Several Harker students traveled to the California State Science Fair in Los Angeles from May 18-19, where they showcased the projects they had displayed earlier this year at the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship. In the senior division, recent graduate Neil Movva won an honorable mention in the electronics and electromagnetics category. In the junior division, grade 6 student Srinath Somasundaram took second place in applied mechanics and structures, while Alexander Young, grade 8, took fourth place in microbiology (medical). Congratulations to these hard-working science lovers!
The American Scholastic Mathematics Association recently published the results of its annual mathematics contest, and Harker earned first place in the senior division (grades 9-12) and first place with special merit in the junior/intermediate division (grades 7-9). The contest is done by mail during the fall semester. Each participating school receives packages of question sets, which are opened on designated dates over a period of months. Students have 35 minutes to answer each question. Answers are scored once the last examination is administered. Schools from all around the world participated, including China, Czech Republic, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kenya, Kuwait, Indonesia, Austria and Poland.
Shrish Dwivedi ’15 finished the golf season, and his career at Harker, with a great round, tying for second place – and missing first place by one stroke – at the California Interscholastic Federation State Golf Championships, yesterday!
Dan Molin, upper school athletic director, added another exciting accolade. “Shrish has gone further than any Harker athlete in any individual sport,” he noted, putting him solidly in Harker record books..
Dwivedi shot a 2-under-par 69 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, finishing with a birdie. He shot birdies at holes 7, 9, 10, 16 and 18, according to the San Jose Mercury News report.
Dwivedi qualified in May for the NorCal Championships after shooting a 69 to finish one shot off the lead at third, then tied for sixth place at the Northern California Championship at Corral De Tierra Country Club in Salinas to qualify for state. Dwivedi not only is the first Harker male golfer to compete at NorCals, he’s also the first Harker golfer ever to qualify for the state tournament.
“We are all very proud of Shrish and his accomplishments this post season,” said Ie-Chen Cheng, Harker golf coach. “Since his freshman year, Shrish has always been a true student of the game, studying all aspects. His attention to detail, from his preparation leading up to match day, and his on course management is what separates him from others. He studies the course meticulously, then goes and practices the shots he needs to succeed. Over time, as he finetuned his swing, he had to learn how to play with the swing he has that day and grind out the round, whether or not his swing is working for him or not. That is one thing that younger players needs to learn: is to learn how to play with what you have that day and make the best of it.
“This year, we demanded a lot from Shrish in terms of being the team captain. Having him show the underclassmen what it takes to succeed allowed him to lead by example. He shared what worked and what didn’t for him so that others can learn. I think having Shrish lead the charge in the past couple years has allowed him to grow into the all-around golfer that he is today. Shrish had to learn that it’s not just about being concerned with his own game, but to show his teammates why it is more important to make others around him better.”
“He is truly playing at an elite level,” said Molin. “Please congratulate him on an outstanding year and Harker career as he continues to play golf at Duke University next year!”
As part of this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and university scholarships dating back to 1955, about 7,600 high school students are expected to win National Merit Scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $34 million. The awards are granted on the basis of academic standing; standardized test scores; community service, including relevant extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions; recommendations by school officials; and student essays.
Among those in line to receive one-time $2,500 National Merit Scholarships are Harker’s own Jason Chu (astrophysics), Rahul Jayaraman (astrophysics), Andrew Jin (computer science), Cindy Liu (bioengineering), Suzy Lou (mathematics), Nitya Mani (mathematics), Ayush Midha (medicine), Vivek Sriram (bioinformatics), Helen Wu (neuroscience), Menghua Wu (computer science) and Samyukta Yagati (computer science). Meanwhile, Sachin Peddada (medicine) received an annual corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship courtesy of Siemens Corp. (these awards range from $500-$10,000, with amount to be determined). Allen Huang (biomedical engineering) and Juhi Muthal (business) were granted annual college-sponsored Merit Scholarships from the University of Southern California and the University of Chicago, respectively (these awards range from $500-$2,000, with amount to be determined).
Business Insider’s list of the year’s 20 most impressive high school graduates is hot off the press – and it includes four Harker alums.
In the case of our recent grads, their continued academic success – resulting in acceptances to some of the nation’s top research universities – is matched only by their commitment to furthering the future of health care. With a deeply ingrained foundation of community service, civic engagement and social justice, the high-flying foursome is giving back in a big way.
