TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, May 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --
$75,000 Top Award Goes to
16-year-old Michelle Hua for
Novel Human Action Recognition Algorithm in Regeneron International
Science and Engineering Fair 2021
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and
Society for Science (the Society) announced that Michelle Hua, 16, of Troy, Michigan, won the $75,000 top award in the 2021 Regeneron
International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), the
world's largest global high school competition. Historically held
in person, 2021 marks the first time
in its more than 70-year history that the competition took place
virtually.
The top finalists were honored during two virtual award
ceremonies, the first of which aired on the evening of May 20 and featured Special Award winners. The
Grand Awards Ceremony was held on the morning of May 21 and featured the announcement of the top
prize of $75,000. In total, more than
U.S. $5 million was awarded to the
finalists, who were evaluated based on their projects' creativity,
innovation and level of scientific inquiry. The competition
featured over 1,800 young scientists representing 49 states and 64
countries across the world.
Michelle Hua won
first place and received the $75,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator
Award, named in honor of the pioneering drug discoverer and
Regeneron co-founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer, for
her discovery of an artificial intelligence-based algorithm used
for human action recognition. Using human silhouettes, she designed
and implemented a novel deep learning framework that outperforms
all similar state-of-the-art algorithms.
Catherine Kim, 18, of
Jericho, New York, received
one of two Regeneron Young Scientist Award of $50,000 for creating a novel hierarchical
machine learning model that is able to predict adverse drug
reactions with 91% accuracy, along with their underlying biological
mechanisms.
Daniel Shen, 17, of
Cary, North
Carolina, also received the Regeneron Young
Scientist Award of $50,000 for
his development of an AI-powered facial-cue control module. Its
high speed accelerates scientific discoveries, medicine research,
and many other fields driven by large amounts of temporal data. The
new algorithm has been adopted by researchers in Sepsis Shock
diagnosis and Hurricane predictions.
"Congratulations to the Regeneron International Science and
Engineering Fair 2021 winners," said Maya
Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science and
Publisher of Science News. "Every single Regeneron ISEF
finalist has persevered in their pursuit of science in the face of
the myriad challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we could not be
prouder to showcase their work on a global stage. We look forward
to seeing the contributions these young leaders continue to make to
their fields and the world."
Regeneron ISEF provides a global stage for future leaders in
STEM – bringing together the best and brightest young minds to
present their original research ideas to leading scientists and
peers. Founded by the belief that advances in science are key to
solving global challenges, Regeneron ISEF works to support and
invest in young scientists who are generating ideas and acting as
catalysts for the change needed to improve the well-being of all
people and the planet.
"The Regeneron ISEF finalists form the next generation of
remarkable STEM talent and deserve special commendation for their
ability to complete and showcase their research during an
unprecedented pandemic," said George D.
Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder, President and Chief
Scientific Officer of Regeneron. "The COVID-19 crisis and amazing
global response have demonstrated the critical role that science
and technology play in keeping people safe and healthy around the
world. Regeneron ISEF recognizes the young scientists who are
well-equipped and unafraid to tackle the existential threats facing
our society. To all the participants: we need you more than ever,
and congratulations on your achievements."
Other top honors from the competition include:
John Benedict Estrada, 16,
of Fresno, California,
received The Gordon E. Moore Award
of $50,000 for Positive
Outcomes for Future Generations for his discovery of a novel
computer program to accurately predict drought stress in plants
using images from a custom-built robotic camera that captures
infrared (IR) and visible light reflected off the leaves.
Arya Tschand, 17, of
Marlboro, New Jersey
received the Craig R. Barrett
Award for Innovation of $10,000 for his development of an artificial
intelligence model that inter-communicates to collect and analyze
environmental data to give each crop its unique ideal irrigation
volume. With accessible, affordable, and efficient technology, Arya
believes that developing nations can leverage this solution to save
trillions of gallons of water yearly.
Neha Mani, 17, of
Bronx, New York received
the H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research of
$10,000 for her quantitative
research of microbiology, which uses a diagnostic method to
distinguish bacterial motion to diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease
(IBD) by mathematically separating swarming from swimming.
Franklin Wang, 17, of
Palo Alto, California
received the Peggy Scripps Award
for Science Communication of $10,000 for his project engineering machine
learning to analyze public telescope data. Through his research, he
discovered six never-before-seen near-Earth asteroids. His approach
can be applied to any observatory to substantially improve the
detection of and search speed for fast moving asteroids (FMAs.)
For a full list of finalists who won awards, please visit HERE
and HERE.
In addition to the Top Award winners, more than 450 finalists
received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including
"First Award" winners, who each received a $5,000 prize. The following lists the First Award
winners for each of the 21 categories, from which the Top Awards
were chosen:
Category and
Sponsor
|
Winner
|
Location
|
Animal Sciences,
sponsored by Society for Science
|
Varun Raj
Madan
|
Orlando,
Florida
|
Behavioral and Social
Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science
|
Emilin Maria
Mathew
|
Plantation,
Florida
|
Sarah Elise
Hens
|
Illawong,
Australia
|
Biochemistry,
sponsored by Regeneron
|
Maya Sonal
Butani
|
Moorestown, New
Jersey
|
Biomedical and Health
Sciences, sponsored by Regeneron
|
Ashwika
Agrawal
|
Cupertino,
California
|
Isabella Mary Lillian
Heffernan
|
Warwick, Rhode
Island
|
Biomedical
Engineering, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson
|
Ishaan S.
