What was it about mathematics that captured your imagination when you were young?

Mathematics always came very naturally to me and offered a never-ending world to explore. I could just continue to ask questions. Mathematics is the fundamental language of reality, so one¡¯s daily experiences can offer continuous mathematical stimulation.

What are your favorite memories from participating in STS?

It was nice to experience being in a large group where interest in science and math was the norm, rather than the exception.

Your Fields Medal citation points to extraordinary achievements in symplectic geometry and topology. For those of us who aren¡¯t mathematicians, how would you explain these subjects? Topology is the mathematical study of the properties of shapes and spaces that do not change, even when an object is stretched, twisted or bent. For example, in topology a sphere and a donut are different because a donut contains a loop which cannot be contracted to a point without leaving the donut, while a sphere does not.

Symplectic topology studies high dimensional surfaces ¡°with a way of measuring two-dimensional area.¡± This definition belies an extraordinarily rich topological theory and ubiquitous appearance in mathematical physics. For example, many evolution systems, such as the rotation of the solar system, may be fruitfully studied by interpreting them as flows on certain symplectic manifolds.

How did it feel to win the Fields Medal, and what does the honor mean for you?

It¡¯s a little bit overwhelming, to be honest. It¡¯s been less than two months since the award was publicly announced, and I¡¯m still getting my bearings.

What can mathematics reveal about the universe that we might not be able to see or understand otherwise?

Whether you¡¯re describing the structure of atoms, the behavior of light or even just how long it takes a ball to fall to the ground, you can¡¯t get anywhere close to understanding physical phenomena without serious mathematics.

As a mathematician working on these problems, is there an ¡°aha moment¡± that happens?

Absolutely. I¡¯ve had a few of these aha moments. Although not every paper has one, I usually remember when I have such a moment. A lot of my work involves a series of smaller ¡°ahas.¡± In order to reach such a moment, you need to fully immerse yourself in a problem and understand every aspect of it. And then maybe you have an ¡°aha¡± moment when you¡¯re not expecting it.

As AI becomes increasingly capable of tackling difficult mathematical problems, do you think it will fundamentally change the way mathematicians do their work if it hasn¡¯t already?

AI has already changed mathematics in a big way, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. AI is developing so fast that whatever I say will almost certainly be outdated a year from now (if not by the time this interview is published). AI models can truly understand high level mathematical arguments in a way computers never could in the past. This means that a supercomputer can test many more potential lines of attack on mathematical problems than a single person can. However, the computational cost remains high.

How does that impact your work?

We are still learning how to best use AI. Everyone uses it differently. AI is great at finding subtle errors in mathematical arguments. My writing is usually quite terse and difficult for human experts to understand. However, I have used AI to find (usually easily fixable) errors which are quite subtle. The ability to locate such errors shows how skilled AI is at mathematics. I have also used AI to find a few nontrivial proofs (things I was pretty sure were true, but hadn¡¯t quite put the pieces together yet).

On the other hand, AI has been less successful in answering some of the more serious research questions I have asked it. Probably one needs some serious computing power for these, and even then it would likely be hit-or-miss.

If AI can solve a mathematical problem that no human can solve or produces a proof that humans struggle to understand, what does that mean for your work or for mathematics?

So far, the proofs AI has produced haven¡¯t been very different stylistically speaking from proofs written by humans. I should also note that humans have been writing hard-to-understand proofs for a very long time. So having a proof which is hard to understand is nothing new.

The length of the proofs produced by AI are, again, reasonable by human standards. Eventually, maybe it will just sit there thinking about math on its own, and it can become an oracle we can ask questions of. Maybe at some point it will understand more math than humans do, with us asking it questions and then trying to understand the answer. But I expect this is a somewhat distant future. The computing power required is probably put to better use for other needs, such as AI medical applications.

What advice would you give to a young person who¡¯s discovered a subject they¡¯re passionate about but they don¡¯t know where the subject might take them?

You don¡¯t ever really know where something¡¯s going to take you. Having something you are passionate about is a great position to be in: Recognize that and follow it.

You recognized your passion very early on and continued on that path. Did you ever think of deviating from mathematics?

In high school, I did a lot of computer programming in addition to mathematics. During my undergraduate career at Princeton University, I found that I fit better with the math department than the computer science department. Had I gone to a different school, perhaps I would have followed a different path. I also played the cello throughout high school and my undergrad years; however, it wasn¡¯t really a serious career option for me.

What are you reading right now, and what books had an impact on you when you were young?

Right now, I am reading two books. One is The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The other is a Chinese martial arts novel by ½ðÓ¹ (Jin Yong). The best book I have read of his is most definitely Ц°Á½­ºþ (sorry, the title is in Chinese, and translations don¡¯t really do it justice). His skill in writing can be seen through his chapter titles in this book: Each is perfectly expressed, yet consists of just two characters. (I read these novels in the original Chinese, which I studied at Princeton?¡ª?there¡¯s so much there that¡¯s untranslatable).

When I was young, I read a lot of math books, a favorite being Functional Analysis by Michael Reed and Barry Simon. I read some science fiction/fantasy (though not as much as certain nerd stereotypes would suggest), including Dune by Frank Herbert and the Lost Years of Merlin series by T. A. Barron.

There are many challenges in the world today. What¡¯s keeping you up at night and what gives you hope?

AI and political situations throughout the world are worrisome. It¡¯s hard to point to a place anywhere without some sort of instability or bad actors.

It is encouraging to interact with people in the surrounding community and realize that they are much more reasonable than the people who appear in the news.

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His students might have hoped for a cancellation; their professor had, after all, just learned he¡¯d received one of the world¡¯s highest academic honors. Instead, the revered Columbia University professor arrived to his class, welcomed by a wave of cheers and applause.

Then he went on to give the test. Even a call from Stockholm couldn¡¯t clear his calendar.

More than five decades earlier, Woodford had been a young man presenting research of his own at the 1973 International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in San Diego, California, where he competed with a project titled Electromagnetic Fields and the Space-Time Continuum. Woodford¡¯s academic interests would eventually lead him from the field of physics to economics, where his work helps explain the decisions that shape our everyday lives.

Woodford, Columbia¡¯s John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy, shares the 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel with Stanford University economist, Robert E. Hall.

Woodford and Hall developed models that explain how the everyday decisions of households and businesses affect the economy as a whole. These models help central banks and governments decide when to encourage economic activity or slow it down, with the goal of keeping the economy more stable and avoiding prolonged booms and downturns.

