What are your favorite memories from ISEF?

One of the things I really enjoyed about ISEF was talking to the judges about my work. It was great to talk to people who knew something about what I was doing, were enthusiastic and wanted to hear more.

Was your ISEF project a project in mathematics?

Yes. I participated in a summer program called the Research Science Institute (RSI) at MIT, which is where I began my research. After RSI concluded, my RSI mentor Satomi Okazaki connected me to Doug Jungreis, who was then a postdoc at UCLA near my home in Los Angeles, and he continued to mentor me. This enabled me to continue working on the research that became my ISEF project.

How would you describe the central ideas that drive your research?

My research is in algebraic combinatorics. Algebra is the study of things like polynomials, and combinatorics is the study of finite or discrete structures; it often involves counting. As an example, if you give a combinatorialist a cube, they will probably observe that it has six two-dimensional faces, 12 one-dimensional edges, and eight zero-dimensional vertices.

In my Ph.D. thesis, I studied a mathematical object called the positive Grassmannian. There are actually infinitely many positive Grassmannians, and they can have arbitrarily high dimensions, but just like a cube, each one can be decomposed into pieces of different dimensions. My first graduate school theorem was an explicit formula for the number of pieces of each dimension in each positive Grassmannian.

Your work lies at the intersection of algebra, combinatorics and geometry. What happens when those fields collide?

One thing that is useful about being at the intersection of several mathematical fields is that you鈥檝e got a larger set of tools to draw from and a larger set of problems. My work has had unexpected connections to fields even outside of math. A year after I wrote my first paper on the positive Grassmannian, another mathematician named Sylvie Corteel wrote a paper proving that my formulas enumerating could be interpreted as probabilities explaining what happens in a model called the asymmetric simple exclusion process. This model was introduced by biologists to study translation in protein synthesis, and it has also been used as a model for traffic on a one-way street.

At that point I had never heard of the asymmetric simple exclusion process, but all of a sudden I was learning that my polynomials were computing probabilities related to traffic flow and protein synthesis. It was extremely intriguing.

Congratulations on being named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow. How did you feel when you learned you received the award?聽

I鈥檒l preface my answer by saying that in May 2025, essentially all of the federal science grants at Harvard were canceled by the government. I had an individual National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for my research, and two NSF conference grants. The grants were all canceled in May鈥夆�斺�塧nd I was supposed to use one of them to organize a conference at Harvard in June! It was an incredibly disruptive, stressful and discouraging experience. Since last spring, it has felt like higher education, and the field of science, was having an existential crisis.

Then in the fall I got a phone call from the MacArthur Foundation telling me I had won one of their awards. This was quite a wonderful shock. It was a real gift to be told that somebody still cares about my research and to be given the resources I needed. The award couldn鈥檛 have come at a better time.

Who inspired you when you were younger and who inspires you today?

When I was younger, I had many wonderful teachers who encouraged me in writing, math and music. I also grew up with three younger sisters, who like me loved math and science. Then when I was a senior in college at Harvard, I met Maryam Mirzakhani, who had just started graduate school at Harvard. We took a class together, and while she was quiet and a bit shy, she was clearly very intelligent and asked penetrating questions. She went on to become the first woman to win a Fields Medal, though tragically she passed away from cancer a few years later.

Today, I have a number of friends who inspire me, many of whom are women. Many are juggling careers with parenting. It鈥檚 inspiring to see women doing amazing work while juggling whatever else is going on in their lives.

What were your favorite books growing up and what are you reading today?

In elementary school my favorite books were the Narnia chronicles, starting with聽The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

More recently, I鈥檝e read several inspiring memoirs by female scientists. I read Sara Seager鈥檚 memoir聽The Smallest Lights in the Universe, about her work as an astrophysicist as well as her life. I also enjoyed Hope Jahren鈥檚 memoir聽Lab Girl, which discusses her life and work as a geochemist.

You recently coauthored a paper called聽First Proof, which examined the ability of large language models to solve complex mathematical questions. What prompted this investigation? What did you learn?聽

We initiated this project in part because the media surrounding AI and math is so extreme. There are articles saying AI is going to 鈥渟olve math,鈥� as well as articles saying that AI is useless. We wanted to develop an objective test to see how good AI is at proving mathematical statements.

We had to design this test very carefully because if you ask an AI model a math question, and the answer is on the internet somewhere, the model is going to find that solution. We had to identify problems that did not have solutions online. We also didn鈥檛 want to use famous unsolved conjectures, because that wouldn鈥檛 tell us anything. We needed to develop solvable open questions whose solutions were not on the internet: We concluded that we should use research questions from our own work that we had recently solved but not yet published. Our initial paper聽First Proof聽consisted of 10 problems from different areas of math. We made this paper public on February 6, and revealed the solutions on February 14, to allow for a 鈥渃ommunity experiment鈥� during the eight days in between. During this time many companies and individuals took on the challenge and tried to solve our problems.

What did you learn from this experiment?