Brar
|
Bakersfield,
California
|
Keyu Wan
|
Shanghai,
China
|
Cellular and
Molecular Biology, sponsored by Regeneron
|
Parisa Aryana
Vaziri
|
Plano,
Texas
|
Chemistry, sponsored
by Society for Science
|
Omer Eyal
|
Jerusalem,
Israel
|
Computational Biology
and Bioinformatics, sponsored by Regeneron
|
Catherine
Kim
|
Jericho, New
York
|
Natthakan Saengnil,
Puri Virakarin
|
Rayong,
Thailand
|
Earth and
Environmental Sciences, sponsored by National Geographic
Foundation
|
Ellery Alice
Barngrove McQuilkin
|
Lee Vining,
California
|
Shrey Joshi, Ishaan
Javali
|
Plano,
Texas
|
Embedded Systems,
sponsored by Microsoft Azure Sphere
|
Vadim
Sannikov
|
Kemerovo, Russian
Federation
|
Energy: Sustainable
Materials and Design, sponsored by King Abdulaziz and His
Companions Foundation for Giftedness Creativity
|
Margaret
Yang
|
Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan
|
Engineering
Mechanics, sponsored by Society for Science
|
Arya
Tschand
|
Lincroft, New
Jersey
|
Brian
Minnick
|
Leesburg,
Virginia
|
Environmental
Engineering, sponsored by Jacobs
|
Haoyu Bradley
Wang
|
Las Cruces, New
Mexico
|
Sahil Azad
|
Durham, North
Carolina
|
Materials Science,
sponsored by West Pharmaceutical Services
|
Ethan Mark
Zentner
|
Glendale,
Wisconsin
|
Mathematics,
sponsored by Akamai Foundation
|
Alexander
Zhang
|
San Jose,
California
|
Microbiology,
sponsored by Regeneron
|
Neha Mani
|
New York, New
York
|
Physics and
Astronomy, sponsored by Richard F. Caris Foundation
|
Franklin
Wang
|
Palo Alto,
California
|
Ryan A
Clairmont
|
San Diego,
California
|
Plant Sciences,
sponsored by Society for Science
|
John Benedict Allasas
Estrada
|
Fresno,
California
|
Robotics and
Intelligent Machines, sponsored by Siegel Family
Endowment
|
Michelle
Hua
|
Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan
|
Ella Yue
Wang
|
Chandler,
Arizona
|
Systems Software,
sponsored by Microsoft
|
Daniel
Shen
|
Raleigh, North
Carolina
|
Translational Medical
Science, sponsored by Regeneron
|
Tienlan
Sun
|
Vancouver,
Canada
|
View all the finalists' research here.
About the Regeneron International Science and Engineering
Fair
The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair
(Regeneron ISEF), a program of Society for Science for over 70
years, is the world's largest global science competition for high
school. Through a global network of local, regional and national
science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their
passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these
students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to
compete for approximately U.S. $5
million in awards and scholarships.
In 2019, Regeneron became the title sponsor of ISEF to help
reward and celebrate the best and brightest young minds globally
and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM as a way to positively
impact the world. Regeneron ISEF is supported by a community of
additional sponsors, including Broadcom Foundation, Johnson &
Johnson, National Geographic Society, Akamai Foundation, Jacobs,
King Abdulaziz & his Companions
Foundation for Giftedness & Creativity, Microsoft, Microsoft
Azure Sphere, Richard F Caris Foundation, Rise, Siegel Family
Foundation, West Pharmaceutical Services, Cesco Linguistic
Services, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Insaco and Zeiss.
Previously, ISEF was sponsored for 20 years by Intel.
ISEF alumni have gone on to have world-changing careers in
science and engineering and earn some of the most esteemed honors,
including National Medal of Science recipients, MacArthur
Foundation Fellows, National Academy of Sciences and National
Academy of Engineering Inductees and a range of entrepreneurs.
Learn more at https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/.
About Society for Science
Society for Science is
dedicated to the achievement of young scientists in independent
research and to public engagement in science. Established in 1921,
the Society is a nonprofit whose vision is to promote the
understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it
plays in human advancement. Through its world-class competitions,
including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron
International Science and Engineering Fair, the Broadcom MASTERS,
and its award-winning magazine, Science
News and Science News for Students,
Society for Science is committed to inform, educate, and inspire.
Learn more at www.societyforscience.org and follow us
on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat
(Society4Science).
About Regeneron
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading
biotechnology company that invents life-transforming medicines for
people with serious diseases. Founded and led for over 30 years by
physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and
consistently translate science into medicine has led to nine
FDA-approved treatments and numerous product candidates in
development, almost all of which were homegrown in our
laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help
patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases,
cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pain, hematologic
conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases.
Regeneron believes that operating as a good corporate citizen is
crucial to delivering on our mission. We approach corporate
responsibility with three goals in mind: to improve the lives of
people with serious diseases, to foster a culture of
integrity and excellence and to build sustainable
communities. Regeneron is proud to be included on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index and the Civic 50 list of the most
"community-minded" companies in the
United States. Throughout the year, Regeneron empowers and
supports employees to give back through our volunteering, pro-bono
and matching gift programs. Our most significant philanthropic
commitments are in the area of science education, including
the Regeneron Science Talent Search and Regeneron
International Science and Engineering Fair.
For additional information about the company, please visit
www.regeneron.com or follow @Regeneron on Twitter.
Media Contacts
Ella Campbell,
Regeneron
914-572-4003, ella.campbell@regeneron.com
Gayle Kansagor, Society for
Science
703-489-1131,
gkansagor@societyforscience.org
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teen-scientists-and-engineers-win-5-million-at-largest-global-high-school-stem-competition-301296939.html
SOURCE Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Society for Science