At a reception celebrating his Nobel Prize, Woodford credited his students with helping shape his research, according to . ¡°A lot of what I have done has only been possible thanks to my students, because it was hard for me to work these things out except by trying to explain them to people and having students who are willing to put up with that,¡± he said. ¡°It is essential to the intellectual process, at least in my case.¡±

He also reflected on his students¡¯ accomplishments: ¡°I¡¯ve been gratified that many went on to have distinguished careers, and I hope I have some responsibility for that, but, really, I¡¯m grateful just to have had them as students. That¡¯s really been essential to me.¡±

Responding to a congratulatory note from À¦°óÇ¿¼é President and CEO Maya Ajmera, Woodford wrote, ¡°I believe, as you do, in the value of encouraging young people to pursue research.¡±

That appreciation resonates deeply with À¦°óÇ¿¼é¡¯s work and mission to give young researchers the opportunities to develop and share their ideas from a young age. Once an ISEF finalist presenting his own research, Woodford now credits his students with helping advance his thinking. His reflections serve as a reminder that teaching is also part of the research process.

Woodford joins a distinguished group of À¦°óÇ¿¼é competition alumni recognized with Nobel honors, including economist Alvin Roth (STS 1968), physicist Frank Wilczek (STS 1967) and chemist Paul Modrich (STS 1964; ISEF 1964). Their work spans disciplines, but their histories share an early chapter of bringing their questions to a À¦°óÇ¿¼é science competition.

Watch Michael Woodford discuss his research and the Nobel recognition .

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For most people, the term ¡°scientific research¡± conjures a formal laboratory filled with specialized equipment and scientists in white coats. But for Miles Wu, the 2025 winner of the nationwide Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (Thermo Fisher JIC), the four walls of his family¡¯s apartment became his lab as he explored how the ancient art of origami could help solve modern engineering challenges.

At a small desk in his family¡¯s New York City living room, 14-year-old Miles built a makeshift testing station using plastic bricks as guardrails. Exercise weights, soup cans and textbooks held his experiments in place. His primary tool was even simpler: a piece of paper.

Miles loves origami. What began as a fun hobby when he was seven years old, eventually became a passion for the engineering behind origami, and how art and science could help address real-world needs.

One fold in particular, Miura-Ori, caught Miles¡¯ attention in middle school and would eventually lead him to earn the coveted top prize of $25,000 at the 2025 Thermo Fisher JIC, a program of À¦°óÇ¿¼é and the premier U.S. À¦°óÇ¿¼é competition for middle school students. His rigorous research and curiosity reinforce the idea that sophisticated labs and equipment aren¡¯t always necessary to drive innovation.

Miles learned that the fold¡¯s easily compressible repeating pattern of parallelograms could be applied across a variety of À¦°óÇ¿¼é fields. After reading about people displaced by natural disasters, he began thinking about how the fold¡¯s strength and compressibility could one day be used to create lightweight, portable shelters for people in need. For his eighth-grade science fair project, he set out to determine how he could optimize its strength-to-weight ratio.

Miles changed just a few variables at a time ¨C including the weight of the paper and the steepness of each fold ¨C to understand what made the structures stronger.

¡°During my testing, I organized hundreds of Miura-Ori into old shoeboxes and paper grocery bags that covered almost every surface in my family’s living room,¡± Miles said.

After 250 hours of testing, Miles found that the lightest Miura-Ori with the smallest and least acutely angled panels had the greatest strength-to-weight ratio, holding more than 10,000 times its own weight.

Like Miles, many Thermo Fisher JIC finalists started their research at home using household items or inexpensive materials, proving that scientific discovery is within closer reach than some may think.

¡°When students get curious about their environment, they start asking questions, testing ideas and uncovering their potential,¡± said Meron Mathias, vice president, corporate social responsibility & sustainability, Thermo Fisher Scientific. ¡°Programs like the Thermo Fisher JIC fuel that discovery by recognizing young people of all backgrounds who pursue their curiosity with whatever tools they can access. By supporting them, we¡¯re ensuring a more innovative, inclusive future for society.¡±

For former Thermo Fisher JIC winner , curiosity led her to find inspiration for her research in a particularly familiar and unremarkable place: the dinner table.

Tina had just learned about the global lack of access to clean drinking water and was researching potential solutions. Then, one night after finishing a bowl of soup at home with her family, she noticed that the porous structure of the leftover bones resembled materials used for water filtration. Her observation led her to develop a prototype filter made entirely of natural and household materials.

“Now when I look at everyday objects, I think, ‘What are their properties? And how could those properties help solve a real-world challenge?¡¯” Tina said.

Competitions like the Thermo Fisher JIC are a critical piece of the À¦°óÇ¿¼é learning ecosystem because they promote curiosity in a way that complements and accelerates what students are learning in the classroom.

¡°The Thermo Fisher JIC isn¡¯t just about proficiency in À¦°óÇ¿¼é. As students progress through the competition, they gain hands-on experiences that expand their sense of possibility, teach them to collaborate effectively, build their confidence and help them develop skills they¡¯ll carry well beyond Finals Week,¡± said Meron.

Hands-on scientific inquiry is strongly associated with higher science scores. In the latest , conducted in 2024, 63% of eighth graders with higher science scores said they often or always used evidence from experiments in science class to explain why something happens, compared with 32% of students with lower science scores.

The demand for talent is higher than ever, with À¦°óÇ¿¼é jobs in the US between 2024 and 2034. Unfortunately, , only 28% of U.S. eighth graders reported a high level of interest and enjoyment in science (down from 38% in 2019) and only 28% reported high confidence in their science knowledge and skills (down from 34% in 2019), which makes middle school an incredibly important window to engage and support students in À¦°óÇ¿¼é.

¡°Middle school is such an important time to nurture a young person¡¯s curiosity,¡± said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of À¦°óÇ¿¼é and executive publisher of Science News. ¡°Students are beginning to discover what excites them and what they¡¯re capable of. Giving them meaningful opportunities to ask questions, test ideas and experience the thrill of discovery can help them see themselves as scientists and carry that confidence and sense of possibility into high school and beyond.¡±

The Thermo Fisher JIC reaches more than 60,000 middle school students each year through roughly 300 À¦°óÇ¿¼é-affiliated fairs across the country and U.S. territories. Students in the top 10% of their Society-affiliated fairs are eligible to enter the Thermo Fisher JIC, with an independent panel of evaluators and judges selecting the Top 300 students and then the Top 30 finalists. Those finalists present their research and engage in team challenges during Thermo Fisher JIC Finals Week in Washington, D.C.

