Benjamin Clark, a 15-year-old Penn Manor High School student, was selected Monday as the winner of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s highest science honor for high school students.
A senior at Penn Manor, Benjamin won the $100,000 grand prize in the individual category for astrophysics research that sheds new light on how stars are born.
The 12th annual awards were presented Monday morning at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
For his project, “The Close Binary Fraction: A Bayesian Analysis of SDSS M Dwarf Spectra,” Benjamin used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to look for systems with two M stars — also known as red dwarfs — orbiting each other and demonstrated that they make up 3 percent of the M dwarf star population.
“This is currently one of the big questions in astrophysics. The fact that we now know how stars are formed helps with the several theories out there,” Benjamin said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.
“The projects presented were all high-quality stuff, and I really thought that any of the students could have won. But of course it’s fantastic to be chosen as the winner,” he said.
The youngest of the competitors, Benjamin was one of 20 national finalists to present and defend research before a panel of university judges.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be the first person to figure out something we knew nothing about, to be able to answer an unsolved problem,” Benjamin said.
His mentor was Cullen Blake from the department of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University.
“Cullen Blake gave me suggestions. Then he would sit back and let me work on the project myself. That was really important because it allowed me to deal with the challenges that come up during the research process,” Benjamin said.
His mother Jill Clark, said, “This is absolutely very unexpected, but it reflects the quality of work Ben does.
“Math and physics come naturally to him for some reason, and we are excited to see him use it towards research and general knowledge.
Penn Manor math teacher Angela Stiklaitis said that nothing about Benjamin surprises her anymore.
“Ben is self-motivated and driven to succeed. The course work he is taking right now is equivalent to sophomore and junior year in college,” she said, adding, “I’ve been teaching for 32 years, and he truly is a once-in-a-career student.”
Benjamin is a National Merit semifinalist, Model United Nations head delegate and a member of the National Honor Society. He also is active in the Boy Scouts of America.
He plans to major in physics or astrophysics.
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/321699#ixzz17Pncxec7
Benjamin Clark, a 15-year-old Penn Manor High School student, was selected Monday as the winner of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s highest science honor for high school students.A senior at Penn Manor, Benjamin won the $100,000 grand prize in the individual category for astrophysics research that sheds new light on how stars are born.The 12th annual awards were presented Monday morning at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.For his project, “The Close Binary Fraction: A Bayesian Analysis of SDSS M Dwarf Spectra,” Benjamin used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to look for systems with two M stars — also known as red dwarfs — orbiting each other and demonstrated that they make up 3 percent of the M dwarf star population.”This is currently one of the big questions in astrophysics. The fact that we now know how stars are formed helps with the several theories out there,” Benjamin said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.”The projects presented were all high-quality stuff, and I really thought that any of the students could have won. But of course it’s fantastic to be chosen as the winner,” he said.The youngest of the competitors, Benjamin was one of 20 national finalists to present and defend research before a panel of university judges.”It’s an amazing feeling to be the first person to figure out something we knew nothing about, to be able to answer an unsolved problem,” Benjamin said.His mentor was Cullen Blake from the department of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University.”Cullen Blake gave me suggestions. Then he would sit back and let me work on the project myself. That was really important because it allowed me to deal with the challenges that come up during the research process,” Benjamin said.His mother Jill Clark, said, “This is absolutely very unexpected, but it reflects the quality of work Ben does.”Math and physics come naturally to him for some reason, and we are excited to see him use it towards research and general knowledge.Penn Manor math teacher Angela Stiklaitis said that nothing about Benjamin surprises her anymore.”Ben is self-motivated and driven to succeed. The course work he is taking right now is equivalent to sophomore and junior year in college,” she said, adding, “I’ve been teaching for 32 years, and he truly is a once-in-a-career student.”Benjamin is a National Merit semifinalist, Model United Nations head delegate and a member of the National Honor Society. He also is active in the Boy Scouts of America.He plans to major in physics or astrophysics.
Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/321699#ixzz17Pncxec7