In our testing of a few publicly available AI models, before we publicly released the problems, we found that if we gave the model one shot to answer each question, as opposed to interacting with the model and giving feedback on intermediate solutions, the model could solve two of our 10 problems. During the community experiment, several companies shared more impressive results using their internal, but not publicly available, models. We didn鈥檛 specify any strict protocols for the community to follow, like the one shot rule, making it difficult to come to any definitive conclusions or compare the outcomes. We are now busy preparing to release a second more formal round of problems.

There are many challenges facing the world today. What keeps you up at night?

I would say one of the things keeping me up at night is worrying about the state of higher education and funding for science research in general. Recently, the government has been trying to cut as much funding as possible for basic scientific research, including graduate and postdoctoral fellowships.

Another thing I鈥檓 thinking about is how we, as mathematicians, can best use tools such as AI. While AI models can be very helpful, when it comes to math research, the models often output a wrong answer with a great deal of confidence. We need better tools for determining whether an AI-generated solution is correct.

What gives you hope for the future?

My students give me hope. I teach a freshman seminar every year, and it鈥檚 always a wonderful experience for me to get to know these very bright 18-year-olds who are arriving at Harvard full of hope and dreams. Their excitement and enthusiasm keep me feeling young and optimistic.

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Their promise as scientific leaders is reflected not only by the quality of their research and their unquestionable ability. But their potential is also written in the stories of the finalists who have stood in their shoes over the last 84 years.

This year, 聽finalists heard from one such STS alum, Marcian 鈥淭ed鈥� Hoff (STS 1954), 聽the twelfth employee at Intel and inventor of the microprocessor. 聽He is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Ted sat down with the finalists for a fireside chat, where he shared his journey and answered finalists鈥� questions. Below are some excerpts from the conversation.

When you began at Intel, what problem were you trying to solve that led to the invention of the microprocessor?

鈥淲hen I first got involved with that project, we had agreed to build a set of custom chips for a calculator company. Three engineers came from Japan with a design they wanted built, and the more I looked at it, the more concerned I became. They had separate control chips for the keyboard, display, printer, memory and arithmetic.

“The idea I came up with was that instead of building all these different chips, we could make a general-purpose processor and put the complexity into memory, instead of wiring it into the chip itself. You can write the code for that memory on a piece of paper, and then there鈥檚 a standard way of putting it into the memory, so you don鈥檛 need a new chip layout every time.

鈥淭hat meant the same hardware could be used for many different applications. What started as a solution to designing the calculator turned out to have many other uses. One thing I learned is that ideas often come from things you did earlier that didn鈥檛 seem connected at the time. Some of these disconnected experiences can turn out to be very useful in the long run.鈥�

As someone who laid the foundation for modern computing, what questions and considerations do you think are most urgent as we advance AI systems today?

鈥淲e鈥檙e building more powerful processors, smarter processors, where the artificial intelligence can get well beyond the typical human intelligence. An important question becomes, 鈥榃hat is the role of the human in that society?鈥�

鈥淚 think one of the things future generations really have to think about is not just what we can do, but the impact of what we do. There are many problems in the world, and it isn鈥檛 always obvious what the best solution is. You have to be careful about putting technology into use before it鈥檚 ready. It may be a great development eventually, but when something is introduced before all the details are worked out, that can be hazardous.

鈥淲hen I went to engineering school, Rensselaer, was an all-male school. I think the year I graduated, there were only two women in the entire school body,鈥� Ted said. 鈥淲ell, our youngest granddaughter is now at Cal Poly, studying mechanical engineering.鈥�

He pointed to that contrast with today, where far more women are entering and leading in 中文无码. For Ted, that shift underscores the importance of 鈥渂roadening the view,鈥� and bringing more perspectives to not just what we build, but how we think about its impact.

How did it feel to join Intel when it was still a very young company, and what advice do you have for navigating risk or the unfamiliar?

鈥淲hen I joined Intel, there was definitely some risk. I was at Stanford at the time in what looked like a very secure position, supported by government research contracts, and things seemed to be going well. Leaving that to go to a brand-new company was not an obvious decision. Sometimes you have to make your best guess and accept that there are no guarantees.

鈥淚nterestingly, not long after I left, there were protests at Stanford about government-supported research, and the university decided to move a lot of that work off campus. If I had stayed, I might have been looking for a job anyway.

鈥淭hat was eye-opening. Things that seem secure may not be, and things that seem risky can work out very well. My advice is to make the best decision you can with the information you have, and don鈥檛 be afraid of something simply because it鈥檚 new or uncertain. That鈥檚 often where the most interesting opportunities are.鈥�

The post What Ted Hoff, the Inventor of the Microprocessor Told the Nation鈥檚 Top Young Scientists appeared first on 中文无码.

This Women鈥檚 History Month, 中文无码 is applauding the women who have pushed the barriers open in 中文无码 and helped inspire today鈥檚 young scientists. We spoke with several top winners in the Society鈥檚 flagship competitions. They reflect on their research, the women who inspire them, and the role they hope to play in encouraging the next generation of women in 中文无码.

We had a chance to hear from the winners in the 2025 Thermo Fisher JIC, including Camila, Pranshi, Christine and Alice who were recognized for their innovative research and teamwork during a week of rigorous challenges.

