in 2001, and has been named one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by U.
S. News & World Report. It is a program of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization
headquartered in Reno, Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.
About the Davidson Institute
Founded by Bob 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 Scholarship and the Davidson Academy of
Nevada. For more information about the 2019 Davidson Fellows, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows-Scholarship.
Reno, Nev. – The Davidson Institute for Talent Development has announced the 2019 Davidson Fellows Scholarship winners. Among
the honorees are six Asian-American students, Cynthia Chen, 17, of Cupertino, Calif.; William Wang, 17, of Tulsa, Okla.; Madeleine
Yang, 17, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Evan Hu, 17, and Daniel Zhu, 17, of Potomac, Md.; and Brian Wu, 17, of Scarsdale, N.Y. Only 20
students across the country are recognized as scholarship winners each year.
“I am truly honored and humbled to be named a 2019 Davidson Fellow,” said Chen. “Receiving this award means a lot to me, and I am
extremely grateful to the Davidson Institute for their support of my academic and scientific pursuits.”
Chen’s research is an important first step towards a better understanding of deep learning models that are used in cancer research.
The computational pipeline she developed not only provides a novel framework for decoding sequence-based deep neural networks but
also identifies the genetic signatures of multiple types of cancers. Chen’s work could help reduce the time and cost of developing more
effective and targeted cancer treatments for patients.
Wang developed a new method to generate high quality, energy-efficient white light in LEDs. Since artificial lighting consumes
approximately 19 percent of the world’s total energy and is responsible for around 10 percent of all carbon emissions and LED lighting
is still far away from its theoretical efficiency limit, this project contributes to the efforts leading to more energy-efficient lighting, which
would help to reduce electricity costs, decrease carbon emissions and help to combat climate change.
Yang’s universal vaccine method has the potential to solve the flu vaccine’s low efficacy problem. One reason for the influenza vaccine’s
inefficacy is the traditional egg-based platform, which has a six to nine-month production time. During that time, viral mutations lead to
vaccine inefficiency, and the need for hundreds of millions of chicken eggs make the method unequipped to handle pandemics. Yang’s
approach incorporates the highly conserved influenza matrix protein M2 into engineered virus-like particles (VLPs), eliminating the need
for chicken eggs, enabling a shorter timeframe for development, decreasing production costs, and allowing for a larger production scale.
Hu’s project, Inspiring Hope, Note by Note, consists of a collection of CD recordings that were donated to various hospitals and medical
institutions across the nation. Through the recordings, Hu hopes to bring joy and rejuvenation to thousands of ill patients, elders, as well
as inspire young musicians to reach out and share their music to benefit others. He hopes his project will fill the hearts and restore the
hopes of people of all genders, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Zhu’s mathematics project, On the Okounkov-Olshanski Formula For The Number Of Skew Shapes, combines several areas of math
with applications in design theory, developing cryptosystems that are resistant to attacks by quantum computers, and fluid dynamics.
Wu’s project identified a planet very similar to Tatooine from the Star Wars movies, and he developed a confirmation system to prove the
planet’s existence. His work in advancing the field of radial velocity astronomy will increase the number of stellar companions
discovered using this method. Wu feels strongly that finding planets capable of supporting life will be critical should Earth become
uninhabitable, and plans to continue his work in astronomy.
“We are proud to announce the 2019 Davidson Fellows Scholarship recipients and applaud them for their hard work and achievement in
their fields of study,” said Bob Davidson, founder of the Davidson Institute. “By being awarded this recognition, these students have
shown immense skill and work ethic, and they should be commended as they continue their educational and research journeys while
continuing to work to solve some of the world’s most vexing problems.”
The 2019 Davidson Fellows will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 27, 2019.
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program offers $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships to students 18 or younger, who
have completed significant projects that have the potential to benefit society in the fields of science, technology, engineering,
mathematics, literature and music. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship has provided more than $7.5 million in scholarship funds to
more than 300 students since its inception in 2001, and has been named one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by U.
S. News & World Report. It is a program of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization
headquartered in Reno, Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.
About the Davidson Institute
Founded by Bob 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 Scholarship and the Davidson Academy of
Nevada. For more information about the 2019 Davidson Fellows, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows-Scholarship.