Feng, Liu, Kim Make The Grade
Printer-friendly versionCan stereotype threats be manipulated? Does Facebook prevent Alzheimer’s? Can emotional models improve human robot interactions? These inquiries were asked and investigated by juniors Emily Feng, Joanie Kim and Jenny Liu as part of their participation in Amity’s Science Research Program (SRP), earning them much success and broad recognition.
Kim’s study on the affects that social networking websites have on senior citizens was chosen out of 600 other projects to be one of the twelve featured at the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition in Washington, D.C. YES is a scholarship program that encourages youth to explore and find ways to eradicate public health issues. As a national semi-finalist, Kim won a $15,000 scholarship to the university of her choice, as well as the honor of being the first SRP participant to receive national attention.
During an interview with Fox News, Kim explained that she wants to rescue others from having to endure the emotional pain that comes along with her grandmother’s inability to recognize her due to Alzheimer’s.
Feng was inspired by her interest in psychology to study the stereotype threat and if it could be manipulated. “I feel this is my best project in terms of science,” she stated, which was echoed by judges at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium Competition. Both she and Liu were two of the top five regional finalists and stayed in Maryland for the National Symposium until May 2nd. As the top regional finalist, Liu presented her findings about the relationship between emotional models and human-robots.
NBC Connecticut was eager to commend Amity as the school with the most special award winners statewide. These three summarized their studies in a segment appropriately titled “Making the Grade” on April 22nd. Kim mentioned that she enjoyed the experience because she felt NBC proved to the public that science is not always conducted cooped up in a laboratory.
Kim, Liu and Feng all set a high bar for prospective SRP students and are confident about the program’s future. “Before I felt when others would achieve, I thought it was a milestone away…its not just the rich kids who make it, everyone has a chance if they work hard,” said Kim. Feng also pointed out that “student feedback is good, but this is solid evidence of SRP’s capabilities.”