¡°After presenting their research to the judges, you¡¯ll see one student start explaining something they¡¯ve been working on for months, and suddenly three of their peers are leaning in and asking questions,¡± said Meron. ¡°Those moments are a great reminder of what happens when you bring curious young people together and give them the opportunity to learn from one another.¡±

¡°I love getting together with friends and learning with them because it makes problem solving more fun and playful, which is how À¦°óÇ¿¼é should be,¡± said , winner of the inaugural Thermo Fisher JIC.

As a sixth-grader, Shanya began investigating fire safety after a restaurant behind her family¡¯s Bay Area home burned down. She wondered why the fire hadn¡¯t been caught earlier, and whether heat could signal danger before smoke.

Testing that idea required a skill she didn¡¯t yet have. Shanya taught herself to code, eventually programming a thermal camera to distinguish between people, pets and potential fire sources. After months of trial and error in her own kitchen, she developed a prototype that could detect an unattended hot object and send an alert.

¡°Letting kids use the kitchen table and not worry about the mess is great,¡± Shanya said. ¡°I think it’s great if parents let their kids experiment in anything¡ªcooking, crafting, muddy puddles¡ªbecause it gets their gears turning.¡±

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For Alice Feng, 14, Granite Ridge Intermediate School, (Thermo Fisher JIC 2025, 2^nd place in the Technology category), learned about engineering fundamentals and processes at the engineering summer camp.

A typical day for Alice looked a little like a day in the life of an undergraduate student. She started the mornings in the dining hall for breakfast and proceeded to morning classes After exploring the university campus in the morning, she and her peers attended two more classes and presented their blueprints and drawings and physical models to the class.

Alice says obtaining feedback from the class helped to gain new ideas from one another.? In the evenings, she participated in organized team recreational time.

¡°As a Thermo Fisher JIC finalist, I sharpened my teamwork and collaboration skills, and explored different scientific principles,¡± Alice says. ¡°I utilized these principles in the Education Unlimited engineering summer camp to work with like-minded young scientists, as well as developed models based on ideas I learned during Thermo Fisher JIC.¡±

Luca McGill, 15, Tanque Verde High School, (Thermo Fisher JIC 2025, 2^nd place in the engineering category), spent a week in Huntsville, Alabama at . There, he nurtured his interest in space and engineering and trained like an astronaut using different simulators, worked through À¦°óÇ¿¼é challenges, learned about space exploration and participated in simulated space missions. He says the best part was getting to know so many people from all over the United States.

¡°Winning second place in the engineering category at the Thermo Fisher JIC gave me the opportunity to choose this À¦°óÇ¿¼é adventure and fly from Arizona to Alabama all by myself. I was nervous, but it turned out to be the best adventure ever!¡± Luca says. ¡°I am so grateful for this experience. Space Camp was the highlight of my summer and an experience I will remember forever. Thank you to Thermo Fisher Scientific and À¦°óÇ¿¼é for giving me this opportunity for an epic summer!¡±

Caden Pohlkamp, 14, Brookside Intermediate School, (Thermo Fisher JIC 2025, 1^st place in the engineering category) also had the opportunity to nurture his interest in marine biology. ?Located in Surf City, North Carolina, Caden attended a marine biology immersion program at the . There, he volunteered in the sea turtle hospital, cleaning tanks, feeding turtles and learning about their anatomy.

At the hospital, he rotated between three stations: cleaning tanks, caring for healthy turtles and taking care of the patients in the sick bay.

¡°My favorite part of the experience was feeding the sea turtles because it was neat to watch them eat. Each sea turtle species got different food,¡± Caden says. ¡°My favorite turtle was a Kemp¡¯s ridley who was fed mostly fish, to simulate what they eat in the wild. I also liked a loggerhead turtle named ¡®Pumpkin Spice¡¯ who had an ¡°emotional support bucket¡± in his tank that he loved to sleep in.¡±

Siddharth Vazhkudai, 14, Running Brushy Middle School, (Thermo Fisher 2025, 1^st place in the mathematics category) found himself busy with not just one À¦°óÇ¿¼é program, but two! One was an advanced competitive math class through Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth where he worked on challenging competition-style problems regarding infinite series, combinatorics and modular arithmetic. Siddharth says the class pushed him to think more creatively and carefully instead of relying on methods he has learned in school.

Siddharth’s second À¦°óÇ¿¼é experience was an robotics camp. There, he collaborated with instructors and fellow students to design, build and field test a combat robot. A typical day involved perfecting the design of the robot and learning about mechanical design, motors and C++ programming.

Sophia Zhang, 15, Waterford School, (Thermo Fisher JIC 2024, 2^nd place in the technology category), found herself at Stanford University online as well as at Stanford¡¯s Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes, a summer enrichment program that provides students in grades 8¨C11 with intensive study in a single online course over a two-week period. Sophia specifically participated in the Orbital Mechanics and Aerodynamics course.

At 9 a.m. each weekday, Sophia logged on for a two-hour class. She says her favorite part of the program was working on projects. In her first project, Sophia teamed up with other students to propose a way to address space junk. In the second project, she worked individually to design, build and test different paper airplane designs, using what she learned in the aerodynamics portion to create the best performing paper airplane. Although the program only lasted two weeks, with two hours of class every weekday, she says she learned so much about orbital mechanics and aerodynamics. ¡°One of our last activities during Finals Week of the Thermo Fisher JIC was visiting the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters. I have always been enraptured with the science and exploration of our universe, and my visit to the NASA Headquarters only strengthened my interest. Naturally, when I applied for the program, I mentioned the Orbital Mechanics and Aerodynamics course as one of my top courses,¡± Sophia says. ¡°My experience as a Thermo Fisher JIC finalist taught me so much about the creative and scientific process, which helped me get accepted into this program.¡±

Meet the 2026 Top 30 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists here,?and check back on October 27, 2026, to see who wins this year¡¯s awards!

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Lia Gonz¨¢lez and Anya Ter¨®n Villodas from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico came together as a team from Colegio Rosa-Bell. Their project looked at how to repel ants that invade beehives, one of the many threats honeybees face, alongside disease and environmental stress. They came across the African Tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) and found that it could repel and kill ants.