鈥淭o me, being a woman in 中文无码 means being confident, determined and having the courage to pursue 中文无码 fields with curiosity. It also means inspiring other women and encouraging people to believe in their abilities and pursue their dreams with confidence.鈥�

鈥淢y woman in 中文无码 inspiration is my mother, Kenira Thompson. She taught me the basics of research and showed me what science truly is. Since I was young, all I can remember is her hard work and dedication toward her pursuit of science, and how much she pushed herself to achieve her goals. In turn, she inspired me to try my hardest to achieve my own goals, whether it be in 中文无码 or in life.鈥�

Pranshi Mehta
鈥淲omen’s History Month is a powerful reminder that progress in 中文无码 has always been fueled by persistence, resilience and the courage to challenge the status quo. I am deeply grateful to the mentors, teachers and peers who have encouraged me to pursue ambitious research questions and to never shrink from the challenges along the way. As we celebrate this month, I hope that more young girls begin to see themselves not merely as participants in science, but as the innovators, leaders and changemakers actively shaping its future. The next great breakthrough could come from any one of them.鈥�

Christine Wang
鈥淢y woman in 中文无码 inspiration is Fei-Fei Li, whose groundbreaking work in AI has transformed computer vision. She inspires me not only through her intellect but also through her dedication to expanding opportunity and representation in AI. As I pursue 中文无码, I hope to follow her example and help shape a future in technology that is both innovative and open to everyone.鈥�

Abigail Qi and Siyaa Poddar, participants in the 2025 Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in Columbus, Ohio, reflect on overcoming adversity in science. 聽聽

鈥淪o many women have worked to pave the way for me to be afforded the opportunities I have now. It is our responsibility as women in 中文无码 to keep that momentum up! There are too many creative minds and too many problems to be solved for us to limit ideas purely based on whose mouth they come out of. I am so grateful to be a part of such a strong community and am excited to continue perpetuating聽the innovative, creative and determined mindset of the women before me.鈥�

鈥淲hen it comes to 中文无码, I鈥檝e never thought of myself as different from any guy. I鈥檝e never thought something would be harder to achieve because I鈥檓 a girl, and I鈥檝e never limited myself because of my gender. At their core, science and mathematics don鈥檛 depend on gender. For example, bacteria don鈥檛 grow differently depending on who inoculates them. That mindset has allowed me to approach challenges as just challenges, not as proof that I didn鈥檛 belong.

I think this perspective is incredibly important for girls in any subject, especially in 中文无码. If you internalize the idea that you鈥檙e at a disadvantage before you even begin, you鈥檙e fighting two battles: the material itself and your own doubt. But if you see yourself first and foremost as a capable learner, it鈥檚 amazing what you can achieve.

This doesn鈥檛 mean barriers and bias don鈥檛 exist. However, you can acknowledge challenges without letting them define your limits. In 中文无码, where confidence often determines who speaks up and who takes on leadership roles, refusing to self-limit is essential. In my opinion, the most important mindset is realizing you don鈥檛 need to prove you deserve your seat at the table more than anyone else. You belong because you鈥檙e willing to learn, to do the work and love what you do.鈥�

Around this time last year, Rivka Lipkovitz and Ava Grace Cummings won top awards in the Regeneron Science Talent Search for their research in mathematics and health.

Ava Grace Cummings
鈥淥ne of my women in 中文无码 inspirations is Mary Golda Ross. She was the first Native American female engineer and spent time working in statistics for the Bureau of Indian Affairs before working as an engineer for Lockheed Martin in the 1940s. As an Indigenous woman pursuing engineering, I find her story and resilience very inspiring. She also spent much of her career educating and giving back to her community, which I believe is one of the most important aspects of breaking barriers within 中文无码 fields. In 2019, she was also featured on the $1 coin!鈥�

Rivka Lipkovitz
鈥淎lthough most universities today have a roughly even gender split in enrollment, I still sometimes walk into a classroom and see only one or two other women. I鈥檓 glad that we鈥檝e made so much progress over the past century, especially in K鈥�12 education, but I still think there鈥檚 room to improve. I hope that one day it feels completely normal to see women everywhere in 中文无码. I don鈥檛 feel threatened being one of a handful of women, but I do think there are many women who would enjoy math if they had more opportunities to be exposed to it and encouraged early on. I want to study mathematics and conduct research in economics. At my university, only about 10% of the economics faculty are women. I hope that having one more woman in the room can make it easier for others to enter and feel that they belong.鈥�

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Now a freshman at MIT, Rivka is continuing to pursue the kinds of quantitative questions that first drew her to research. Outside the classroom, she鈥檚 also a competitive speedcuber who can solve a Rubik鈥檚 Cube in under 10 seconds.

We asked Rivka about her advice for this year鈥檚 finalists, what she learned through her research, and what she鈥檚 been exploring during her first year at MIT.

What advice would you give this year鈥檚 STS finalists about exploring new topics or trying unconventional approaches in their research?