A freshman-year battle with hypothyroidism and a passion for mitigating global health inequalities led National High School Journal of Science peer reviewer Samantha Madala to establish the Healthy Scholars Foundation, a nonprofit that removes health-related barriers to education around the world through screening, treatment, awareness and research. Since its founding in 2013, Healthy Scholars has received a $250,000 multiyear grant from The Hans Foundation, raised more than $200,000 and provided free health screenings to nearly 10,000 schoolchildren in India.
Accepted into the University of California San Diego Medical Scholars Program for a combined B.S./M.D., Madala’s professional experience includes internships in neurobiology, immunology and health policy at Stanford University’s School of Medicine as well as the co-authoring of an abstract for the world-renowned Endocrine Society. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the recipient of Harker’s Love of Learning Award and Mission of the School Award.
Harvard University-bound (computer science and biology) Andrew Jin created a machine-learning algorithm that could help researchers better understand human evolution and potentially develop new gene therapies, vaccines and treatments for disorders like schizophrenia, earning him the first place Medal of Distinction for Global Good and a cash prize of $150,000 at the Intel Science Talent Search 2015, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science and math competition and a program of Society for Science & the Public.
No newcomer to the awards circuit, Jin previously won second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world, and third place in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the flagship initiative of the Siemens Foundation. He has secured a summer machine-learning internship at Facebook, based in Menlo Park, where he will assist the online social networking service’s search team.
Like Jin, Rohith Kuditipudi was named a finalist at this year’s Intel Science Talent Search based on his scientific research and overall potential as a future leader of the scientific community. His project, “Network-Based Integration of High-Throughput Gene Expression and Methylation Data Reveals New Insights into NAFLD Progression,” involved collaborating with researchers at the University of California San Diego to examine the evolution of fatty liver disease and analyze valuable data linking the disease to more serious afflictions such as liver cancer. He was also recognized among the top 10 competitors in both the Harvard Pre-Collegiate Economics Challenge and the Stanford Math Tournament.
Kuditipudi co-founded the India Literacy Project and volunteers at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, where he tutors underprivileged children in math. This fall, he will enter Duke University as one of just 15 Angier B. Duke Scholars, studying a combination of his three favorite disciplines: mathematics, economics and computer science.
Yale University-bound (pre-med) Daniela Lee and her 2014 Google Science Fair project partner, Sadhika Malladi, grade 11, developed a noninvasive imaging system for predicting test results in triple-negative breast cancer patients, leading to their standing as one of the top 15 global finalists representing the United States, Australia, Canada, England, France, India, Ireland, Russia and Ukraine.
A research intern at Stanford University’s School of Medicine for the past two years, Lee presented additional findings that could help to decrease treatment time and increase patient comfort at the 2014 Focused Ultrasound Symposium, where she was recognized by Vice President Joe Biden as the only high school student speaker.
Business Insider editors solicited nominees for this list via a post and sought out notable students for consideration via news searches, said Melissa Stanger, associate editor of lists for Business Insider. “We were also surprised by the incredible range of talent at The Harker School,” Stanger said. “I think this is the first year we’ve had more than two high school graduates from the same school appear on our list!” Stanger noted those listed were “chosen for their above-average accomplishments in a number of fields,” and in finalizing the list, they strove to diversify the selections to include those “doing impressive things in science, the arts, philanthropy, tech, etc.”
Sixth grader Srinath Somasundaram came in third place in the inaugural Zeidman Awards for his engineering research project titled “A Novel Design and Evaluation of an Air Cushioning Mechanism for Helmets to Minimize Impact Acceleration on the Head.”
The awards were created to recognize students for their advanced knowledge and outstanding achievement in the fields of electrical engineering and computer science. Engineer-scientist-entrepreneur Bob Zeidman, president and founder of Zeidman Consulting, a contract research and development firm based in Cupertino, presented six Bay Area middle school students with the awards during the Santa Clara Valley Science & Engineering Fair Association’s Synopsys Science & Technology Championship at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
The competition was stiff, with students from middle schools throughout the region presenting original solutions designed to address serious issues, including Alzheimer’s disease, autism, diabetes and visual impairment.Awards included cash prizes and signed copies of Zeidman’s latest book “Just Enough Electronics to Impress Your Friends and Colleagues,” based on his popular seminar “Electrical Engineering for Non-Electrical Engineers.” Hurrah to Srinath!
Sports are winding down, but they are not quite over!
Freshman Vivian Wang placed eighth in the 200-yard individual medley at the State Swimming Championship in Fresno Saturday with a time of 2:03.31. She also placed 16th in the 100yd freestyle. Please congratulate Vivian on her outstanding performance and record-setting season!