¡°I felt a profound sense of excitement and pride in this accomplishment,¡± Lia says.? ¡°Knowing I was one of the first students from Puerto Rico to become a finalist made the experience feel bigger than just something I achieved on my own. It felt like I was carrying a part of my island with me.¡±

¡°I also felt a real sense of responsibility. I wanted to show that students from Puerto Rico can compete, innovate and lead in À¦°óÇ¿¼é at the highest levels. It made me proud, and it pushed me to keep working hard, keep learning, and help open doors for other students who will come after me. I will be forever grateful for the experience and will continue to encourage other middle school students to participate so Puerto Rico can continue to be represented in this competition.¡±

Partner Anya shared a similar sentiment towards being Hispanic in this field.

¡°Representation in À¦°óÇ¿¼é matters because younger students need people they can look up to who show them that their dreams are possible,¡± Anya says. ¡°I get excited when I see Latina women growing and succeeding in scientific fields such as medicine, chemistry and many others. When you see someone who looks like you or comes from the same place as you working hard and achieving big things, you start believing that you can do it too. In the future, I hope I can be someone¡¯s inspiration to keep pursuing what they love.¡±

In 2025, Camila Isabel Gonzalez-Thompson, a student at the Caribbean School in Ponce, Puerto Rico, took home the 2025 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement. Camila investigated the island¡¯s dengue outbreak, which involved more than 6,000 cases. The viral infection is spread by mosquitoes. Most cases are mild, but serious ones can lead to shock and organ failure. Camila worked with a scientist at Ponce Health Sciences University to test people¡¯s blood for whether they had been exposed to dengue. Camila got serum samples from 440 people in Puerto Rico and found that people older than 50 had more IgG antibodies, meaning they had had dengue in the past while individuals younger than 50 had IgM antibodies, suggesting a more recent infection. The findings suggest dengue has circulated in Puerto Rico over time. Camila hopes that her work can help public health officials learn where to put out vaccines or work to prevent the disease.

¡°My main message would be don¡¯t underestimate what you can do because of who you are,¡± Camila says. ¡°Academic spaces are often intimidating but taking that first step through the door is your first step to a new world of knowledge and opportunity. Be yourself because yourself is often the best version compared to anything else.¡±

Lia and Anya leave a lasting message for young scientists.

Lia: ¡°I want young scientists to know that your heritage is something powerful that you carry with you in every experiment, every idea and every challenge. The creativity, resilience and determination in our communities are strengths that can really make a difference in À¦°óÇ¿¼é.¡±

Anya: ¡°I¡¯d say that no matter where you are from, you should always dream big. Growing up on a small island and having the chance to participate as a finalist alongside students from science fairs across the United States was a meaningful and encouraging experience. Being part of that group and connecting with talented young scientific investigators, who were also kind, supportive and people I now consider friends, meant a lot to me. It reminded me that passion for science exists everywhere, and that young people from all backgrounds can lift each other up and make an impact together.¡±

Learn more about the 2025 Thermo Fisher JIC finalists here. Tune in on October 27 to meet the 2026 winners.

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You competed at ISEF in 2003 and 2004. What impact did that have on you and your career??

Twenty years later, two things still?stick out?to me. One, ISEF was the first time I had an opportunity to see what exceptional science and engineering really looks like. I grew up in a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania, and suddenly I was standing alongside students from all over the world doing genuinely?cutting-edge?work. It was eye-opening. I could see a level of talent I?hadn¡¯t?encountered?before, and it motivated me. It also gave me a sense of community. I?had aspirations?to become a scientist, and for the first time I felt like I?wasn¡¯t?alone in that. I was surrounded by people who shared the same drive.

For my junior year ISEF project, I studied a rare genetic mutation in the Afro-Caribbean population of Trinidad and Tobago that raises the risk of prostate cancer. We investigated whether screening for that mutation could help to ensure that the limited resources in Trinidad and Tobago could go to those patients at highest risk. During my senior year, I worked with chicken embryos on a protein involved in retinal development. It was my first time doing wet-lab work with a live specimen. In my senior year project, I learned about the power of negative results to advance a field and so much about the joys and challenges of wet lab science.

You?founded?Allurion?while you were still in medical school. What made you choose that path, and what did the people around you think??

Allurion?started as a weekend project?¡ª?something my classmate Sammy and I found interesting outside of class. As we got encouragement from faculty, I eventually had to decide whether to finish my residency or leave to build the company. I went to my dad,?who¡¯s?a math professor, for advice. And he laid it out in stark, quantitative terms: As a physician, you have one pair of hands.?You¡¯ll?see patients for decades and touch the lives of?maybe 100,000?or 200,000 people, and?that¡¯s?a meaningful, fulfilling career. But if you build a company around a real problem, you have the potential to touch the lives of millions. There is a risk, however, that if your business never gets off the ground, you?may?touch no one¡¯s life. He asked me a simple question: Do you want to maximize your life for impact or not?

That question is what pushed me toward?Allurion?and has shaped everything else in my life since. My advice is to take the risk and work on big problems because the potential?payoff,?in?lives changed,?can be enormous.

Obesity is one of the most complex and stigmatized conditions in medicine. What convinced you it was the problem worth solving??

Two billion people worldwide are overweight, and a?billion?have obesity. More people die every year from obesity-related disease than died from COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic.?It¡¯s?the health issue of our generation, and like other chronic diseases,?it¡¯s?not going to have one miracle-pill solution.??As a second-year medical student, one of the patients I met was a young woman?who¡¯d?had bariatric surgery. She spent weeks in intensive care afterward and ultimately recovered, but seeing how physically and emotionally invasive that experience was, my classmate and I kept thinking: There?has to?be a better way.

How does the?Allurion?balloon work??

The whole concept behind?Allurion?is this: Could we develop a non-surgical way of getting a device inside the stomach so that it can start helping people feel full? We know that bariatric surgery works because it reduces the volume of the stomach. Why not put something inside the stomach instead and avoid?the surgery?

We developed a capsule with a balloon inside it that is attached to a thin tube, about the width of a piece of cooked spaghetti. A patient swallows the capsule in a doctor¡¯s office. Once?it¡¯s?in the stomach, we attach a bag of water to the tube and fill the internal balloon over about five minutes, with no anesthesia or sedation. Once the balloon is filled?¡ª?about half a liter, weighing around a pound and a quarter?¡ª?we withdraw the tube and the patient goes home with what amounts to an implanted meal sitting in their stomach. The human stomach is?roughly the?same size in every adult regardless of height or weight, so one size fits?nearly everyone. The balloon stays in place for four months and is there to give patients time to build new habits, without invasive surgery or taking medications.