鈥淢y advice to this year鈥檚 finalists would be to stay curious throughout your time in college. Even if your academic focus stays mostly the same, go to seminars outside your niche and explore adjacent fields.鈥� Rivka says that approach has already shaped her own academic interests. 鈥淚 stayed in quantitative social science, but branching out a bit made me realize that I鈥檓 increasingly interested in labor economics.鈥�

Your project analyzed trends in voter turnout using statistical modeling. What did you find most interesting about the patterns you discovered?

鈥淭his project made me appreciate how rarely policy impacts are clear-cut,鈥� Rivka said. Turnout appeared to increase in midterm elections after voter ID laws were implemented, 鈥渂ut only in some models.鈥�

Because of that complexity, she focused on what the data could reliably support rather than drawing sweeping conclusions.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 conclude that voter ID laws increase turnout. Instead, I used this information to conclude that it鈥檚 very unlikely they decrease turnout in midterms.鈥�

She was also surprised by how much the timing of the laws mattered.

鈥淚 was surprised by how much the effects seemed to depend on when a state adopted the laws, which suggested that context matters a lot. More broadly, when the results aren鈥檛 definitive, the best we can do is weigh the evidence carefully and make the most reasonable decision based on what we know.鈥�

Rivka continued refining the project after the competition and submitted it to a journal, where it was published this past December.

What was your most memorable experience from the Regeneron Science Talent Search?

鈥淥ne of my most memorable moments was the very first day, when the finalists from my region arrived and we all met in person,鈥� Rivka recalled. 鈥淚t felt surreal to be in D.C. with people I鈥檇 only known online before the competition.鈥�

She also remembers how quickly the finalists fell into deep conversations.

鈥淭he dinner conversation was really lively,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were debating big questions, like whether AI could create bioweapons and what a workable regulatory framework would be if that scenario became plausible.鈥�

You moved from San Francisco to Cambridge to attend MIT. What has the transition been like, and what have you been exploring so far?

鈥淭he transition was easier than I expected,鈥� Rivka said. 鈥淏oston is similar to San Francisco in that both are large cities on the water.鈥�

She quickly built a community with classmates and dormmates.

鈥淚鈥檝e been fortunate to make friends in my dorm and classes, and we鈥檝e spent some weekends exploring Boston.鈥�

The biggest adjustment has been the weather. Like fellow STS 2025 top ten winner, Logan Lee, Rivka is 鈥溾�till getting used to needing a heavy jacket and gloves,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the same time, playing in the snow is fun, and we even had a blizzard last week that was severe enough that we built a huge igloo and hung out together inside for an hour.鈥�

Academically, she has been taking both core requirements and more advanced courses. 鈥淚鈥檝e been taking some of my graduation requirements, such as chemistry and physics, along with more specialized electives, including graduate probability and labor economics.鈥� The probability class in particular pushed her mathematically. 鈥淧robability was one of the most abstract and challenging classes I鈥檝e taken, and it linked together almost all of the math I had learned previously. At the same time, completing the problem sets was very rewarding, and I feel the class helped me grow into a more capable mathematician.鈥�

She has also begun assisting with research on applying machine learning to causal inference with MIT econometrician Whitney K. Newey.

If you could have dinner with any 中文无码 professional, living or past, who would it be and what would you want to ask them?

Rivka says she would choose American economist Thomas Schelling, whose work she encountered in an class during her first semester at MIT. Schelling, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work applying game theory to understand conflict and cooperation, stood out to her for the way he approached economics almost like a natural science.

鈥淲hat I found so compelling about Schelling is how he explained complex social outcomes using really simple assumptions about human behavior,鈥� Rivka says. 鈥淔or example, small preferences, like not wanting to be in the minority, can end up producing large patterns such as segregation and often inefficient equilibria.鈥�

If she had the chance to speak with him, Rivka says she would want to explore how those ideas apply today. 鈥淚鈥檇 want to ask what modern problems he thinks are still driven by these kinds of population dynamics,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd then brainstorm what it would look like to design policies that could shift systems toward better equilibria.鈥�

To learn more about this year鈥檚 incredible finalists and their hard work, join us on Sunday, March 8, at the Conrad Hotel from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the聽Public Exhibition of Projects聽during STS Finals Week.聽 More information about the students can also be found聽here.

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Featured in , as well as , Logan came in fourth place overall during the 2025 competition, winning $100,000 that is to be used towards education. For his project, Logan studied ways to better control invasive mosquitoes in Hawaii, where avian malaria has led to the extinction of more than 30 native bird species. Current efforts release reproductively incompatible male mosquitoes that produce nonviable eggs, but these sterile males often struggle to survive in the wild. Logan boosted their survival by inoculating them with beneficial bacteria from wild mosquitoes, helping them grow faster and withstand colder conditions. In the process, he also identified a potentially novel bacterium adapted to the mosquito midgut in Hawaii.

Below, let鈥檚 hear more from Logan and his reflections on college life and scientific discovery.

Looking back on your Regeneron STS experience, what advice would you give to this year鈥檚 finalists?