Sophomore Niki Iyer is the No. 2 seed in the 3200m run going into the CCS track finals this Friday night at San Jose City College. Iyer won her preliminary heat with a time of 10:52.83. Go watch her run this Friday!! Admission is $8 for adults, $4 students. Good luck Niki!!
Golf Breaking news: Senior golfer and Duke-bound Shrish Dwivedi, who qualified for the NorCal Championships after shooting a 69 to finish one shot off the lead at third, yesterday tied for sixth place at the Northern California Championship at Corral De Tierra Country Club in Salinas. Dwivedi came in one stroke off the lead, shooting a one-under par 71. Dwivedi not only is the first Harker male golfer to compete at NorCals, he’s also the first Harker golfer ever to qualify for the state tournament, to be held June 3 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach. He is truly playing at an elite level. Please congratulate him and wish him well on June 3.
The Eagles finished seventh overall in all of CCS and remain among the section’s elite. Congratulations to Harker on a successful league championship season!
Swimming Freshman Vivian Wang placed first in the 200 IM, breaking a Harker school record to earn Harker’s fourth-ever CCS Individual Championship! Wang also broke an Eagles record in the 100m freestyle, where she placed third, and will be moving onto state competition for both events this weekend. The girls varsity 200m freestyle relay team, which includes Wang, freshman Taylor Kohlmann, junior Grace Guan, and junior Angela Huang, finished 14th overall. Huang also placed eighth in the 50m freestyle. Overall, the swim team took 14 swimmers and one diver to CCS this past weekend, including Kohlmann, Guan, Wang, Huang, seniors Delaney Martin, Jackelyn Shen, Aaron Huang, Craig Neubieser and Stacey Chao, juniors Karen Tu and Sandhana Kannan, and sophomores Michael Auld, Jack Farnham and Justin Culpepper.
Track and Field Sophomore Niki Iyer will compete in the CCS track trials this Saturday after placing second in the 1600m and setting a new meet record to win the 3200m. Iyer now ranks fourth in the entire section in the 3200m, and will concentrate exclusively on that race as she prepares for CCS trials at San Jose City College.
The junior varsity girls 400m relay team set a Harker record. With freshmen Grace Koonmen, Gloria Guo and Aria Coalson leading the way, the future looks bright for the Eagles. Koonmen, Guo and Coalson also finished first, second and fourth, respectively, in the junior varsity 200m. Individually, Guo also won the 800m, while Koonmen won the 400m and Coalson placed fourth in the 100m. Overall, the junior varsity girls team placed fourth out of 11 league teams.
For the boys, senior Allen Huang, freshman Anthony Contreras, sophomore Lucas Wang and junior Calvin Kocienda led the varsity 400m relay team to a season-best mark and a third-place finish. Junior Arthur Ye, meanwhile, placed fifth in the shot put while improving over his previous best by more than one foot. Sophomore Davis Dunaway, who has dominated the junior varsity division for two years, completed his reign by winning the pole vault and the 65m hurdles, one week after winning the league triple jump and placing second in the junior varsity long jump.
Congrats to 15 Harker seniors who were named 2015 U.S. Presidential Scholars Competition candidates and one who was named a semifinalist.
About 4,300 candidates were winnowed from the pool of 3.3 million high school students, about a 10th of 1 percent of the pool. Harker’s candidates were William Bloomquist, Jason Chu, Vivek Sriram, Juhi Gupta, Savi Joshi, Kevin Zhang, Pranav Reddy, Apoorva Rangan, Patrick Lin, Richard Gu, Neil Movva, Simran Singh, Nitya Mani, Helen Wu and Menghua Wu. Joshi was then named a semifinalist – one of only 565 nationwide. Congrats to all for this wonderful recognition! For more, go to: http://www.ed.gov/psp.
Harker alumni include four Presidential Scholars. Katie Siegle ’12 was the first Harker female honored for academic achievement. Samantha Fang ’06 was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2006; Senan Ebrahim ’08 was named a Presidential Scholar in 2008; and Daniel Kim ’09 was named a Presidential Scholar in 2009.
Harker is sending two veterans to the USA Computing Olympiad summer training camp. Lawrence Li, grade 11, and David Zhu, grade 10, are among 24 selected nationwide to attend the camp. Li attended the camp in 2013 and Zhu in 2014.
Selected for their outstanding performance on USACO contests throughout the 2014-15 season, Li and Zhu will be challenged by advanced instructional material provided by the USACO staff. The training camp will run from May 20-30. Participants will be competing for four spots on the final team that will represent the USA at the 2015 International Olympiad in Informatics in Kazakhstan. Here is full list of those selected to attend the camp.
Heartiest congratulations to Lawrence and David! Good luck at the camp!