Talented Youth Embrace Challenge to Excel

18 Students Named 2011 Davidson Fellows and Receive $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 Scholarships

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Producing highly-qualified professionals, including scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs is critical to maintaining economic productivity in the United States. Public discourse on our nation's competitiveness tends to focus on the needs of low-performing students. As important to our country's future success are the most capable of students, who are reaching high levels of academic excellence and deserve support.

Among these high achievers, 18 bright young people named as 2011 Davidson Fellows exemplify the extraordinary work that can be accomplished by U.S. students who are given opportunities to excel.  

The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program has provided nearly $4.5 million in scholarship funds to 184 Fellows since its inception. Earlier this year, the program was named one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by U.S. News & World Report.

From working with a natural dietary supplement to test its effectiveness in treating cardiovascular diseases, to creating a method for emotion detection by computers, and developing an algorithm that automates the diagnosis of bladder cancer, the accomplishments of the 2011 Davidson Fellows, who range in age from 14 to 17, are a testament to effective teaching and mentoring, supportive families and individual determination.

Based on their achievements in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, music and literature, these 18 students will receive $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national non-profit organization headquartered in Reno, Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.

"The Davidson Institute is built on the belief that individuals, who have extraordinary intelligence and talents, when encouraged and supported, can improve the quality of life for us all," said Bob Davidson, co-founder of the Davidson Institute. "We are delighted to recognize this group of resourceful and distinguished young people for their fascinating projects – projects that have the potential to benefit society."

The 2011 Davidson Fellows have accomplished important work in a variety of areas, such as:

• Creating an economically efficient and functional humanoid robot;
• Examining the progression of musical performance preparation;
• Designing a seismo-acoustic method for detecting landmines;
• Establishing the first nontrivial analytic lower bounds for odd perfect numbers; and,
• Developing a predictive model to detect adolescent depression.

"Davidson Fellows, who are on the cutting edge of science, mathematics and technology, and at the forefront of music and literature, demonstrate the potential of America's next generation of innovative leaders," said Jan Davidson, Ph.D., co-founder of the Davidson Institute. "We applaud the tenacity of these gifted youth who embrace the challenge to succeed."

Founded by Bob and Jan Davidson in 1999, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development recognizes, nurtures and supports profoundly intelligent young people, and provides opportunities for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference. The Institute offers support through a number of programs and services, including the Davidson Fellows program and The Davidson Academy. For more information about the 2011 Davidson Fellows, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows.  

2011 Davidson Fellow Laureate
$50,000 Scholarship

• Miss Simone Porter, 14, Seattle, Wash.; Music

2011 Davidson Fellows
$25,000 Scholarships

• Mr. Arjun Aggarwal, 16, Columbia, S.C.; Technology
• Mr. Matthew Bauerle, 16, Fenton, Mich.; Mathematics
• Miss Marian Bechtel, 16, Lancaster, Pa.; Science
• Mr. Benjamin Clark, 15, Lancaster, Pa.; Science
• Mr. Siddhartha Jena, 17, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Science
• Miss Arianna Korting, 16, Gates Mills, Ohio; Music
• Mr. Caleb Kumar, 15, Blaine, Minn.; Science
• Mr. Sunil Pai, 17, Houston, Texas; Science
• Miss Lucy Wang, 17, Garnet Valley, Pa.; Science
  

$10,000 Scholarships

• Miss Cheenar Banerjee, 16, Rochester, Minn.; Technology
• Miss Rebecca Chen, 16, Carmel, Ind.; Mathematics
• Mr. Jayanth Krishnan, 17, Mahopac, N.Y.; Science
• Miss Bonnie Nortz, 17, Fairport, N.Y.; Literature
• Mr. Anirudh Prabhu, 16, West Lafayette, Ind.; Mathematics
• Miss Shalini Ramanan, 17, Richland, Wash.; Science
• Mr. Raja Selvakumar, 15, Alpharetta, Ga.; Science
• Mr. Reylon Yount, 16, San Francisco, Calif.; Music

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Bob and Jan Davidson - http://www.profnetconnect.com/bob_and_jan_davidson

SOURCE Davidson Institute for Talent Development