Were there moments you almost gave up??

Constantly.?There¡¯s?a line from Angela Duckworth¡¯s book?Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance?that captures it for me: ¡°Enthusiasm is common, endurance is rare.¡± Every startup begins with excitement about?the science?and?the vision, and then you actually have to build it.?That¡¯s?when you realize that if building a company were easy, everyone would be doing it.

When we were raising our first round of financing, we went to a hundred investors and got a hundred nos. We were medical students with no business or engineering background, trying to fund a device?we¡¯d?only?demonstrated?by filming a prototype pushing against the walls of an animal¡¯s stomach. After our savings ran dry, we?scraped together?$25,000 and $50,000 at a time from family,?friends?and professors to fund our first real animal and human studies.

Even today, some investors still doubt there¡¯s room for a technology like ours, especially with GLP-1 drugs on the market. The lesson is that there will always be more people who doubt you than believe in you. The job of an entrepreneur is just to keep?enduring, because?changing minds takes years.

What role does AI play at?Allurion, and where do you see it going in medical devices more broadly??

We?don¡¯t?use AI in the balloon itself, but?it¡¯s?central to our digital platform. Managing any chronic disease?¡ª?obesity, diabetes, hypertension?¡ª?ultimately comes?down to changing daily habits, and there simply?aren¡¯t?enough dietitians and coaches in the world to support the two billion people who want to lose weight. Our app includes a conversational AI coach, Iris, that looks at a patient¡¯s data and nudges them accordingly?¡ª?reminding them to weigh in or serving up content on sleep if?that¡¯s?where?they¡¯re?struggling.

Beyond the patient experience, AI is changing how we run the company: we use it to analyze product complaints, track lot?history?and?monitor?regulatory changes across the more than 80 countries where?we¡¯re?approved. I?don¡¯t?think AI will change what a medical device physically is, but?it¡¯s?already changing how devices are developed,?personalized?and supported over time.

What¡¯s?next for?Allurion??

We have an exciting pipeline at?Allurion. We are working on a version of the balloon that stays in the stomach for a full year instead of four months and one that could function as a platform?¡ª?slowly releasing a GLP-1 medication, vitamins or something that supports the gut microbiome rather than just occupying space. With 2 billion people around the world in need, even after all these years, we have only just begun.

What books did you love as a child and what are you reading now???

I loved historical fiction as a child, with the Civil War trilogy?Gods and Generals,?The Killer?Angels?and?The Last Full Measure?at the top of the list. Now, I am working my way through?The Obstacle is the Way, a must-read for any scientist or entrepreneur!

What worries keep you up at night?

I worry that in a world of abundance, fueled by the technological advances made possible by AI, that knowledge and power?becomes?more?¡ª?not less?¡ª?concentrated.?I want my children and their children to live in a world where knowledge is abundant and?accessible?and anyone has an opportunity to advance a world-changing idea.

What gives you hope for the future?

Entrepreneurs give me hope for the future. Every problem has a solution, and I take comfort in the fact that humans will inevitably find?the solutions?to any problems that imperil our future.

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¡°We¡¯re working on a bunch of hardware projects,¡± David told the finalists, describing experiments involving sensors, lasers and large-scale machines. ¡°We have a lot of really weird projects.¡±

Those plans have since started coming into focus. This summer, Midjourney with an experimental full-body ultrasound scanner intended to create detailed three-dimensional maps of the body. The company is also planning a that would combine the scanners with baths, saunas and other wellness amenities.

The unexpected venture is the latest chapter in a scientific journey that began long before Midjourney. David was named to the . But before all of that, he competed at ISEF in 2006. He returned two decades later as the founder and CEO of Midjourney, which also sponsors the Technology Enhances the Arts (TECA) category at Regeneron ISEF, and as a member of the À¦°óÇ¿¼é Board of Trustees for a conversation with Society President and CEO Maya Ajmera.

From ISEF to an entrepreneurial career

David described himself as ¡°just a random kid in Florida¡± who did not grow up surrounded by scientists. He said every adult who ¡°cared and listened and encouraged¡± had ¡°a bigger effect than you¡¯d think.¡±

His 2006 ISEF project focused on locating and tracking sounds in three dimensions using microphones. ¡°My board had a bunch of microphones built into it and the wires going into a computer,¡± David recalled. ¡°As we would walk around the board and talk about the project, it would show in 3D where we were based off our voices.¡±

The project reflected an early interest in sensors and spatial tracking that later carried into Leap Motion, the advanced hand-tracking technology company he co-founded. ¡°I was really into sensors and tracking and understanding things, and that ended up going into my first company, which was Leap Motion,¡± David said.

David left his Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to launch the company. He had originally imagined a more traditional career path: completing his doctorate, working at NASA and eventually running his own lab. Then he began to wonder whether he needed to wait.

¡°What if I just skip a lot of those steps and go straight to trying to make my own thing?¡± he recalled asking himself. ¡°So I was like, ¡®Okay, I¡¯m going to take six months, 12 months, see what I can do.¡¯ And never came back.¡±

That independent streak also shaped how David built Midjourney, which became profitable without outside investors. For David, earning revenue directly from customers was an important test of whether the product was genuinely liked by customers. ¡°Raising money is very different than having a product that people are willing to pay for,¡± he said. ¡°In some ways, if people aren¡¯t willing to pay for it, is it really adding value?¡±

How should young people approach AI?

David offered the finalists a memorable way to think about generative AI: Treat it like ¡°a friend that thinks they know everything, but they often don¡¯t.¡±

AI systems can recognize patterns, generate possibilities and help people work more quickly, but they may not recognize gaps or biases within the information on which they rely. That makes human judgment, fact checking and verification essential.

David also encouraged students to distinguish between problems that require combining existing knowledge and those that demand genuinely new thinking. AI is particularly capable when it can blend concepts it has encountered before. Moving beyond those boundaries is much harder.

¡°Sometimes you have to rethink the whole world from scratch,¡± he said. ¡°There are a lot of ways that new ideas can form, and that¡¯s really where a lot of the opportunity is.¡±

Students who are comfortable pursuing ¡°fuzzy, vague, not well-defined problems,¡± he suggested, possess an increasingly valuable skill.

