Young Scientist Award

Rebecca Zhang is a current senior at Biotechnology High School in Freehold, NJ. She is the founder of Lab Notes (labnoteslog.com), a newsletter that shares researcher interviews and novel research with its audience. Her main interests are microbiology and stem cell engineering, and she plans to pursue a career in scientific research.  

 Edward Sun is a senior at Union County Magnet High School and has a strong passion in science, particularly chemistry. He is the President of his school’s Science Club and placed high in the US National Chemistry Olympiad. He collaborated with fellow students on research using computational drug docking to identify lead compounds in targeting viral proteins. 

Edward leads the programming subteam in his school’s robotics club, which competes in FRC competitions every year. He also tutors a diverse range of AP-level subjects under his school’s National Honor Society. He is a varsity athlete as well as a piano performing artist and has performed at Carnegie Hall several times.

  Gracelynne Hao is currently a junior at Bridgewater Raritan High School and plans to pursue a career in STEM. Fascinated by various fields including math and chemistry, she has participated in multiple competitions and is a two-time AIME qualifier. In her free time, she also plays the piano competitively and journals. 

 Daisy Yao is a junior at Livingston High School. She has a strong
passion for science, and is a 2022-2023 Governor's STEM Scholar. This
summer she was selected for Rutgers' BOLD (BioCONECT Oncology
Leadership Development) Initiative, which furthered her interest in
medicine. Daisy also enjoys playing alto saxophone as a member of
multiple school music ensembles and the drum major of her marching
band. Additionally, Daisy plays lacrosse and is a national speech and
debate competitor. 

  Evan is currently a junior at The Pingry School and plans to pursue a career in biology or computer science. In the past, he has participated in math competitions and conducted research in the fields of computer science, biology, and information theory. Outside of academics, Evan enjoys playing ice hockey. Previously, he played multiple travel seasons at the elite AAA level, and he now plays for Pingry’s varsity team.

Hailey Hsiung is currently a senior at Highland Park High School. She is interested in physics and biology and plans to pursue a career in medicine. In the meantime, she enjoys running cross country, competing in Taekwondo, reading books, and playing video games.  

 Ethan Wang is a senior at Lawrence High School. While he spends most of his time pursuing his interests in STEM, he finds time to compete for his school's varsity swimming and tennis teams.  

Jacqueline Shen is a senior at Holmdel High School who enjoys the biological and chemical sciences. She is especially interested in food science and the health sciences, and plans to pursue a career in medicine. She likes to unwind by drawing, playing the piano, and baking. 

Joey is a current senior at Livingston High School and plans to pursue chemical engineering. He is currently NOCTI certified in Biotechnology and serves as a lab tech for his school's science department. He enjoys playing volleyball, tutoring, and reading in his free time. 

Lawrence Cai is a senior at Holmdel High School and has a large background in STEM. He is the developer and President of Crohn's Care, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating software to help people suffering from Crohn’s disease. He has a deep background in Robotics and leads Team 5398 Robotux in competing in the FTC competition every year winning various design awards and winning alliances. 

Lawrence loves to tutor and teach kids programming and robotics in his free time and teaches Lego Robotics in underprivileged schools. He also has patent pending on various inventions relating to the science and chemistry field where he has helped with multiple research papers.

Andrew is currently a senior at Princeton International School of Math and Science and is planning on pursuing a career in biochemistry. He has participated in multiple chemistry competitions and is currently working on developing a paper-based glyphosate detector. As both an athlete and a school prefect, he spends a lot of time either in the pool or helping out the student body. However, he still makes time to focus on STEM in order to learn about more interesting topics. When he's not doing such activities, he can either be found at the basketball court or trying out new dishes in the school cafeteria. 

Vanessa Gong is currently a senior at   Ridge High School who plans to pursue a career in STEM, specifically engineering. She is interested in studying systems or mechanical engineering in college and bringing more diversity in the field of STEM. Most of her free time is spent reading and sewing. 

Cindy Ma is a senior at South Brunswick High School. She hopes to pursue her interest in STEM fields in college. In her free time, she enjoys being a math tutor, playing on her high school's volleyball team, and trying new foods.

Angela Shen is a student at Holmdel High School with a deep interest in chemistry, science in general, and the arts. She has won multiple awards in the Scholastic Art Competition, and actively participates in academic competitions and National Art Honor Society. In her free time, Angela enjoys cultivating her mini succulent garden, experimenting with graphic design, and reading.  

 Senior Princeton High School student and budding software engineer.  Involved in everything computer-related, from competitive programming  and app development to computer hardware and robotics. 

 Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School