UNT TAMS students recognized in Siemens Competition

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 19:48

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Two students from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas were named regional finalists in the 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Regional finalists each win $1,000 scholarships.

Eighteen TAMS students were also named semifinalists. The academy has more 2013 semifinalists than any other school in the United States.

The Siemens Competition is the nation’s leading original research competition in math, science and technology for high school students.

TAMS students Stacy Ho of Plano and William Ou of Plano are 2013 regional finalists.

For her research project, Ho studied artificial photosynthesis, a process which uses solar energy to produce hydrogen fuel from water. She created a photo sensitizer, or light-harvesting complex, that increased the efficiency of the process. By producing clean fuel without generating any harmful by-products, artificial photosynthesis can also help to create a cleaner environment.  

Ou’s research investigated metal catalysts that can be used to convert organic compounds into hydrogen gas. Current methods for producing hydrogen gas are fairly ineffective and are energy intensive. Discovering metal catalysts that can improve the process of creating hydrogen gas will be useful in several industries, including crude oil processing.

 

Semifinalists from the academy include:

  • Hans Ajiren of Houston
  • Benjamin Chi of Lewisville
  • Justin Du of Plano
  • Leon Gu of Frisco
  • Jaicheng Jason He of Plano
  • Valerie Huynh of McKinney
  • Sunand Iyer of Plano
  • Helen Lu of Sugar Land
  • Danyang Shan of Katy
  • Kevin Shen of Plano
  • Bobby Wang of Plano
  • Huilin Yang of Plano
  • Cindy Yu of Frisco
  • Thomas Yu of Plano
  • Franklin Zhang of Plano
  • Kalpana Satish of Plano
  • James Ye of Plano

About TAMS

TAMS is a two-year residential program at UNT that allows exceptionally talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while receiving the equivalent of high school diplomas. Students enroll in the academy following their sophomore year of 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.

Editor’s note: Individual high-res headshots of each student are available from the UNT Image Gallery. Click here to download Ho’s headshot. Click here to download Ou’s headshot.

 

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