Two Of The Nation's Ten Intel Winners Hail From IMSA
For Immediate Release, March 2005
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AURORA—Two students from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) are among the top 10 winners in the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) Competition. Often considered the “junior Nobel Prize,” the Intel STS recognizes the most accomplished students and their schools for excellence in science and math.
IMSA senior Timothy Frank Credo of Highland Park took second place in the competition and won a $75,000 scholarship for his research project, Picosecond Time-of-Flight Measurement for Colliders Using Cherenkov Light. Credo’s work is focused in the field of engineering and involves the design of a more precise method to measure the speed of charged particles. His research proposes a new time-of-flight (TOF) system.
“The current standard for accuracy in time-of-flight measurement is around 100 picoseconds,” Credo said. “I worked on developing and simulating a new (particle) detector capable of 1 picosecond accuracy. This would allow particle identification at much higher momentum, allowing a collider to make more accurate measurements and better investigate the fundamental questions in physics.”
Credo conducted his IMSA mentorship project under the guidance of mentor Dr. Henry Frisch, professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago.
IMSA senior Lyra Creamer Haas of Wheaton placed sixth in the competition and won a $25,000 scholarship for her research project, Using Textiles to Date Sites in the Norte Chico, Peru.
Haas’ work is focused in the field of behavioral and social sciences and seeks to discover a way to determine the inhabitation dates of preceramic sites (3000-1800 B.C.) without using radiocarbon dating techniques. By analyzing fabric swatches found in the area, Haas developed a way to categorize them and create a checklist that allows researchers to identify sites with possible preceramic occupations in the region.
“For years, archaeologists have used characteristics of ceramics as a means to find approximate dates for previously unknown sites,” Haas said. “However, one problem with finding sites from the time period concerned is the lack of ceramics, as evidenced by its name ‘the preceramic,’” Haas added. “My project therefore, worked toward the creation of a checklist of textile characteristics which could be used in place of ceramics to determine a tentative date for surveyed sites.”
Haas conducted her IMSA mentorship project under the guidance of her mentors and parents, Dr. Jonathan Haas, curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and Dr. Winifred Creamer, a professor of archaeology at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
Credo, Haas and IMSA senior Abhi Gulati of Bloomington were among 40 finalists from throughout the nation and several other countries named in the 64th Intel Science Talent Search. The students competed for more than $530,000 in scholarships in America’s oldest pre-college science competition for high school seniors. All three IMSA students developed their research projects in IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research Program.
In addition, three other IMSA students were named semifinalists in the competition including Rohan Shailesh Bhobe of Woodridge, Vijay Govind-Thomas of Schaumburg and Andrew Keller of Lindenhurst.
IMSA Principal Eric McLaren said that since the Academy opened in 1986, many students have been named semifinalists or finalists in the Intel Competition (formerly Westinghouse).
“We are fortunate that IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research Program supports the kinds of minds that are valued and recognized by Intel—students who are highly skilled and integrative problem finders, problem solvers and apprentice investigators,” McLaren said. “These students are already making significant contributions to their respective fields, which may someday lead to discoveries that will impact all of humankind.”
Mentorship, a part of IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research Program, provides a variety of learning experiences for students to conduct research on-site with mentors, scholars and researchers throughout the Chicagoland area in their field of interest. Mentorship sites have included Northwestern University Medical School, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago Medical Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Molex, Inc., Hines VA Hospital and others.
In Intel, students were judged on their individual research ability, scientific originality and creative thinking. All Intel STS entries were reviewed and judged by top scientists from a variety of disciplines.
“These finalists reflect the best accomplishments of solid, project-based, curiosity-driven education,” said Intel CEO Craig Barrett. “Like many STS finalists before them, this group will be responsible for future discoveries that address critical needs while helping to keep America at the center of innovation,” Barrett said.
Participation in the STS has often served as a precursor to impressive accomplishments in science. Past STS finalists hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors including six Nobel Prizes, three National Medals of Science, 10 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and two Fields Medals.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State of Illinois to develop talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. Nearly 18,000 teachers and 34,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from The Center@IMSA program of professional development and student enrichment. Located in Aurora in the high-tech corridor west of Chicago, IMSA® serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy counsel, action research, and the leadership and achievements of its graduates.