Plano Student One of 40 Finalists
in Intel Science Talent Search

January 29, 2010

U.S. High School Seniors Recognized as Most Promising Scientists of the Future

Elisa Bisi Lin, Plano West Senior High School student, has been selected among 40 high school seniors from across the country as a finalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search (STS) 2010.

Finalists will gather in Washington, D.C. March 11-16 to compete for $630,000 in awards at the Intel Science Talent Search 2010, a program of Society for Science & the Public. Finalists will undergo a rigorous judging process, meet with national leaders, interact with leading scientists and display their research at the National Academy of Sciences.

The top winner will be announced at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 16 and will receive $100,000 from the Intel Foundation.

Elisa's Research on Hybrid Solar Cells

Elisa submitted an environmental science project to the Intel Science Talent Search entitled, “Increasing the Performance of Organic Solar Cells and Organic Light Emitting Diodes by Using Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes.” She spent two years conducting research to improve organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) by incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) at the electrodes of both devices.

Elisa’s hybrid solar cells showed an 80% improvement in the maximum amount of current they could deliver and a 15% increase in efficiency. By introducing transparent MWNT sheets into the architecture, she also created the first inverse OLEDs. These emit stable display-quality lighting and should be able to be produced simply, efficiently and with a three-fold increase in resolution.

The recipient of numerous academic awards, Elisa plays in the marching band at Plano West Senior High School. She volunteers at Teen Court as an attorney for juveniles with Class C misdemeanors and has worked extensively with autistic children to improve their cognitive and social skills. Elisa is also president of Science Pals, which she created to demonstrate fun and safe science to children with autism.

The daughter of Lisan and Amy Lin, she hopes to attend MIT, Rice or University of Texas, Austin and prepare for a career in research.

Two Plano Senior High School Seniors Earn Semifinalist Standing in Intel Competition

Also earning Semifinalist standing in the Intel competition are two students from Plano Senior High School, William Andrew Mahre and Janice Rosalina Zhang. William's entry is entitled: "The Effect of Magnus Force on a Spinning Baseball as a Function of Wind Speed and Rotational Rate." Janice's entry is entitled: "A Novel Approach to Spam Detection Using Information Distance."

Plano ISD's Elisa, William and Janice are among only 300 students to earn the Semifinalist standing in the competition which was entered by 1,736 applicants nationwide.

About the Intel Finalists

"This year’s finalists are truly inspiring and they reaffirm our belief that programs like the Intel Science Talent Search foster a passion for math and science, subjects that are the foundation of the innovation that is the key to America’s future success," said Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel’s Corporate Affairs Group. "At Intel, we believe that we must invest in math and science education now to reap the benefits of that innovation later."

Society for Science & the Public (SSP), a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, has owned and administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in 1942. This year marks Intel’s 12th year sponsoring the program.

"Through their independent research that tackles some of the most challenging scientific issues of our time, these 40 finalists are preparing themselves to be the leaders of tomorrow," said Elizabeth Marincola, president of SSP. "We congratulate these young innovators on their extraordinary achievements and welcome them into the prestigious fold of the Science Talent Search, now in its 69th year."

For a list of all 40 finalists, visit www.societyforscience.org/sts.

Intel Science Talent Search 2010 fast facts

• This year's Intel Science Talent Search finalists come from 18 states and represent 36 schools.
• New York again has the highest number of young innovators in this competition (11 this year). Following New York is California with eight finalists; Texas with three;  Illinois, New Jersey and Oregon with two each; and Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin with one finalist each.
• The 2010 finalists' independent research projects include such topics as examining behavioral factors in breast cancer cures; an autonomous spacecraft navigation system; increasing the performance of organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes; semantic image retrieval; comparing language perception, production, and memory in older and younger adults; and chemotherapy and antibiotic drug resistance.
• What’s next: Finalists will gather in Washington, D.C. for a week-long event from March 11-16 where they will undergo a rigorous judging process, meet with national leaders, interact with leading scientists and display their research at the National Academy of Sciences. Top winners will be announced at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 16.

The Intel Education Initiative

Intel believes that young people are the key to solving global challenges, and a solid math and science foundation combined with skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and digital literacy are crucial for their success. Over the past decade alone, Intel has invested more than $1 billion, and its employees have donated more than 2.5 million hours toward improving education in 50 countries. To learn more about the Intel Education Initiative, visit www.intel.com/education and the CSR@Intel blog at blogs.intel.com/csr. To join Intel's community of people sharing their stories with the hope of becoming a catalyst for action and a voice for change in global education, visit www.inspiredbyeducation.com.

About Plano ISD's Secondary Science Curriculum