The World Is Our Campus Volume 63, Issue 8
Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA
March 2016
George Hou: Intel Finalist
In this issue:
Graphic courtesy of INSIDETHEGAMES.BIZ
NEWS pg. 2 L.A. Olympic Bid: The Olympic Bid Committee has already begun scouting locations for the 2020 Games.
Photo courtesy of EPOCHTIMES.COM
AN OUTSTANDING RESEARCHER Senior George Hou placed as a finalist for the highly prestigious Intel Science
Talent Search competition.
By CINDY TSE & MAGGIE WONG Staff Writers
Graphic by ELYSE YAO
OPINION pg. 5 Age Redefined: We often measure age by days, weeks, and years, but how do we measure mental maturity?
Photo by DYLAN SHEN
PERFORMING ARTS pg. 9 Thoroughly Modern Millie: ADD’s spring production premiered Mar. 17 to 19 at the PAC. Here’s a recap of the musical. Have a question, comment, or concern about The Apache Pow Wow? Email the Editors-in-Chief at eic.powwow@gmail.com. Find us online at theapachepowwow.com.
2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a competition involving the nation’s most promising budding scientists. Contestants are to create and submit an original research project, which is to be judged by prestigious scientists from varying divisions. A public exhibition of the projects was held on Mar. 13, and the winners were announced Mar. 16. Among the 40 finalists was a student at AHS, senior George Hou. His project, titled “Separating Mixed Signals in Noise-Polluted Environments Using Global Optimization”, involved the mathematics of signal processing and how to use them to filter specific sounds out of the background. The idea for this project began close to home. George’s grandfather had lost his hearing and had to wear a hearing aid full time. However, the device wasn’t very effective, as turning it up would also amplify the background noise. At one point, his grandfather stopped wearing it completely and George suddenly wasn’t able to communicate with him anymore. To fix this problem, George decided to do his own investigating in the hopes of finding a higher quality hearing aid. His search proved unsuccessful. He did, however, come across a book titled, The Mathematical Modelling and Signal Processing in Speech and Hearing Sciences,
by UC Irvine professor Dr. Jack Xin. George emailed the professor, and after a series of exchanges, the professor became his mentor. Together, they were able to come up with a math algorithm that could separate different sounds. George dedicated the next few years of his life to this project, working on it for hours every day, and even frequently driving to UC Irvine to work with Dr. Xin in person. He says, “Dr. Xin has been a monumental form of support throughout my research not only through his constant encouragement, but also through his passion for the subject, which constantly pushes me to strive and explore the unknown.” As his efforts created a significant breakthrough, he received much support from friends and family, saying, “They’ve definitely been beyond proud and supportive every step of the way, and just having them by my side every step of the way has made every bit the difference.” On Jan. 6, he was chosen as 1 of 300 semifinalists in the competition, and on Jan. 20, was chosen as 1 of 40 finalists. The semifinalists and their schools each received $1,000. In addition, the 40 finalists were awarded an extra $7,500 each and an opportunity to compete for a spot in three different categories: Basic Distinction, Global Good, and Innovation. The journey has not been easy, and George notes, “There were definitely many moments where I was on the brink of giving up, because research is basically an open-ended problem. And it’s very much possible that you spend a whole summer
researching a problem and still have little progress at the very end. For me, it was very difficult when I first began, because the research required a lot of higher-level math which I had yet to learn. So I spent the first few months trying to learn all the necessary concepts. And it was very hard to absorb the fact that so much time during the summer had been spent on this preliminary stage rather than actual research. So, there were definitely points where I heavily doubted myself and the possibility of producing any quality results.” While it wasn’t a prizewinner, George’s innovation has great potential in the long run, and he has big plans from here on out. “I plan on continuing my research in both undergraduate and graduate school. Currently most of my research centralizes on the mathematical analysis of sound separation methods.” With some more hard work and studying, he hopes to use his discovery to design a better type of hearing aid. As for other students who aspire for opportunities such as this, he has some advice to give, “My biggest advice to those who are interested in pursuing research is to not be afraid; be bold and proud, and don’t fear rejection or failure. Especially in the earlier stages, when you’re looking for potential mentors or institutions to work under, don’t fear rejection; just remember that persistence is one of the most—if not the most—important factors within research..” ctse@apachepowwow.com mwong@apachepowwow.com