Zest For Science
Ibraheem Mohammed gets so engrossed reading at night that he sometimes forgets to fall asleep. He speaks four languages, writes poetry and likes being well-rounded, "not just because it sounds cool."
So given that zest for learning, what did he do when his grandmother got an infection from a catheter?
Mohammed developed anti-bacterial coatings for urinary and intravascular catheters to keep others from getting sick.
He's 17.
"It's important to have a social conscience, and I think a lot of people who research have one," said Mohammed, one of 40 finalists in this week's Intel Science Talent Search, the premier science competition for high school seniors.
"We're really dedicated, just like professional scientists are in their fields."
These science scholars have exceptional talent, supportive teachers and great opportunity. But what separates the young elite of the science community is a passion, the kind of genuine interest that educators aim to inspire and replicate.
"It restores for those who need it, and enforces for others, that we have incredible future leaders in science and technology," said Andrew Yeager, director of the stem cell transplant program at the University of Pittsburgh and the competition's head judge.
Yeager, who has been involved in the event since 1979, has good reason to use such lofty words. Past finalists hold more than 100 of the country's top science and math awards, including five Nobel prizes.
For now, contenders have enough to absorb: Showing their work to peers and top scientists, meeting Washington dignitaries and competing for the top prize, a $100,000 college scholarship. The others who place in the top 10 on Tuesday will win scholarships of $20,000 to $75,000.
"I'm definitely paying more attention to that, especially when MIT costs 40 grand a year," said Vera te Velde of Stillwater, Okla. The 16-year-old researched how background radiation obscures X-ray point sources in the Milky Way galaxy.
What is more alluring, te Velde and other students said, is the chance to immerse themselves in conversation with others who love science. The finalists tend to speak with calm precision about their own work, but express awe at the ideas and methods of their peers.
"When you're exposed to the work of experts in other fields, it looks kind of like magic," said Mohammed, of Niceville, Fla.
Environmental science, cellular biology, social behavior, computer engineering — all are represented at the six-day event.
Of course, it gets more complicated than that. Projects come with titles such as "Thermodynamic Equilibrium and Potential Medical Applications of Giant Nanoscale Inorganic Molecules in Solution" — that one by Brandon Imber of Commack, N.Y.
"These projects are so in-depth that if you just try to read it, you're not really sure what's going on," said Clint Tanner, spokesman for Science Service, the nonprofit organizer of the event.
"We give them training so that they can bring it down to the level of the general public. A big part of the process is that they must learn to communicate their ideas."
To get this far, the students had to clear an evaluation by scientists who specialize in fields relating to the proposals. That review narrowed the group from 1,560 to 40 projects that will be judged by professors representing a range of science.
"If we wanted to look at students who had factual knowledge of science, we could easily do that by administering some standardized test. That's not what our mission is," said Yeager, the chief judge. "We're really looking for those who go beyond that, who show creativity, analytical skills and leadership skills."
With music, reading and community service among their interests, students say they find balance in their lives. But there really is no need to find escape from the work, they say, because their work is an escape.
But do they ever cut loose with silliness?
"Sure. But then again, I go to a boarding school for math and science nerds, so there's not much chance for it," said te Velde, the budding astrophysicist from Oklahoma. Her research, she said, falls somewhere between a hobby and an obsession.
That brings the subject back to dedication, such as that shown by Matthew Kroll of Bedford, N.Y. For three years, he studied the transmission of Lyme disease after a friend became infected and had to have surgery that halted her singing career.
His findings linking the size of female deer ticks to the prevalence of the disease could aid prevention in trouble-prone regions, he said.
"It's not impossible to do this research, and it's not just for the people who have top grades," said Kroll, 17. "It's for everybody. You don't have to be the best in the class. You just have to have a passion."