Sugar Land resident Katheryn Cheng Shi has been named as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, and is in the running for the $100,000 award from the Intel Foundation.
Forty high school seniors from across the country have been selected as finalists in the oldest pre-college science competition. Finalists will gather in Washington, D.C. from March 11-16 to compete for $630,000 in awards.
Shi, 16, is a student at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. Shi used computational chemistry to predict the existence of rare-gas compounds in her Intel Science Talent Search project in chemistry. Rare-gas molecules are used in lasers for eye surgery, semiconductor manufacturing and to create anti-tumor agents. Shi analyzed more than 80 hypothetical molecules using several quantum mechanical methods and identified two new stable rare-gas compounds, HArN and HKrN. Shi hopes to collaborate with synthetic chemists to synthesize these molecules and is the first author of a paper submitted to Chemical Physics Letters.
At Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in Denton, she founded a math tutoring program for middle school students and has been the winner of numerous academic awards. She volunteers at a pet shelter and provides therapeutic horseback riding for persons with disabilities. As a 12-year-old, Shi earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and reads Chinese and Spanish fluently. She enjoys swimming, ice skating and playing clarinet. The daughter of Hongxiao Shi and Han Cheng, Katheryn hopes to attend MIT or Harvard and study computational biology and chemistry.
“This year’s finalists are truly inspiring and they reaffirm our belief that programs like the Intel Science Talent Search foster a passion for math and science, subjects that are the foundation of the innovation that is the key to America’s future success,” said Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel’s Corporate Affairs Group. “At Intel, we believe that we must invest in math and science education now to reap the benefits of that innovation later.”
Society for Science & the Public is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, has owned and administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in 1942. This year marks Intel’s 12th year sponsoring the program.
“Through their independent research that tackles some of the most challenging scientific issues of our time, these 40 finalists are preparing themselves to be the leaders of tomorrow,” said Elizabeth Marincola, president of SSP. “We congratulate these young innovators on their extraordinary achievements and welcome them into the prestigious fold of the Science Talent Search, now in its 69th year.”
For a list of all 40 finalists, visit www.societyforscience.org/sts.
