61st Annual STS (2001–2002)
Finalists
Timothy Allen Dong

CALIFORNIA
Timothy Allen Dong, 17, of Alhambra, entered the Intel Science Talent Search with a chemistry project, a study of the rate constants of the reaction between singlet oxygen and phosphines. Timothy calculates the rate constants of various sterically hindered phosphines and provides conclusive experimental evidence validating or nullifying the mechanisms that have so far been proposed by theoretical chemists. These results, he concludes, can be applied to the making of oxidation-resistant catalysts in addition to providing convenient methods of modifying product yield. His work, carried out at California State University, Los Angeles, appears as a co-authored article in Organic Letters, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society. First in his class of 711 at Alhambra High School, Tim has been active in student government and holds a string of firsts in scientific and academic competitions, including the California State Science Fair project of the year award for 2001. Tim plans to study "liberal arts with a science focus" at UCLA in preparation for an eventual career as a research-oriented college professor. He is the son of Dawson and Suli Dong.