Logan encourages this year鈥檚 finalists to approach the week with openness. 鈥淚 would tell this year’s finalists to frame finalist week as one of growth, both individually and as a collective,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ach new day is one of transformation as you explore new areas of science, conversations with your fellow finalists, and discussions with professional scientists.鈥�

For Logan, the impact of STS did not end when the week was over. The relationships he built continue to shape his life in college and beyond. 鈥淚n particular, the connections that I formed with finalists are ones that I continue to cherish to this day,鈥� he adds. At Yale, he often spends time in the Native American Cultural Center with fellow finalist Ava Cummings and he has also reunited with Melody Hong and in Boston and New York City.

How has your experience at Yale been so far?

鈥淚 have loved my time at Yale,鈥� Logan says. The biggest adjustment has been the weather. In November and December, he watched the temperature drop lower and lower until he could not leave his dorm without a heavy coat and at least two layers underneath. What has made the transition easier, he says, are the people. Through clubs like WYBC, Yale鈥檚 college radio station, and time spent in the Native American Cultural Center, he has found community. As he wrote his responses, he was sitting in the radio station beside friends, almost able to forget the blizzard outside.

What have you been studying and working on recently, both academically and in your research?

鈥淏eing at Yale has allowed me to expand my wings, both scientifically and otherwise,鈥� he says. Logan will double major in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and Statistics and Data Science. 鈥淎cademically, double majoring will let me pursue my scientific interests while also exploring other fields through Yale鈥檚 liberal arts curriculum, including classes like Introduction to Native American Studies and Canadian Literature.鈥�

In addition to his coursework, Logan serves on the research and development team at Simplex Sciences, a biotechnology nonprofit that produces single-stranded DNA ladders and organizes educational events in New Haven.

鈥淓xposure to this alternate side of biological research has been particularly enriching to me, as well as the community that comes with it,鈥� he says.

Outside the lab, he remains deeply involved on campus. 鈥淵ale has provided me with a place to both re-establish old interests and explore new ones,鈥� Logan says, noting his work in sound engineering for the college radio, weekly SAT tutoring and science lessons for local students, serving as a poetry editor, supporting campus events and productions and acting as treasurer for YAISES, Yale鈥檚 Indigenous 中文无码 group.

You played a key role in renaming Discoverers鈥� Day to Indigenous Peoples鈥� Day at your high school. What was it like to see that change happen, and what did you learn from being on the planning committee? Why was this important to you?

鈥淪eeing this change happen at my school was incredible,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a common misconception that administrative changes such as renaming holidays are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but I view them as a reframing to celebrate underrecognized communities.鈥�

For Logan, the shift was about more than a name. It was about visibility and acknowledgment.

鈥淭o see my culture be commemorated in this way, bringing both its rich traditions and modern struggles to light, and knowing that I contributed to the change, brought me immense pride,鈥� he says. 鈥淪maller initial changes are what allow for the biggest transformations later.鈥�

If you could teach a computer to feel one human emotion, which would it be, and why?

When asked what human emotion he would teach a computer, Logan does not hesitate: 鈥淚 would teach a computer how to feel compassion,鈥� he says.

For him, research is fundamentally about making a tangible change for communities. 鈥淚f a computer were able to feel compassion, it would understand the why behind what is being done and form an understanding of the broader expanse of the research.鈥� He believes compassion could help address the disconnection that pervades society. 鈥淚 think that this would address one of the most prevalent issues in the modern landscape of research: a disconnect from the issue being researched,鈥� he explains. Too often, he says, research is conducted without fully grasping its reach or consequences. 鈥淭o perform meaningful research is to fully understand the significance of it, at all levels.鈥�

To learn more about this year鈥檚 incredible finalists and their hard work, join us on Sunday, March 8, at the Conrad Hotel from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the聽Public Exhibition of Projects聽during STS Finals Week.聽 More information about the students can also be found聽here.

The post Five Questions with Logan Lee, the fourth-place winner of Regeneron STS 2025 appeared first on 中文无码.

The webpage, which can be viewed here, includes individual profiles with contemporary assets, highlighting the lasting contributions these alumni have made to their fields, as well as archival Society content from their competition experience. The list was launched in March 2022, with more than 100 alumni, and the Society plans to add to this list as the organization鈥檚 more than 70,000 alumni continue to contribute to their fields.

The additions are:

• Founder and CEO of Entagen and Vyasa, Christopher Bouton, who is a leader in data integration and AI
• Co-Founder of WHOOP John Capodilupo, who continues to make strides in health technology as a founder of Throne, a gut technology startup;
• Retired Vice Admiral Walter 鈥淭ed鈥� Carter, who is president of Ohio State University;
• Two-time Olympian and Long Island University Athletic Hall of Famer Maria Coffey, who earned her PhD in biomedical science;
• Major Adam Fuhrmann, who was selected for the 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class;
• Co-Founder of Leap Motion and founder of Midjourney, David Holz, whose company enables users to generate unique artwork through text prompts;
• Zoox Co-Founder Jesse Levinson, who is working towards a future where autonomous vehicles are commonplace;
• The late author Joanna Russ, a celebrated feminist scholar and author who transformed science fiction;
• Venture capitalist Sheel Tyle, who seeks to build companies that matter; and
• MacArthur Fellow Lauren Williams who is the second-ever tenured female math professor at Harvard University

鈥淲e are pleased to celebrate and recognize these extraordinary individuals who are innovators, leaders and pioneers,鈥� said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the 中文无码 and Executive Publisher of Science News. 鈥淭he Society is honored to have played a role in supporting these remarkable individuals at the beginning of their scientific journeys.鈥�

Each alumnus was named to the list based on their professional accomplishments and lasting contributions to advancing science and improving the world in which we live.

