20 Students Named 2010 Davidson Fellows

The Davidson Institute for Talent Development announces its 2010 Davidson Fellows.

Recent studies have shown a decline in academic achievement among U.S. students. Researchers examining this data voice concern that with dwindling academic competitiveness America may no longer be considered a leading nation in innovation. The great minds of tomorrow, they accuse, will most likely come from foreign shores.

In response to this growing doubt of the academic capabilities of America’s youth, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development founded the Davidson Fellowship Program in 2000. Each year the Davidson Fellowship Program awards students who have performed above expectation and contributed significant work to their prospective fields. The program aims to reward outstanding achievement and inspire students to challenge themselves, reaching beyond what they are taught to what they can discover. It is especially important to the founders that no field is left unrepresented; the Davidson Fellowship accepts applicants in Mathematics, Science, Technology, Music, Literature, Philosophy and even ‘Outside the Box’. In exchange for their contributions, the Davidson Fellows receive scholarships, encouraging them to continue their research and help shape the future.

This year the non-profit organization awarded scholarships of $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 to twenty students under the age of eighteen. The recipients exemplify the effects of proper teaching, mentoring, familial support and profound determination. Being a Davidson Fellow is a compliment to the recipient but also a call to action. These students have proven that they are capable of producing meaningful developments and their future successes may solve many of the world’s issues.

Among this year’s Davidson Fellows are three students native to Southern California: Meredith Lehmann, Anna Kornfeld Simpson and Jonathan Li.

Meredith Lehmann, from La Jolla, received a $25,000 scholarship for her work in science. At only fourteen years of age Meredith used trip data from every single county in the continental U.S. to research the spread of epidemics. She discovered that auto travel governs simulated epidemic evolution and that both automobile and air travel data should be considered when making epidemic models and transportation network restrictions.

Anna Kornfeld Simpson was awarded a $25,000 scholarship as well, for her work in technology. A seventeen-year-old from San Diego, Anna engineered a chemical-detecting robot using porous silicon simple circuit elements to detect a change in the silicon’s color representing a response to the presence of various dangerous chemicals. Her prototype, that ‘sees’ the chemical rather than ‘smelling’ it had a 100 percent response rate and is useful to developments in security, counterterrorism, industrial toxin control and exploration of potentially hazardous locations.

Jonathan Li, a seventeen-year-old from Laguna Niguel, received a $10,000 scholarship for his contributions to mathematics. He developed a mathematical model and computer simulation that analyzes tumor growth, motility and contact inhibition (a mechanism limiting cell growth by pressurized neighboring cells). His research redefined simulated cellular structure behavior, pointing out a critical flaw in the Cellular Potts Model, and can be used to identify cancer phenotypes, potentially improving cancer treatment.

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Davidson Fellowship Program

Meet the 2010 Davidson Fellows