Oak Ridge Today

ORHS seniors wins $30,000 scholarship in national research competition

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Note: This story was updated, and a video of Andress and Toth added, at 1:59 p.m. Dec. 5.

They made it to the national finals in a prestigious competition for teen researchers, and on Tuesday, Oak Ridge High School seniors James Andress and A.J. Toth won a $30,000 team scholarship for their work.

Andress and Toth were one of six teams from across the country that made it to the national finals of the 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. Their research could help in the development of anticancer drugs, a press release said.

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Letter: Gratitude offered for local teamwork in Siemens Competition

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To the Editor:

The Math Thesis program is one of the above and beyond programs offered at Oak Ridge High School. Aimed at providing research opportunities for high school students, the program pairs students with a mentor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, either as individuals or as teams. The students define a project with their mentor and conduct research over the summer. Then the students write a paper about their results.

One of the places they submit their results is the Siemens National Math and Science Competition. This year, a total of 2,255 students participated in the Siemens Competition, with a total of 1,504 submitted projects.

Of the 1,504 projects submitted, 30 teams and 30 individuals have been selected as regional finalists across the country. That’s right, a total of 60 projects out of more than 1,500, split evenly between teams and individuals.

This year, two of the 30 finalist teams are from Oak Ridge High School. Three other ORHS students were recognized as semifinalists. Wow.

Oak Ridge High School’s record at the Siemens Competition is nothing short of incredible. Six teams advance from the regional competitions each year. ORHS teams have advanced to the national level competition four times and have won the national competition twice. No other high school in the country has as many students recognized by the Siemens Foundation as Oak Ridge.

Most importantly, this is a story about the village. The individual students work hard, no doubt, but they didn’t get there by themselves. The thesis program was dreamed of, designed, and built by a teacher, a teacher who was empowered and backed by the school system. Other teachers have and are carrying the program forward. Even more teachers are responsible for preparing the students over time to be in a position to compete.

ORNL supports the program with workspace and resources. Each mentor contributes expertise and guidance, and each is actively engaged with the students, a task that is not part of their regular work. Whether students advance in the competition or not, this opportunity is priceless!

So, gratitude to: Benita Albert for conceiving of and implementing the program; Karl Flatau, Tammy Carneim, and Jessica Williams for carrying it forward; the Board of Education for supporting the program; ORNL for generously providing mentoring staff and research opportunities; each mentor for investing time and energy; and the countless individuals who contribute to the opportunity for the students, regardless of the outcomes. It matters.

Finally, congratulations to regional finalists Kyoung-A Cho, Yu (Samantha) Wang, Jim Andress, and A.J. Toth, and to regional semifinalists Neall Caughman, Megan Kelly, and Patrick Williams.

Cathy Toth

Oak Ridge

Two ORHS teams compete in Siemens Competition this week

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Two student teams from Oak Ridge High School will compete this week in the regional finals for the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology.

The two teams include James Andress and A.J. Toth, and Kyoung-A Cho and Samantha Wang. The students worked with mentors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop computer programs to help find protein mutations that suppress cancer and evaluate rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

“We were excited by the potential for machine learning to advance pharmaceutical development,” Andress said in a press release.

“My favorite part of working on this project was realizing that I could program, which I didn’t think I could do,” Wang said.

The two teams will compete in the regional finals at Georgia Institute of Technology on Friday and Saturday. A total of 93 students from 25 states are competing in six regional finals from California to Massachusetts this month.

The Siemens Competition is considered the nation’s premier research competition for high school students.

“These students have invested time, energy, and talent in tackling challenging scientific research at a young age,” Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, Siemens Foundation president, said in a recent press release. “The recognition they have won today demonstrates that engagement in STEM is an investment well worth making.”

The Siemens Competition awards one $3,000 prize to an individual and one $6,000 prize to a team at each regional competition. Winners of the regional events advance to the national finals at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., from Dec. 1-4, when $500,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.

The Siemens Foundation said there were also 322 semifinalists announced this year. Local regional semifinalists included John Caughman III, Megan Kelly, and Patrick Williams.

The Siemens Foundation said 2,255 students from across the country participated in this year’s competition with a total of 1,504 projects.

Cathy Toth, mother of A.J. Toth, said Oak Ridge has won at nationals twice since 2008.