60th Annual STS (2000–2001)
Finalists
William Abraham Pastor

MARYLAND
William Abraham Pastor, 18, of Rockville, studied the formation of fibrils-the primary component of the deposits found in the brains of Alzheimer patients-for his Intel Science Talent Search project in biochemistry. Beta-amyloid proteins combine to form long sheets which stack on top of each other to produce the fibrils. William used a combination of experiment and computer modeling to understand and predict the orientation and stacking of beta-amyloid sheets in the fibrils. He believes his research helps explain why fibrils form and why, under certain conditions, they don't, leading to possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease. William, who earned perfect SAT scores, attends Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring. He is president of the Democrats Club and captain of the It's Academic team. He also led the school's International Knowledge Master Open team to first place in world competition. William is active in politics and a stream monitor for the Audubon Society. His many honors include a Johns Hopkins Talent Search Award. The son of Dr. Richard and Dale Pastor, William hopes to study chemistry at Harvard and have a career in research.