Philip Mocz

HAWAII

Philip Mocz, 18, of Mililani, developed a novel statistical algorithm and used it to discover previously unidentified patterns in the distribution of nearby stars for his Intel Science Talent Search project in space science. He dissected the solar neighborhood into 300 thin slices to analyze the spatial arrangement of star types and found that groups of stars tend to contain star types with low to medium surface temperatures, or cool stars mixed with much warmer ones - a finding that challenges the standard assumptions about random stellar mixing in our galaxy. Philip believes that his unique analysis method may have uses beyond astronomy and could be applied to pattern analysis in ecology, urban planning, archeology and other disciplines. Philip is first in his class of 540 at Mililani High School. President of the math club, he also plays violin and is concertmaster of the school's string ensemble. Philip has earned numerous honors and awards in math and astronomy. Fluent in Hungarian, he is the son of Gabor and Eva Mocz. Philip plans to study astronomy, physics and math, become a professor of astronomy and pursue dedicated research in the field.