TAMS students are semifinalists in national science competition

Three Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science students have been selected as semifinalists in the 2004 Intel Science Talent Search.

TAMS is a two-year residential program at UNT that allows talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while earning their high school diplomas. Students enroll in the academy following their sophomore year in high school, live in a UNT residence hall and attend UNT classes with college students. After two years, they enroll at UNT or another university to finish their bachelor's degrees.

The three TAMS students — Kuei-Han "Joe" Chen, Shaheen Shawn Ranjbaran and Anita Shankar — are among 13 Texas students named as semifinalists in this year's Intel Competition.

The Intel Science Talent Search is the nation's premier program to recognize high school student research in science, mathematics and engineering. Past honorees of the 62-year-old program later received Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science, MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and other prestigious science and math awards.

Nationwide, 300 Intel semifinalists were selected from more than 1,600 applicants. TAMS has produced 30 semifinalists for this honor since 1993.

Richard Sinclair, TAMS dean, says having three semifinalists this year "is strong evidence of the continuing excellence of the academy students and our research program."

"We are very proud of our contribution to the national goal of directing more students into scientific careers," he says.

All Intel semifinalists receive $1,000. Each semifinalist's school also receives $1,000.

Chen, the son of Tse-Hsien Chen and Mei-Pin Yin, attended Cypress Fairbanks High School before entering TAMS in August 2002. For his project, he worked in the laboratory of Oliver Chyan, UNT associate professor of chemistry. He focused on placing a thin film of copper on iridium metal substrates used in microchips in integrated circuits. The iridium layer prevents intermixing of copper with silicon devices, thus possibly preventing impurities in microchips that lead to problems in integrated circuits, he says.

Ranjbaran, the son of Marzi and Jamshid Ranjbaran, attended the North Hills School in Irving before entering TAMS in August 2002. For his research, he worked in the laboratory of Witold Brostow, UNT Regents Professor of materials science and engineering. He tested the compositions of different polymeric materials that are used in manufacturing industries, studying the ways that the materials react to different levels of stress that occur in the environment and industry, such as scratches. He also tested the characteristics of polymers that he designed through computer simulations.

Shankar, the daughter of Shankar and Jaya Ananthakrishna, attended Clear Lake High School before entering TAMS in August 2002. She conducted her research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston last summer. She studied osteopenia, or low bone density, in astronauts. After culturing bone cells, she discovered that the bone loss in astronauts may be caused by altered proteins occurring during microgravity conditions such as those in space.

All three students were previously honored for their research projects in the 2003 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology, which was established in 1999 and is funded by the Siemens Foundation. Chen was one of five students named a regional finalist, while Ranjbaran and Shankar were among 26 regional semifinalists.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

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• Cleanup continues at Clark Hall following small fire
• Spring brings Texas severe weather season
• Regents approve honorary degree, authorize new athletic center completion
• Staff awards presented at sack lunch
• April brings University, Alumni Appreciation, Honors days
• UNT student is a Truman Scholarship finalist
• Faculty Senate hears provost's academic plan for future of UNT
• Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing earns three national awards

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