[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8175-S8176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECIPIENTS OF THE 2008 DAVIDSON FELLOWS AWARD

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, it is my honor to pay tribute today to 
20 outstanding young scholars and recipients of the 2008 Davidson 
Fellows Award, a scholarship granted to exceptional students to assist 
them in pursuing higher education. The Davidson Institute for Talent 
Development distributes grants to highly gifted individuals under the 
age of 18 who have demonstrated academically rigorous projects that 
demonstrate a potential to make a significant positive contribution to 
society. Mr. President, allow me to introduce the recipients and 
elaborate on their noteworthy accomplishments.
  Akhil Mathew, a 16-year-old from Madison, NJ, proved a single filter, 
or system of weights, can decode only a finite number of rationals. 
Akhil's work is relevant to signal processing, analog-to-digital 
conversion, and representing numbers in an alternative way.
  From Gaithersburg, MD, 17-year-old Sikandar Porter-Gill developed a 
novel process to clean wastewater and produce methane for use as an 
alternative form of energy by engineering bio-catalyzed microbial fuel 
cells to degrade organic material in wastewater. Sikandar's research is 
a promising step toward pursuing a cost-effective and environmentally 
friendly energy source.
  A 17-year-old from Setuaket, NY, Christine Shrock, studied a region 
of the HIV protease, a protein crucial in the replication of HIV. She 
found that this region is a promising target for drugs to bind to 
change the shape of the protease, preventing it from performing its 
function. Christine's research is an important contribution to the 
development of a new class of drugs to reduce the number of infections 
and deaths caused by HIV.
  Philip Streich, a 17-year-old from Platteville, WI, showed that 
carbon nanotubes are thermodynamically soluble, contradicting the 
generally held assumption that they were universally insoluble. He 
designed and custom built a unique photon-counting spectrometer that is 
more sensitive and precise than any commercially available. Philip's 
work has broad applications in the field of nanotechnology engineering.
  At just 14 years old, Conrad Tao from New York, NY, has made 
classical music relevant to younger generations through his 
performances that display a vast knowledge, deep understanding, and 
mature interpretation of the repertoire. A composer, pianist, and 
violinist attending the Juilliard Pre-College Division, he has been 
featured on NPR's ``From the Top,'' performed at Carnegie Hall and has 
received five consecutive American Society of Composers, Authors and 
Publishers, ASCAP, Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.
  Michael Cherkassky from Minneapolis, MN, compared the application of 
several machine learning methods to real-life medical data sets in 
order to understand the generalization capability of the estimated 
models, advancing the current predictive diagnostic model. Michael, who 
is 16 years old, also compared the diagnostic accuracy of two 
classification methods, allowing physicians to obtain more accurate 
diagnostic conclusions while advancing patient care.
  Twelve-year-old Hilda Huang from Palo Alto, CA, has determined to 
change the way people feel about Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing on 
the harpsichord and piano, Hilda aims to bring Bach to everyone, 
especially young people who may be unfamiliar with his music. Her many 
accomplishments include performances on NPR's ``From the Top'' and at 
Carnegie Hall.
  Jasmine Miller, a 17-year-old from Nashville, TN, examined her 
generation's interactions with technology and the impact of digital 
media on our identities. Through a one-act play, creative essays, and a 
novel excerpt, Jasmine explored the uncharted minds of the current 
generation of American youth.
  At age 17, Saraswathi Shukla from Princeton, NJ, has conducted an in-
depth study of sound and music in Franz-Anton Mesmer's theory of animal 
magnetism. Combining history, music, language, and literature, she 
examined the role of music in Mesmer's therapeutic seances in the 
context of broader changes in the popular perception of sound in pre-
Revolution Paris. The importance of sound in mesmerism presents new 
ways to analyze scientific theories of this period.
  Seventeen-year-old August Siena Thomas from Montague, MA, examined 
the ways in which personal and political histories are purposefully 
reimagined and rewritten. Through a historical novel, literary 
reflection, drama, and historical interpretation, August observed the 
manner in which interpretation of history remain fluid and reflected on 
how writers have used malice, ambition, flattery, and imagination 
through the ages to shape the way history is written.
  Vijay Venkatesh, a 17-year-old from Laguna Niguel, CA, won the grand 
prize at the Los Angeles Music Spotlight Awards and the second prize at 
the Virginia Waring International Piano Solo Intermediate Competition. 
Vijay views music as a gift to move the world, serving as a common link 
to touch humanity, and believes it is his duty as a performer to assure 
the audience of the joy and love that transcend life's struggles.
  Only 12 years old from Beaverton, OR, William Yuan invented a novel 
solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet 
light, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William 
also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to 
simulate and optimize the tower parameters, providing 500 times more 
light absorption than commercially available solar cells and 9 times 
more than the cutting-edge, three-dimensional solar cell.
  At age 17, Charles Zhang from Oakland Township, MI, has researched 
and