¡°The second the numbers are gone, most people feel lost,¡± David says. ¡°It¡¯s a rare skill to be able to work on something that¡¯s not particularly well-defined.¡±

Will AI replace human creativity?

David founded Midjourney in 2021 to explore the creative process itself: how people imagine new possibilities and how technology might help bring those possibilities to life.

¡°The most interesting question is not so much, ¡®What do we want to build?¡¯¡± he said. ¡°The more interesting question is, ¡®What do we want to become?¡¯¡±

He compared working with generative AI to growing a garden. A person helps cultivate the result, but many influences contribute to what eventually emerges. ¡°Did you make that tomato plant? I don¡¯t know. I guess you grew that tomato plant,¡± David said. ¡°That tomato plant is a reflection of yourself in some ways, but it¡¯s also a reflection of every tomato plant that¡¯s ever existed.¡±

Rather than using AI to avoid creative work, David believes people should use it to attempt more ambitious work. An artist might rapidly test ideas, experiment with color and composition, or pursue a project that would otherwise require prohibitive amounts of time.

¡°I think ideally we use these tools to make ourselves more ambitious and more confident,¡± he said. ¡°We use these things to do bigger work that we wish we could do.¡±

His advice extended beyond AI. Looking back, David said many of his missed opportunities resulted from judging an unfamiliar idea too quickly instead of investigating what it might offer.

¡°Life isn¡¯t necessarily about giving you answers as much as it is about giving you inspiration,¡± he said. ¡°The more that you can take anything that comes at you, whether it¡¯s good or bad or right or wrong, and say, ¡®What kind of inspiration for new ideas can I draw out of this?¡¯ everything just works better.¡±

Watch the .

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As World Water Week (August 23¨C27) continues under this year¡¯s theme, ¡°Water for People and Progress,¡± we¡¯re highlighting six recent Society alumni whose research is helping us better understand our waterways and pursue new solutions to some of the most pressing water challenges facing people and the planet.

Prisha Bhat (STS 2025, ISEF 2022¨C25)

After learning that her grandmother in India had become ill from arsenic poisoning linked to rice, Prisha set out to find a way to make the staple crop safer and more resilient. For her Regeneron STS project, Prisha analyzed how increasing gene activity affected drought and arsenic resistance in rice. Rice is a staple crop worldwide, but it is susceptible to drought, which can reduce crop yield and may raise arsenic levels in grain. She modified rice plants to boost the activity of three genes: the drought-related gene?OsPIP2;2?and the arsenic-related genes?OsNIP2;1?and?OsNIP3;2. Testing showed that her modified plants trapped arsenic in their roots, reducing the levels found in the soil and rice grains. She sees this as a sustainable way to make rice more resistant to drought and arsenic, potentially improving health and possibly crop yield.

(ISEF 2026)

Microplastics are a growing threat to marine ecosystems, but monitoring their presence across large bodies of water can be difficult and expensive. Evan designed and built an underwater 3D holographic camera mounted on a self-propelled robot that swims through the water like a sea turtle. He trained AI models to find pieces of plastic smaller than a red blood cell in the underwater images, achieving 94% accuracy in distinguishing microplastics from other particles. He tested the system in 10 bodies of water, scanning more than 80,000 3D images for plastic particles and microorganisms. His work, which earned him the $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations at Regeneron ISEF this year, could make it easier and faster to monitor water sources for microplastics.

(STS 2022)

While the impacts of global warming on people are an increasingly hot topic, Elijah¡¯s research sprang from the realization that climate change¡¯s effects on animals were not widely studied. After reading several articles about ocean acidification but finding none about freshwater acidification, he was inspired to investigate the gap. In his Regeneron STS research project, Elijah simulated changing carbon dioxide conditions, then measured the growth rate and respiration of freshwater clams. He found that as the water became more acidic, the clams had greater difficulty building their shells, reducing their body mass and increasing their respiration. Elijah hopes his findings will highlight the urgent need for more studies of climate change¡¯s effects on freshwater ecosystems.

(ISEF 2026)

Toxic algal blooms can threaten aquatic ecosystems and public health, making it critical to detect them before they become dangerous. For her Regeneron ISEF 2026 project, Prayrona developed an early warning system that takes a new approach to predicting harmful algal blooms. Rather than relying on a single water-quality measurement, the system analyzes how multiple biochemical reactions interact and identifies when they collectively shift toward conditions that favor rapid algal growth. Tested using NOAA buoy data from Western Lake Erie and the Columbia River, her approach proved more accurate than raw-sensor baselines. Her findings suggest that monitoring these interconnected chemical changes could provide communities with earlier warnings of harmful blooms, helping them better prepare and protect public health and local waterways.

Caden Pohlkamp (JIC 2025)

Living near the Gulf of Mexico, Caden became interested in how communities manage flooding caused by extreme weather. After learning that man-made ponds collect and control water during storms, he wanted to find an optimal way to design them to provide suitable habitats for the local marine life. Caden built a small remotely operated vehicle to collect samples from pond bottoms, then analyzed their pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, phosphate levels, temperature and more. He used the data to determine how well the ponds could support aquatic life and shared his findings with local officials, helping them identify and address unhealthy ponds.

Christine Wang (JIC 2025)

When Christine learned in science class that heavy metals in water can damage the nervous system and that many communities struggle to meet safety standards, she was inspired to act. Also interested in addressing food waste, Christine wondered whether discarded fruit peels could be repurposed to make sustainable water filters. She tested different combinations of fruit peels and found that not only did her filter reduce lead, cadmium and nickel to untraceable levels, but it also reduced other contaminants, including E. coli, by 83%.

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The newest class of Rhodes Scholars includes five extraordinary À¦°óÇ¿¼é alumni whose journeys began, in part, at science fair.

Aruna Balasubramanian, Sydney Barta, Vivian Chinoda, Julie Sieg and Sophia Wang participated in Society competitions as middle and high school students. This fall, all of these young women will head to the University of Oxford, where they plan to pursue research spanning the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Though their interests have evolved in different directions, they each say their science fair experiences helped them learn how to conduct research, communicate complex ideas and see themselves as part of a global community of young innovators.

: Exploring how art can transform communities

When Aruna Balasubramanian began conducting science projects as an elementary school student, she had no idea that the experience would eventually help shape her interests in language, culture and the arts.

