Education

Milwaukee-Area High School Student Finalist for Regeneron Science Talent Search

MILWAUKEE COURIER — The Regeneron Science Talent Search was founded by the Society for Science & The Public.

Published

5 years ago

February 17, 2019

By Ethan Duran

On January 23, 17-year-old Aayush Karan was named as one of the top 40 finalists for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a nationwide math and science competition for high school seniors. Karan will attend the final Talent Search competition in Washington DC this March, where his research and work will be scrutinized by PhD scientists and engineers. On top of winning $25,000 and exploring internship opportunities, Karan will be able to compete with other high school seniors for $1.8 million in prizes.

The Regeneron Science Talent Search was founded by the Society for Science & The Public and is known as the oldest science competition in the United States for high school students. According to a press release from the Society, the Talent Search selected 300 scholars out of almost 2,000 students from across and outside the country. At the DC ceremony in March, the finalists will get to meet industry experts, members of Congress and show their projects to the National Geographic Society.

As a student at the University School of Milwaukee, Karan said, “It is super exciting to have my research recognized by a super prestigious program.” He said his parents are excited as well.

Karan’s 22-page research paper revisited a problem on knot theory from 30 years ago under a new lens.

“Generating Set for Nonzero Determinant Links Under Skein Relation” took a 30-year-old topology problem and used algebra to solve the problem mathematically. Knot theory can be applied to practical problems, like observing DNA structures. The theory also heavily uses geometry, which is Karan’s favorite subject.

When he applied to PRIMES, an MIT after-school research program for high school students, Karan included that he wanted to do a high-level project on geometry. “I like challenging problems,” he said. “I like problems that challenge my way of thinking,”

The PRIMES-USA program is a free, year-long research section for high school students across the country. Jianfeng Lin, Karan’s mentor, has worked as a C.L.E. Moore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2016. Lin said that his area of interest in mathematics is topology, and that Karan was also interested in topology when he was admitted into the program. Naturally, the two became mentor and mentee.

Lin also mentioned that the program is very selective, and that a small number of candidates with advanced backgrounds are selected for PRIMES.

This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Courier.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

City of Detroit launches Saturdays in the D to provide free enrichment classes for Detroit youth

Don't Miss

Milwaukee Health Department Plans to Address Tobacco Disparities

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Community

Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

16 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

Published

26 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”. His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant. One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.” He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Emiliano Zapata Street Academy Celebrates 40 Years Serving Oakland Families

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Published

37 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Live music was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, on April 27, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue and 29th Street. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50^th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Attending the Saturday, April 27 celebration were current and past students, families, faculty, and supporters of the school. The school is located at 417 29^th St., and the celebration was held nearby at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

For more information, go to www.streetacademy.online or call 510) 874-3630 or (510) 879-2313.