The post An Astronaut, Olympian, AI pioneer and MacArthur Prize winner among those named to 中文无码 list of Notable Alumni appeared first on 中文无码.

is an obesity medicine physician-scientist, educator and policymaker at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Working at the intersection of medicine, public health, policy and health disparities, she is helping to transform how obesity is understood, treated and addressed at a systemic level.

Her work is vital, as few areas of medicine are as shaped by misunderstanding and stigma as obesity. For Fatima, challenging those misconceptions and the inequities behind them became a mission and a calling. 鈥淚 was first drawn to medicine through an early fascination with science and the human body,鈥� she explains. 鈥� But I found my true calling when I recognized how profoundly social factors and health inequities shape outcomes, particularly for people living with obesity.鈥�

What is often perceived as an individual medical condition, she emphasizes, is deeply intertwined with access to care, socioeconomic factors and bias in clinical settings and public policy. By reframing obesity as a complex, chronic disease rather than a moral failing, Fatima challenges both the medical community and the public to adopt a more evidence-based and compassionate understanding.

鈥淲hat continues to excite me today is the opportunity to combine clinical care, research, education and advocacy to challenge outdated narratives and improve health for populations that have long been marginalized,鈥� she says. This integrated approach allows her not only to treat patients, but also to shape policy conversations and train the next generation of clinicians and scientists.

Mentorship has been central to her journey. Fatima speaks with gratitude about those who modeled 鈥渆xcellence paired with humility and service,鈥� particularly mentors who 鈥渃reated opportunities for me when I could not yet see them for myself.鈥� She is also 鈥渄eeply inspired by Black physicians and scientists who persisted and innovated despite systemic barriers, paving the way for future generations.鈥� Their resilience and brilliance, she notes, are a source of pride and a reminder of the responsibility to widen the path for others.

Her message to students considering careers in 中文无码 is equally direct. 鈥淪tay curious and do not be afraid to take up space,鈥� she advises. 鈥溨形奈蘼� careers are rarely linear, and your unique background, questions and lived experiences are assets, not obstacles.鈥� She also emphasizes the importance of mentorship: 鈥淪eek mentors, ask for help early and remember that your voice and perspective are needed in shaping the future of science.鈥�

For Fatima, Black History Month is not confined to acknowledgement alone. 鈥淏lack History Month is both a time of reflection and a call to action,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t is an opportunity to honor the contributions, resilience and brilliance of Black individuals while recommitting ourselves to advancing equity, representation and justice in our institutions every day of the year.鈥�

By challenging stigmas and reshaping how obesity is treated, Fatima is helping to redefine what equitable medicine looks like. We鈥檙e proud to celebrate her efforts, which are building a scientific community that better serves everyone.

The post Celebrating Black History Month: Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford鈥檚 journey from ISEF finalist to leader in obesity medicine appeared first on 中文无码.

Aarushi was one of three winners of the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award in 2025, which provides finalists an all-expense-paid trip to Sweden. The award, named for 1986 Nobel Laureate Dudley R. Herschbach, celebrates outstanding young scientists and offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend Nobel lectures, visit scientific institutions and connect with peers from around the globe. This year鈥檚 other winners included Pragathi Kasani-Akula from Georgia, who researched nanosystems for cancer detection, and Vrishank Chandrasekhar from California, who focused on early pan-cancer prognosis prediction.

Aarushi鈥檚 own Regeneron ISEF project, 鈥淭ropic Cue Integration in Allium fistulosum Under Microgravity,鈥� explored how plants grow when gravity, their natural guide, is removed, with potential applications for growing food on long-duration space missions.

Here, she shares her experience at SIYSS along with her passion for research:

Q: What were the most memorable moments or places from your trip to Sweden?

One of the most surreal moments was presenting my research to a massive auditorium of Swedish high school students. Their curiosity and thoughtful questions made me realize how universal the language of science really is. Outside of the academic events, walking through Stockholm with the other SIYSS participants (who came from 18 different countries) was unforgettable. We bonded over everything from our research struggles to our freezing cold hands!

Q: What was it like to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony and related events?

It was like stepping into a fairy tale for scientists. Watching the Laureates receive their medals from the King of Sweden while the orchestra played gave me chills. The banquet afterward in the Blue Hall, the entertainment, the energy, and the sheer presence of the world鈥檚 greatest minds, was overwhelming in the best way. It felt like the Oscars of science, and I was lucky to have a seat.

