Project Title: Automatic Discovery of Visual Circuits

Achyuta Rajaram, 17, of Exeter, N.H., developed an automatic method to discover which parts of a
computer model that analyzes images are involved in decision-making. This knowledge may help make
computers more effective, fair, and safe

• Photos of Achyuta
• Winner Video
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Project Title: Overlooked Covariates in Metabolite Abundance Levels: Systematically Quantifying the Information Overlap Between Gene Expression and Metabolism Across Multiple Cancer Types

Thomas Cong, 17, of Ossining, N.Y., investigated the rapid growth of certain cancers and found that
immune cancers have pronounced differences in metabolism and gene expression, which suggests that
a more complex landscape of metabolic variation exists.

• Photos of Thomas
• Winner Video
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Project Title: Solving Second-Order Cone Programs Deterministically in Matrix Multiplication Time

Michelle Wei, 17, of Saratoga, Calif., improved second-order cone programming problems, an important
topic in convex programming, which can be used to optimize company supply chains, schedule airline
flights, and distribute electrical power.

• Photos of Michelle
• Winner Video
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Project Title: Novel Elastomeric Polystyrene via Photopolymerization and Post-Functionalization of Durable Ultra-High Molecular Weight Perfluorostyrene Copolymers

Nathan Wei, 17, of Gainesville, Fla., looked at a way to create strong and durable plastic polymers that
can still be recycled. He also suggests a method that works with biologically based raw materials, which
would make the process even more sustainable.

• Photos of Nathan
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Project Title: TMADLIBS: A Novel Multilingual Data Augmentation Algorithm for Low-Resource Neural Machine Translation

Zeyneb N. Kaya, 17, of Saratoga, Calif., created a way to train her natural language processing algorithm,
similar to ChatGPT, to work with endangered languages. Importantly, she found a way to enhance the
tiny datasets of lesser-known languages to train her algorithm.

• Photos of Zeyneb
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Project Title:The Role of MYC in RET Fusion Tumorigenesis and RET Inhibitor Resistance

Christopher Zorn, 17, of Irvington, N.Y., genetically altered lung cancer cell lines, exposed them to
various drugs, and measured the MYC protein levels, which appeared at elevated levels and often led to
treatment resistance. His findings suggest paths for further drug research

• Photos of Christopher
• Bio & Project page
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Project Title: Promoting Attraction of Apis mellifera to the Synthetic Scent of the Endangered Orchid Prosthechea cochleata Using Pavlovian Conditioning and Direct Feeding Paradigms for Conservation

Ella Pilacek, 17, of Winter Springs, Fla., researched ways to teach non-native honeybees how to pollinate
endangered native species of orchids. Ella trained the bees to be attracted to a synthetic version of the
flower’s scent, which seemed to increase attraction to the plant and might help the orchid survive

• Photos of Ella
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Project Title: ArTreeficial: A Novel AI-Integrated Solution to Reducing Invasive Spotted Lanternfly Populations

Selina Zhang, 18, of Annandale, N.J., designed and field-tested a solar-powered artificial tree that uses
A.I. to lure, identify, and kill the destructive and invasive spotted lanternfly. Her prototype cost just
under $200 to build.

• Photos of Selina
• Bio & Project page
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Project Title: Leveraging Mitochondrial DNA Mutations for Macrophage Lineage Tracing in Primary Human Tissues

Arnav N. Chakravarthy, 18, of Sunnyvale, Calif., found evidence that certain brain cells may be
replenished from our bone marrow even as we grow older. His findings may shed light on future
targeted therapies for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s.

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Project Title: On the Maximum Number of Spanning Trees in a Planar Graph With a Fixed Number of Edges: A Linear-Algebraic Connection

Alan Bu, 17, of Glenmont, N.Y., gave precise limits on how many spanning trees a planar graph can have.
His key insight was to connect the spanning tree counting problem to a separate problem in linear
algebra, a different field of math, which he could then attack.

• Photos of Alan
• Bio & Project page
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Project Title: Model Validation and Preclinical Testing of Digestive Enzymes for Gluten Breakdown: A Move to Cure Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease

Aditi Avinash found a combination of three enzymes effectively break down gluten proteins, which she believes has therapeutic potential for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. She found that combining the enzymes was more effective than giving them sequentially, both in breaking down gluten and in reducing T-cell immune response, potentially leading to new treatments for celiac disease.

• Seaborg Speech
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