High school junior is Google Science Fair regional finalist

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W.T. Clarke High School junior Daniel Wang is a regional finalist in the 2012 Google Science Fair, an international competition. Out of the thousands of applicants from more than 100 countries, Wang’s project was chosen as one of the top 90 in the world and top 30 in his region, which includes North and South America.

“Science has been my thing,” said 17-year-old Wang. “I’ve loved it since middle school.” Exploring his passion for research and interest in computational biology, Wang studied last summer at Stony Brook University under the direction of Associate Professor Carlos Simmerling where he independently researched how and why proteins fold, which causes fatal diseases like cancer and AIDS. “If we can understand how they fold, maybe we can understand how they misfold,” said Wang. This discovery could lead to groundbreaking innovative treatments.

Wang said that living and studying on the college campus was a fun, valuable experience, but added that research is frustrating. “There’s nowhere for you to look up the answer. A big part of it was just trying to figure out how to work it out on your own,” he said, and recently his resilience was rewarded.

In January, Wang saw an advertisement for the international science fair on the Google homepage and decided to apply. After filming himself in the kitchen discussing his project, Wang followed prompts to develop his own Google web page that judges would later access. Finally, Wang learned on May 21 that he was a regional finalist.

When asked if waiting made him nervous, Wang said, “I wasn’t really because I wasn’t expecting it at all.” He added that he is excited now and hopes to be named one of the 15 finalists who will earn a free trip to Mountain View, California to tour Google headquarters. “That would be amazing.”

Wang joined science research in seventh grade but recalls questioning why things work since childhood. Currently taking AP Physics, Wang is unsure which sciences he will study in college, but says he has always had an affinity for NASA and is considering a focus in aerospace engineering.

Wang will return to Stony Brook University this summer as a Simons Summer Research Fellow.

In addition to excelling in science, Wang is also a talented violinist who was one of 300 students selected to perform on June 24 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with the National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Symphony Orchestra.

Check out Daniel Wang’s Google Science Fair video at http://bit.ly/MzgE5B.