Q: Was there a person you met who especially inspired you?

and , two of the 2025 Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine, deeply inspired me. They discovered the FOXP3 gene鈥檚 role in immune tolerance, starting from a puzzling mouse mutant. Hearing them talk about their journey showed me that perseverance is just as important as intelligence. They were so humble and approachable; it made the idea of winning a Nobel Prize feel achievable through years of hard work.

Q: How did this experience shape or deepen your interest in 中文无码?

This trip humanized science for me. Often, we read about these giants in textbooks and they feel unreachable. Meeting them showed me that breakthroughs are driven by real people who face failures, doubts, and long years of uncertainty. It also reinforced how interdisciplinary collaboration鈥攁cross chemistry, physics and physiology鈥攃an address the world鈥檚 biggest problems.

Q: How did this trip influence what you want to pursue in the future?

Attending SIYSS solidified my commitment to researching bioregenerative life support systems. I want my work to leave the lab and help people, whether that鈥檚 astronauts on Mars or urban farmers on Earth. It also inspired me to continue science communication; explaining my research reminded me that science is only powerful if it鈥檚 shared and understood.

Q: What aspects of this trip will stay with you moving forward?

SIYSS isn鈥檛 just about prestige; it鈥檚 about community. You meet other young scientists who are just as passionate, nerdy and curious as you are. You make friends from across the globe who become future collaborators. And, of course, wearing white-tie attire to dine with royalty and Nobel Laureates is an experience you simply cannot get anywhere else. It changes how you see yourself and your potential as a scientist.

Learn more聽about the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and about the聽awards聽presented at ISEF.

The post From Her Garage to Stockholm: A young scientist鈥檚 fairy tale week at the Nobels appeared first on 中文无码.

For the winter Signature Symposium, Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of 中文无码 and Executive Publisher of Science News, spoke with (STS 2010), Co-Founder of and Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of . Both companies focus on preventive health and wellness technologies, built to track key health indicators. Maya and John dove deep into the scientific background that it took for these technologies to be accessible to the public.

After competing in the Science Talent Search his senior year with an astrophysics project, John headed to Harvard. There he met Will Ahmed and decided to leave his undergraduate studies to co-found health tech company WHOOP.

鈥淭he idea of capturing biometric data continuously sounded like a really cool project,鈥� John says.

WHOOP is a wearable technology that monitors a user鈥檚 unique physiology, tracking biomarkers such as hormones, heart rate, menstrual cycles and blood pressure. These insights align with WHOOP鈥檚 mission to enhance human performance and lifespan. WHOOP was initially designed for professional athletes in mind, from basketball players and swimmers to golfers and tennis aficionados. By tracking physiological data, WHOOP helps athletes optimize training, improve their sleep patterns, and manage challenges such as jet lag, enabling peak performance.

After 10 years at WHOOP, John ventured into another health-monitoring technology called Throne, which is focused on capturing gut and hydration metrics.

Having experienced ulcerative colitis, John鈥檚 curiosity in this technology was personal.

鈥淚f we could analyze stool and urine every day and get that same longitudinal data, we could really transform our understanding and help manage these diseases better,鈥� John says. and uses a special camera for capturing stool and hydration images. Audio capturing tracks urinary flow rate, which is important for monitoring prostate health.

Using what鈥檚 called a , Throne takes images over time to see what鈥檚 going on with a user鈥檚 gut health. Data and information are sent through the Throne app, and a user learns what is going on with their gut and hydration health from the privacy of their homes.

John says gastroenterologists or GI doctors don鈥檛 have much data when it comes to stool samples. Working with University of Chicago researchers with data sets to learn more about gut health, diet and any other diseases that can be studied using advanced image analysis and spectroscopy of stool.

鈥淭he guiding principle with Throne was that we wanted it to be noninvasive because patients, people and consumers don’t want to touch stool,鈥� John says. 鈥淲ith microbiome at home testing, I think it’s around a 60% completion rate.鈥�

Throne is not out yet, but interested consumers are able to pre-order starting this month. Version one is used for general wellness purposes, including gut health scoring and hydration scoring, John says. It鈥檚 intended for everyone but should not be considered a medical device. The idea is that users can track their data to make dietary adjustments or if there is a concerning trend, discuss it with a medical practitioner.

Looking ahead, Maya asked John what he sees as the next major development in at-home health monitoring.

鈥淚 think the big trend in the next 10 years that excites me is no more surprise diagnoses,鈥� John says. 鈥淲ith a plethora of technologies and processes that allow everybody to be healthier and be more proactive in their health journeys, it boils down to no more surprises, and those answers come from more data.鈥�

You can watch this Signature Alumni Symposium on our聽.聽Looking for ways to support 中文无码? We invite you to get involved today!

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Do you remember your STS project?

At that time, one submitted an essay, and my essay focused on a speculative idea, proposing that it might be possible to separate the elements zirconium and hafnium in one step, rather than through extensive fractional crystallization. For the next step of the competition, we had to display a project, and I thought that a hypothetical idea did not make an interesting display, so I showed off a camera-telescope I had made to photograph sunspots.

The competition was held at a hotel in Washington, D.C., where I lived. Although I didn鈥檛 stay in the hotel with the other finalists, I remember hanging out with them. Nine of us went to Harvard together, including the mathematicians Henry Landau and Bob Blattner, so when I got there, I had a whole set of STS friends.

