61st Annual STS (2001–2002)
Finalists
Kirsten Linnea Frieda

TEXAS
Kirsten Linnea Frieda, 17, of Austin, submitted a chemistry project -- a study of molecular interactions and how rotational motion influences molecular forces during collisions -- to the Intel Science Talent Search. She began her study, conducted at Boston University, by teaching herself intermolecular potential energy functions. Kirsten then created ways to describe rotating nonlinear molecules and generated model calculations that simplified the problem without losing the important physical implications. Her mentor plans to incorporate her work into an invited feature paper for the Journal of Physical Chemistry. Kirsten is an accomplished flautist, enjoys swimming and speaks fluent Spanish. Her work in a summer program spawned her avid interest in microbiology. She says she especially enjoyed "watching the circus taking place in my frog's water." Co-president of the math club and captain of the science team for Westlake High School, Kirsten has received numerous honors in chemistry, math, Spanish, English and music. After graduation from college, Kirsten hopes to become a researcher in a chemistry lab. She is the daughter of Kenneth and Lisa Frieda.