Aruna credits Valerie Denny, her science teacher at the French International School of Philadelphia, with introducing generations of students to scientific research. With Denny¡¯s encouragement, Aruna earned best-of-show honors at the Delaware Valley Science Fairs in both seventh and eighth grade and participated in the 2018 Broadcom MASTERS, now the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.

Her projects examined the complexity of human language and the grammar of birdsong.

¡°From my projects, I learned research methods that later inspired me in college as I studied the geometry of Indian musical scales,¡± Aruna said. ¡°The poster sessions at the science fairs also developed my public speaking skills, which amplified over time.¡±

Aruna, now 21, is completing majors in anthropology and history at Yale. Her senior thesis is a historical ethnography of Naoshima, a small Japanese island that has used museums and art galleries to support its local economy.

At Oxford, Aruna hopes to pursue an MPhil in Social Anthropology and continue examining the role creative economies can play in the social and economic development of small towns across different global contexts. An oil painter and musician, Aruna also hopes to pursue nonfiction writing while at Oxford.

¡°I care about the democratization of knowledge and the public dissemination of scholarship,¡± she said. ¡°Combining these passions, I want to pursue nonfiction writing at Oxford with the goal of contributing to popular journals and news outlets.¡±

: Harnessing data for social impact

For Vivian Chinoda, participating in ISEF revealed just how vast and interconnected the scientific world could be. Representing Zimbabwe, she competed in Intel ISEF in 2019 and Regeneron ISEF in 2020 and 2021. Before her first ISEF, she had never traveled beyond Southern Africa.

¡°The most memorable part of that experience for me was walking around different booths, learning about other young people¡¯s projects and motivations,¡± Vivian said.

Meeting students from across the world changed the way Vivian thought about both science and its power to connect people. ¡°It was during my first ISEF that I began to clearly see science as more than just what I was learning in class, or even my own project and its impact,¡± she said. Instead, she came to view science as ¡°a much greater medium for the global village to come together, share ideas and progress.¡±

Vivian, 24, graduated from MIT with a degree in business analytics. She has since worked at the intersection of business, technology and social impact, including co-founding the African Students¡¯ Association Social Impact Fund, which supports student-led development projects across Africa.

At Oxford, she plans to pursue an MSc in Social Data Science through the Oxford Internet Institute. She is also considering a DPhil in Social Data Science or another graduate degree focused on public policy.

¡°It feels surreal to see myself in the position I once dreamt of,¡± Vivian said. ¡°More than that, it is a privilege to be a Rhodes Scholar. My deepest thought is centered on how I can best steward my talents, interests and the access that I have to add value to the fields and societies closest to my heart,¡± she said.

: Building a stronger relationship between science and society

Sophia competed at ISEF from 2018 through 2020 and was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar in 2020. Her research focused on developing a real-time system that combined civil engineering, internet-connected sensors and AI to detect sinkholes.

Sophia remembers the Society¡¯s competitions not only for the research, but also for the community she found there.

¡°The most memorable part was meeting other young people who were serious about and independently driven toward science,¡± she said. ¡°My peers were, in many cases, even more curious, focused and scrappy than myself. Being surrounded by that level of earnestness was important for me at that age and remains important to me now.¡±

The competitions also taught her that research must be communicated clearly for others to understand your work. ?¡°The fair was where I first learned the importance of articulation, particularly in the sciences,¡± Sophia said.

After earning a bachelor¡¯s in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from MIT, Sophia began working across engineering, sustainability and public policy. Her work has included leading a sustainability policy task force in Bhutan, conducting research at a lab in Japan and working with a venture capital fund focused on space technologies.

At Oxford, Sophia plans to pursue an MSc in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics followed by an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy. She hopes to examine not only what science can accomplish, but also how scientific progress should serve society.

¡°I¡¯m most excited to engage in these discussions with my peers in a global cohort,¡± she said. A dedicated cyclist, Sophia is also looking forward to exploring the United Kingdom and nearby parts of Europe by bike, an activity she describes as both reflective and peaceful.

: Advancing ecological research in a changing climate

Julie Sieg participated in Regeneron ISEF in 2022, presenting research on how increasing ocean temperatures affect phytoplankton communities. Her project received a Fourth Award in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category.

¡°It was one of the first opportunities I had to present my research and get valuable feedback from professionals,¡± Julie said. ¡°It was an amazing learning experience that really shaped my science communication skills and solidified my interest in scientific research.¡±

Now 21, Julie is studying biology at the University of British Columbia. Her research has addressed some of the most urgent ecological questions of a changing climate, from the decline of western monarch butterflies to the effects of temperature on the feeding behavior of shore crabs.

At Oxford, Julie plans to pursue a master¡¯s degree in biology, with a focus on community ecology. ¡°I am so honored to have been chosen as a Rhodes Scholar,¡± she said. ¡°I am really looking forward to doing research under amazing professors.¡±

Julie also trained at Canada¡¯s National Ballet School. Alongside her scientific work, she hopes to continue dancing and take a variety of ballet classes during her time at Oxford.

: Connecting biomechanics, athletics and medicine

Sydney Barta who hails originally from Arlington, Virginia, participated in the 2018 Broadcom MASTERS. At Stanford, she studied bioengineering, was an elite sprinter and a member of the U.S. Paralympic National Team.

Sydney is the first Paralympian to compete on Stanford University¡¯s track and field team. She is a five-time U.S. Paralympic Track and Field national champion, a two-time Parapan American champion and a two-time World Para Athletics medalist. She also represented the United States at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

At Stanford, Sydney brought her experiences as an athlete into the lab. Her honors research examined how athletic training influences postural control during jump landings, part of her broader interest in biomechanics, balance and injury prevention.

She has also served in national leadership roles representing athletes, including on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee¡¯s Collegiate Athlete Advisory Council and the Team USA Athletes¡¯ Commission.

At Oxford, Sydney hopes to complete graduate research in musculoskeletal sciences. She ultimately hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon and bring together her understanding of medicine, biomechanics and the experiences of athletes with disabilities.

The next chapter

The five scholars¡¯ paths demonstrate that early scientific research can lead almost anywhere. Their work at Oxford will take them in very different directions. But for all five of these young women, participating in Society competitions was an early chapter in a much larger intellectual journey.

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For the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school seniors, this final summer before college has been anything but ordinary. Some are continuing the research that brought them to the national stage. Others are teaching younger students, exploring new cultures, reconnecting with family or simply taking time to slow down after an extraordinary senior year.

