60th Annual STS (2000–2001)
Finalists
Abdur Rasheed Sabar

MISSOURI
Abdur Rasheed Sabar, 18, of St. Louis, submitted a mathematics entry in the Intel Science Talent Search in which he investigated Laguerre polynomials, a classical family of functions which are used in probability theory and combinatorics. Rasheed investigated a product of two Laguerre polynomials as a sum of constant multiples (coefficients) of Laguerre polynomials. He studied the pattern of these coefficients and was able to extend earlier results concerning when these coefficients are positive. He also considered Meixner polynomials, the discrete analogues of this classical family useful in computer science-in the discrete case, he shows that the coefficients are not always positive. First in his class of 380 at Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Rasheed is vice president of the speech and debate team, senior editor of the literary publication and president of the science club, and he devotes about nine hours a week tutoring students in biology and chemistry. Rasheed hopes to study a blend of math, science and philosophy at Harvard before assuming a teaching position at a major research university.