[[Page S8176]]

developed a prototype for renewable battery power that harvests energy 
from mechanical vibrations with a larger magnitude and efficiency of AC 
voltage. His prototype can be used as a primary power source in 
wireless structural monitoring sensors for bridges, implantable medical 
devices, tire pressure monitoring systems and portable devices.
  Another 17-year-old, from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, Nathan Georgette, 
developed a mathematical model intended to reduce the costs of stopping 
viral disease outbreaks in impoverished nations. He used mathematical 
modeling to generate a formula to calculate in real time the minimum 
number of vaccines needed to stop a measles outbreak. Nathan's research 
represents a new approach to understanding the dynamic effects of 
infectious disease spread and gradual immunization.
  Seventeen-year-old Molly Hensley-Clancy from Minneapolis, MN, 
explored the primal human instinct of storytelling through the eyes and 
minds of young girls, demonstrating that geographic and linguistic 
differences do not change the universality of dreams, thoughts, and 
troubles. She believes the more we notice the commonalities that bind 
us together as human beings, rather than what sets us apart, the less 
we will be able to ignore those who are suffering among us.
  Kyle Hutzler, a 16-year-old from Huntingtown, MD, authored a 
substantial policy paper on education reform, recommending that 
successful school reform must incorporate choice, autonomy, and 
accountability, along with the empowerment of parents, students, and 
teachers. His work articulates a vision for restructuring with specific 
proposals ranging from classroom organization and curriculum, to 
funding and teacher pay.
  At 17 years old, Michael Leap from Okemos, MI, has examined the role 
of science in our society by synthesizing and applying several complex 
philosophical concepts to basic questions about science in everyday 
life. With the thesis that conventional views of science, truth, and 
nature only function from a self-referential viewpoint, he presents 
new, transversal perspectives in hopes that this critical examination 
will lead to a greater understanding of the world at large.
  Divya Nag, a 17-year-old from El Dorado Hills, CA, developed both a 
thermal analysis technique to quantify the effects of forest fires and 
a novel ratio to determine organic matter loss in on-site situations. 
By using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and x-ray 
diffraction, Divya determined soil ignition temperatures and soil 
compositions before and after burning. These techniques can be used in 
evaluating the efficacy of prescribed burning and forest management.
  Seventeen-year-old Avanthi Raghavan from Orlando, FL, studied 
mechanisms of protein transport critical to the survival and 
pathogenicity of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which 
infects human red blood cells and causes malaria. By using confocal 
microscopy, Avanthi characterized the role of the SNARE proteins 
PfSec22 and PfBet1, thus identifying potentially exploitable targets 
for the future development of parasite-specific drugs.
  Sarah Waliany, a 16-year-old from Arcadia, CA, discovered that 
expression of the gene t-Darpp can make Her-2 positive breast tumor 
cells become resistant to the drug Herceptin. Sarah demonstrated that 
t-Darpp alters a critical signaling pathway that regulates growth and 
survival in cells. Sarah's work shows that blocking the t-Darpp gene 
can eventually lead to more effective breast cancer treatment.
  Mr. President, today each of these 20 young scholars deserve our 
praise for the commitment they have demonstrated to enriching our 
understanding in the fields of music, science, literature, and 
technology. These 20 young people also deserve our admiration for their 
desire to improve the lives of individuals worldwide by addressing 
issues of practical import. Finally, these young people deserve our 
gratitude for the shining example they have set for us by the 
excellence of their work and their desire to work on the behalf of 
others. I would also like to thank the Davidson Institute for the 
support and direction they provide to this group of our country's young 
leaders. The knowledge of such dedicated and gifted young Americans 
gives me great hope and comfort for the future. Clearly, the future of 
our country rests in capable hands.

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