Our instructor team is made up of students headed to MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and Columbia in Fall 2020. Collectively, we’ve won dozens of top awards at competitions including the Intel/Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS), and more. Our team also has multiple students who have published first-author computer science & artificial intelligence papers to top international journals and conferences.
Officers.
JOHN RHO PROGRAM CHAIR |
John Rho is a graduating senior and will be attending Harvard in the fall. He has worked on lots of science fair projects using ML these last few years, and also works on algorithms for technical analysis on crypto and the stock market. He was the Director of the Science Fair Academy last year in addition to serving as Co-Pres of AYSI. He is a 2x ISEF Finalist (1x grand award, 3x special award winner), in addition to being a lifetime fellow of the American Junior Academy of Science. He is also a 2021 Coca-Cola Scholar and 2nd Place Global Winner of the Diamond Challenge. Alongside Harvard, he was admitted to Stanford, Penn M&T, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and a full-tuition merit scholarship to UT Computer Science and Business Honors.
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CHARLES HOU PR & MARKETING CHAIR |
Charles Hou is a rising senior at Plano West Senior High School. Charles is a 3x TXSEF finalist, 2x Special Award Winner, TJAS 1st Prize Winner, TJAS 3rd Place Grand Prize winner, and an AJAS Fellow. He has conducted many computational research projects, including using specialized software to develop potential medicines for malignant skin cancer. Charles is well versed in a variety of programming languages, especially Java. Outside of science fair, Charles is a team captain for the Plano West Speech and Debate Team and has received many national-level accolades in speech and debate.
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RACHEL MAMMEN LOGISTICS CHAIR |
Rachel Mammen is a rising senior at Plano West Senior High School. Rachel is well versed in various coding languages with a focus in Java. Additionally, she was a finalist in both the 2019 and 2020 ISEF. In 2020 and 2018, Rachel competed in the Texas Junior Academy of Science and won First Place in Botany/Zoology and Second Grand Prize in Life Sciences, thus becoming a two-time Fellow of the American Junior Academy of Science. She has also competed four times at TXSEF, earning First and Second Place in 2017 and 2018. At the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair, she has won Grand Prize Runner-Up twice, three First Places, and one Third Place.
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NOAH MATHAI CURRICULUM LEAD, JUNIOR DIVISION |
Noah’s interests lie in the newly emerging biomedical, microbiological, and genetic research sectors. His most recent science fair project sought to investigate a potential gas barrier created by particle cementing bacteria for soil implementation, which qualified him for ISEF and a medical internship at UT Southwestern (STARS). Noah is also a 4x TXSEF finalist. Noah has also found a niche in music. He has performed as principal trombonist in a Wind Ensemble, jazz band, and full orchestra, and served as Band President and Brass Captain. He will be attending the UT Cockrell School for Biomedical Engineering in the Fall.
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RITHVIK GANESH CURRICULUM LEAD, SENIOR DIVISION |
Rithvik Ganesh is a rising senior at Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas. He is a member of the math, computer science, and research clubs at school and has competed in science fairs and mathematics competitions for many years. He enjoys multidisciplinary research and strives to make an impact in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease. Rithvik won 2nd Grand in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at the 2021 Regeneron ISEF and has qualified for the USA(J)MO twice consecutively. Rithvik has been a member and officer at AYSI for nearly 3 years and looks forward to sharing his knowledge with scientific peers.
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ADITYA RAI PROGRAMMING CHAIR |
Aditya Rai is a rising Senior at Plano West who has spent the better part of the last decade working with machine Learning algorithms. He has used his experience with machine learning algorithms to create numerous research projects, which have brought him a number of science fair awards (ex. TXSEF Category Winner) and allowed him to present his research at numerous international research conferences. In the past, Aditya has been a part of the team behind many AYSI programs such as the AYSI Science Fair Academy and AYSI SCI 2020.
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ALAY SHAH SENIOR DIVISION LECTURER |
Alay Shah is a rising freshman at MIT. He is conducting research in computer vision & AI. He is a Regeneron STS Finalist, a two-time National JSHS Grand Award Winner and an Intel ISEF Finalist. He has been awarded the annual Air Force research grant and is sponsored and funded by the DoD and NASA. He won Grand Prize at both the Texas Junior Academy of Sciences and the Texas JSHS for two years. Alay is an AJAS Fellow, 3-time TXSEF award winner, and a published author in 3 international journals.
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Teaching Assistants.
RAGHAV RAMKI JUNIOR DIVISION |
Raghav Ramki is a Junior at Plano East with extensive experience in Science Fair and is a long time contributing member of AYSI. Winning multiple state, national, and international prizes in science fair, he specializes in Molecular Biology and the usage of Artificial Intelligence in the field. Outside of science research, he spends a lot of time on Speech and Debate, NAQT Competitions, and playing card games.
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ASHLEY ZHANG SENIOR DIVISION |
Ashley Zhang is a rising junior at Plano West Senior High. She won 2nd in category at both TXSEF and DRSEF through her research concerning diabetes at UT Southwestern. Ashley was a member of AYSI-SCI and the Science Fair academy in 2020, and will be a Teaching Assistant for AYSI-SCI 2021. In addition to science fair, Ashley loves playing the tenor saxophone. She has performed in the LSYW ensemble and is a 3x All-Region band and 1x TSSEC qualifier.
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MATTHEW FAN SENIOR DIVISION |
Matthew Fan is a rising senior at St. Mark's. Throughout high school, he has worked on several machine learning projects at UT Dallas in areas like argument mining and computer vision. With his skills, he also helped develop event intelligence models as an intern, gaining real industry experience in applying AI. At school, he brings his passion for machine learning through serving as the founder and president of the Artificial Intelligence Club. Additionally, with his projects, Matthew placed Top 25 in C3.ai’s COVID-19 Grand Challenge, 3rd in the Congressional App Challenge, and was a winner of 10πHacks. Outside of science, he also competes in various national-level Spanish competitions and has received the Global Citizen Scholarship from the AATSP.
