INDIANAPOLIS - Carmel High School student Sreya Vemuri was named a finalist by the Intel Corporation and the Society for Science & the Public. Vemuri has completed theoretical physics research with Yogesh Joglekar, associate professor of physics for the School of Science at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis.
"Sreya has been a phenomenal high-school student, carrying out research at a level that is more typical of a senior undergraduate or graduate student in theoretical physics," Joglekar said.
In addition to research with Joglekar, Vemuri participated in the 2014 High School Summer Research Program in physics, sponsored by the Scientech Foundation.
Vemuri will have the opportunity to present her research - Effect of Time-Dependent Gain and Loss in a PT-Symmetric Optical Waveguide Array - in Washington D.C.
As a finalist, Vemuri receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. from March 10-16 to compete for more than $1 million in awards provided by the Intel Foundation, including three first-place Medal of Distinction awards of $150,000. Finalists receive at least $7,500 for being selected as part of this prestigious group.
The Intel STS encourages students to tackle challenging scientific questions and create technologies and solutions that will positively impact people's lives. The 40 finalists were selected from 300 semifinalists and 1,750 entrants based on the originality and creativity of their scientific research, as well as their achievement and leadership both inside and outside the classroom.
In the past, young innovators chosen to participate in the STS have gone on to receive more than 100 of the world's most prestigious honors including 12 Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, 11 National Medals of Science, 18 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and even an Academy Award for Best Actress.