Intel Young Scientists Announced

Congratulations to Dayan Li, Philip Streich, and Dmitry Vaintrob. Who are they and why should you congratulate them? Well, they were selected from more than 1500 young scientists from 51 countries, regions, and territories as the winners of the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards.

That's a big deal, and they deserve to be honored and acknowledged for their efforts. Oh yes, the $50,000 college scholarships they receive is kind of nice too.

Dayan Li focused on angiogenesis, the growth of new capillaries from existing blood vessels, which is essential for tumor growth and metastasis. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) is one of the most powerful angiogenesis inhibitors and interacts with nitric oxide (NO), which can inhibit or stimulate angiogenesis. This study developed a quantitative, highly accurate and precise method to simultaneously monitor the expression of several tumor marker genes in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in response to TSP1 and NO. Li's project may be able to provide invaluable information on drug targets and their potential to be regulated for the treatment of cancer.

Phillip Streich's research study provided the first evidence that carbon nanotubes, which are among the strongest and most conductive materials in the world, are thermodynamically soluble. He further quantified this solubility and its limits by using static light scattering to measure a parameter called the second virial coefficient B. These findings may be the key to finally realizing the potential of nanotubes as a supermaterial.

Dmitry Vaintrob's sophisticated mathematical investigation evaluated ways to associate algebraic structures to topological spaces. Vaintrob proved that loop homology and Hochschild cohomology coincide for an important class of spaces.

"These three winners -– and indeed, all 1,500 Intel ISEF participants –- represent some of the most innovative thinking around the world," said Craig Barrett, Intel chairman.

In addition to the Dayan, Dmitry, and Phillip, more than 500 participants received scholarships and prizes for their efforts. Intel awards included the 18 "Best of Category" winners, selected from the categories, who each received a $5000 Intel scholarship and an Intel-based notebook.

So congratulations to everyone involved, and thanks to Intel for once again making this event possible.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 06:48 PM  Permalink