We caught up with several finalists to learn how they’re spending this brief pause between high school and college, and what they’re most excited to discover next.

Alyssa Yu
Poolesville, Maryland ¡úMIT

One conversation during the Regeneron Science Talent Search changed Alyssa Yu’s summer.

After connecting with a senior epidemiologist during a finalist event, Alyssa began a computational epidemiology research project at the National Institutes of Health. The experience allowed her to expand beyond the theoretical epidemiology research she conducted for the Science Talent Search and explore a more applied, data-driven side of the field.

¡°Because I am just fresh out of high school, I think it’s really important for me to explore as much as possible,¡± she says.

This fall, Alyssa is looking forward to more than just classes. She’s excited to meet people with different perspectives, build lasting friendships and continue asking big questions through research.

¡°I’d like to understand wildly new perspectives, hear about the cool things that other people are building, and share my own journeys with them as well,” she says. “College is a great time to break out of my comfort zone and find new hobbies and passions.¡±

Linus Chen-Plotkin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ¡úPrinceton University

Linus Chen-Plotkin’s summer has taken him from the Indian Himalayas to Tokyo and Italy, but his curiosity hasn’t taken a vacation.

Between international travels, Linus collaborated with an English professor at Johns Hopkins University on a computational analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Middle English. He also submitted his Regeneron Science Talent Search physics paper to a scientific journal and is now revising it in response to peer review.

“I’ve gotten to relax, spend time with friends and family, and indulge my academic interests,” he says.

At Princeton, Linus is especially eager to take his first proof-based mathematics course, one he expects will challenge him while introducing entirely new ways of thinking.

Uma Sthanu
Austin, Texas ¡úStanford University

Uma Sthanu intentionally designed her summer around three passions she hopes will shape her future: research, mentorship and entrepreneurship.

She joined Regeneron’s Neurotherapeutics group, applying machine learning to behavioral data. She also returned to MIT¡¯s prestigious Research Science Institute, this time as a teaching assistant in data science, statistics and research methodology. She also attended Y Combinator’s Startup School to learn how scientific discoveries can become real-world innovations.

Together, those experiences, she says, helped clarify the impact she hopes to make. “My goal is to contribute to meaningful research while also helping build the next generation of curious, capable and ambitious young scientists.”

At Stanford, Uma hopes to continue pursuing groundbreaking research while expanding opportunities for younger students to discover science for themselves.

Khushi Karthikeyan
Ardsley, New York ¡úUniversity of Chicago

Teaching, research and family have defined Khushi¡¯s final summer before college. They spent part of the summer teaching coding at a summer camp, gaining valuable work experience while helping younger students develop new skills. At the same time, Khushi¡¯s been preparing their Regeneron Science Talent Search research for journal submission, hoping to arrive on campus with a publication already underway.

Just as important has been spending time with their parents and sister. “My time at home with them is limited,” they say, “and I want to make good use of what I have left.”

This fall, Khushi looks forward to challenging themselves academically, finding a community of equally passionate students and continuing research in astrophysics, a field that has always captivated them.

Khushi says, ¡°One of the things that excites me most about starting college this fall is the range of new, interesting classes I can take. I deeply enjoy expanding my mind, and I always love learning more about things that fascinate me.¡±

Finnegan McGill
Tucson, Arizona¡úUniversity of Arizona Honors College

After a whirlwind senior year, Finnegan McGill made the most of a summer that balanced adventure, family and science.

He traveled to Germany to visit his grandparents, saw Bruno Mars perform at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and spent time waterskiing with family in Virginia. But for the Regeneron Science Talent Search finalist known as the “bird guy,” summer also meant sending his A-BiRD device back into the Arizona desert to collect additional data.

“If you know me as the ‘bird guy’ from STS, you’ll be happy to know that my A-BiRD device spent part of the summer back out in the Arizona desert collecting additional data!” he says. “It was nice to finally have a summer to relax before college.”

This fall, Finnegan will join the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, where he plans to study molecular and cellular biology on the pre-med track. He’ll also return to his former cancer research lab to help complete experiments for a publication and hopes to shadow physicians as he begins college.

“As I prepare to begin college, I’m most excited to explore… everything!” he says. “I can’t wait to meet new people and take advantage of all the opportunities the university has to offer. I’m also hoping to play intramural soccer¡ªif I make it through the tryouts. Wish me luck, and Bear Down!”

Natalie Muro
Colorado Springs, Colorado ¡úColorado State University

After the fast pace of senior year, Natalie made a conscious decision to slow down. She’s spent the summer paddleboarding, running, catching up on favorite television shows and making memories with friends and family before leaving for college.

“It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to slow down a little,” she says.

Natalie plans to continue the research she submitted to the Regeneron Science Talent Search while exploring new biomedical engineering ideas, joining Formula SAE and discovering all that college life has to offer, including, she jokes, finding her favorite coffee shop!

Sophia Liang
Ellicott City, Maryland ¡úBrown University

For Sophia Liang, this summer became an opportunity to reconnect with family and with a part of her own story. She spent five weeks traveling throughout China, visiting relatives she hadn’t seen in nearly a decade and immersing herself in experiences that broadened her understanding of culture and identity.

“It gave me a very different perspective on not just daily life, but also led to conversations with family on their personal and cultural values that I had never considered before,” she says.

When she arrives at Brown this fall, Sophia is excited to embrace the University’s open curriculum, continue exploring science and discover Providence.

She says, ¡°While I’m certain I’ll continue expanding my knowledge of science, I’m also very open to discovering new interests. I’ve heard Brown offers a wide variety of courses, from Comedy to Meditation, and I’ve been eyeing a club that explores Providence’s cultural scene. I’m excited to see how I’ll grow through these and many other experiences!¡±

Leanne Fan
San Diego, California ¡ú Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Leanne has embraced what she¡¯s heard is one of life’s rarest seasons.

She says, ¡°I know college is going to be a ton of fun but also a ton of work, so I want to take any chance I can get to reconnect with friends around the world and learn about what they’ve been up to. I’m brushing up on some programming skills as well so they can maybe aid me in future research projects.¡±

At MIT, she hopes to find an academic community where she feels at home, continue her work in biophotonics and learn from classmates whose experiences differ from her own.

“I’ve been told that this summer before college is a rare point in time where we have few expectations and are kind of floating in this blissful state,” she says. “I’m trying to savor it as much as possible.¡±

Interested in competing? Learn more about applying to the Regeneron Science Talent Search:?

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