You started your career as a physicist. What drew you to the field of genetics?

I went to college thinking I would become a chemist. I then became interested in theoretical physics and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Cambridge in England. Later, I joined the faculty at Harvard as a theoretical physicist.

While at a party at Cambridge in April 1956, I met Jim Watson and we spent several hours talking, subsequently becoming friends. He came to Harvard that year as an assistant professor, while I returned to Harvard as a graduate student. In the late spring of 1960, Watson told me that exciting things were happening in his lab. They were trying to find messenger RNA and show that such a molecule existed in bacteria. I visited his lab and watched Watson and Fran莽ois Gros do an experiment. Watson gave me six papers to read; I came back the next day and joined in the experiments.

We proceeded to work together and published our paper on the discovery of messenger RNA mid-winter. I found myself happily doing experiments and learning biology by asking people how to do things.

聽In 1980, you received a Nobel Prize for developing methods to sequence DNA. What do you remember most vividly about that period of work?

In the early 1970s, we set out to determine the sequence of bases that comprise a 24-base-long segment of DNA. We took two years to work out that sequence. It was one of the first DNA sequences published.

But at that rate, one would never be able to work out the thousands of bases that made up typical genes. Then, in the mid-1970s, the Russian molecular biologist Andrei Mirzabekov convinced me to do an experiment that would show how the proteins called repressors contacted the DNA. The experiment鈥檚 result was so clear that I not only discovered how the repressor touched certain G鈥檚 and A鈥檚 in the operator sequence, but I could also identify all of the positions of the G鈥檚 and A鈥檚. We then developed a method that could sequence hundreds of bases in an afternoon, which was published in 1977. Fred Sanger in England simultaneously developed a different method.

Everybody began to sequence. They came to my laboratory to learn how to do it. By 1980, a million bases of DNA had been sequenced around the world. By 1985, 10 million bases of DNA had been sequenced. The rate has continued to increase by a factor of 10 every five years since then. The first human genome, 3 billion bases, was sequenced around 2000. Now machines can sequence a human genome in 30 minutes.

You were one of the first major academic scientists to step into world of biotechnology, helping to found Biogen. What was it like to build one of the first biotech companies at a time when the industry itself barely existed?

I discovered that I have an entrepreneurial drive, which I didn鈥檛 realize when I was a laboratory scientist. Small companies are a great deal of fun although they require total dedication. You may run the company, but you鈥檙e also likely to sweep the floors because you can鈥檛 afford a janitor. In a small company, speed is of the essence because you鈥檙e burning through money.

Originally, Biogen鈥檚 other cofounders and I didn鈥檛 know what we were going to do. But soon we focused on interferon and the hepatitis B vaccine, which were developed to be the first products that went to market and became major sellers. Those successes really supported Biogen, although we didn鈥檛 realize how long it was going to take to get anything to market. We started the company in 1978, and interferon entered the market in 1986.

You鈥檝e also invested in numerous start-ups over the years. What qualities do you look for in a young biotech company or in its founders?

That鈥檚 difficult to know. That said, I鈥檓 looking for quality of leadership and quality of focus. You can try to look at someone鈥檚 idea, but companies often start out thinking they鈥檙e going to do one thing and go on to do something else.

I characterize one aspect of being a CEO as this:聽 it鈥檚 not the role where one is going to make all the decisions, but one has to make sure the decisions happen. In science, in order to publish a good paper, we must wait until we have all the evidence accounted for. In business, you need to make decisions rapidly. The role of a CEO is to take聽 the responsibility, so that people are free to make a decision quickly and not be punished if it turns out to be a wrong step.

How would you contrast your approaches to innovation as a scientist versus an artist?

The underlying drive is very similar. As a scientist, I want to discover something new. I have the same impulse in art. I take photographs, superimpose them and fiddle with them, using a computer. The goal is to create a picture that I think is interesting, new and beautiful. The thirst to create something new is shared: in science, new and true, in art, new and beautiful.

What advice would you give to young scientists who want their rigorous research to have real-world impact?

In order to have an immediate impact, it鈥檚 important to get involved in an applied science that could have immediate consequences. You know what the goal is, and you work on it. A medicine to cure human disease, for example.

There鈥檚 another side of science that is curiosity-driven basic research. We want to find out something about a problem that no one understands, or even suspects. This research creates all the new ideas that shape the future of the world.

I occasionally describe it this way: We can build companies out of today鈥檚 applied research discoveries. Those companies develop products that work today. Basic research, meanwhile, will lead to more discoveries, which will build tomorrow鈥檚 companies. Tomorrow鈥檚 companies will develop products that are undreamed of today.

What advice do you have for young scientists today?

My basic advice is simple: Follow your curiosity.

There are many challenges facing the world today. What is keeping you up at night?

We鈥檙e living through a period in which American science is being willfully destroyed. Given the lack of funding here, young scientists may need to go abroad to find employment. The center of world science is moving away from America, which has chosen money over knowledge.

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