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ISHAAN JAVALI SENIOR DIVISION |
Ishaan Javali is a rising senior at Plano East. He currently serves as the President of Computer Science Club at Plano East and enjoys app development, machine learning, and competitive programming. He has been competing in science fair since middle school. This past school year he was in the AYSI Research Tier with my science fair partner and placed 1st in our category at ISEF.
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WILLIAM YAN SENIOR DIVISION |
William Yan joined AYSI as a member since the very beginning and has been participating in science fair for years. My interest lies in genetics and biological research, and my latest project was an machine learning model that optimizes CRISPR-Cas gRNA design. With this project, he won Grand at TJAS and TJSHS while receiving a second place at JSHS. William hopes to spread his passion in research to younger students and help them with his experience in science fair.
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KEVIN SUN SENIOR DIVISION |
Kevin Sun is a rising junior at Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas. Kevin is well versed in a variety of coding languages, especially Python and Java. During his three-year journey in science fair, he has won numerous awards through his extensive research in a variety of different fields. In 2021, Kevin was a Regeneron ISEF Finalist as well as a Regeneron ISEF Special Award Winner. He placed 2nd and 3rd in the Environmental Engineering category at TJAS in 2021 and 2020, respectively. Furthermore, he is also a 2x TXSEF Finalist, 1x TJSHS Finalist, and a Broadcom MASTERS Semifinalist. He has been invited to present his research at the 2021 Sigma Xi Student Research Conference in New York. In his free time, Kevin enjoys writing and is a forward in the Plano West Junior Varsity Hockey team.
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Guest Lecturers.
KEVIN MENG PLANO, TX |
Kevin is a passionate innovator who enjoys developing projects that solve real-world problems. He is an Intel ISEF Best in Category Winner, ACM Cutler-Bell Prize Winner, Coca-Cola Scholar, holds a provisional patent, and has presented/published his work at venues including the NSA, IEEE, AAAI, ACM, AAAS, and 7-Eleven R&D Labs. For 2 years, he has been researching fact-checking systems at UT Arlington's IDIR Lab. As Founder & CEO of ArcGen Technologies LLC, Kevin is also actively creating and collaborating with companies on new technologies. He was admitted to MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and UT Honors Programs and currently attends MIT.
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YINGJIE WANG PLANO, TX |
Yingjie Wang is a senior at Plano West Senior High and a rising CE freshman at Columbia University. She is a seasoned science fair competitor, passionate artist, and mechanical engineering researcher at the UT Dallas Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute. Yingjie has won 2nd Grand Prize at TXSEF and many national art accolades. She is fascinated by the intersection of robotics, CS, and art, specifically in augmented reality and interactive digital graphics.
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DEREK QIN PLANO, TX |
Derek is a senior at Plano West Senior High School and currently attends Caltech. He is a 3x Best in Category Winner at the Dallas Regional Science Fair and physics researcher at Boston University's X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory. Derek is also a USA Physics Olympiad Medalist and a 6x AIME Qualifier. As a Chapter President of Intellichoice, he coordinated volunteer math tutoring for lowincome neighborhoods. At Plano West, Derek serves as the co-President for the QuizBowl team, where he specializes in science.
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JULIA CAMACHO DENTON, TX |
Julia is an incoming freshman at MIT, where she will be majoring in computer science and molecular biology. She is passionate about computational oncology and believes that machine learning and AI will revolutionize healthcare. She has won top awards at Intel ISEF, TJAS, and DECA, and is a national winner of the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award. At the Texas Academy of Math and Science, she served as Director of Competitions for the Research Organization and VP of the AI Society.
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MAXIMILIAN DU mANLIUS, ny |
Maximilian is a senior at Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Upstate New York who is passionate about working with machine learning models, as well as tinkering with electronics. He is a 2-time Intel ISEF Finalist, a Broadcom MASTERS Finalist, and a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar. He has presented/published his research at an IEEE International Renewable Energy Conference, and he has also partnered with a local museum to introduce artificial intelligence to children. Among other colleges, he was admitted to MIT, Stanford, and Yale, and currently attends Stanford University. In his free time, he enjoys “making,” playing tennis, writing, and polishing rocks.
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RHYTHM GARG DENTON, TX |
Rhythm, a rising sophomore at Stanford University, believes in going beyond the buzzword by understanding the underlying mathematics and specific practical applications of emerging technologies. Having served as President of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science Math Club and Founder of the AI Club, he has been uniquely positioned to communicate the math behind AI. He has won awards at the Intel ISEF, 2019 Inventor’s Challenge, Putnam Mathematical Competition, AIME, Intl DECA Business Competition, and several hackathons.
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KABIR JOLLY HOUSTON, TX |
Kabir is a senior at the Academy of Science and Technology and a rising sophomore at Stanford University. He will be studying CS and is passionate about the intersection of AI and social entrepreneurship in fields such as healthcare. Kabir has been competing in science fairs for 6 years and is a Regeneron STS Scholar, TJSHS Winner, and 3x ISEF finalist, placing 3rd and 2nd in 2018 and 2019. Beyond science fair, Kabir is the President of the DICE Entrepreneurship Club and has competed at the DECA ICDC. He enjoys playing tennis and working on CS-related projects in his free time.
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BRANDON WANG PLANO, TX |
Brandon Wang is a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania/Wharton majoring in management and technology (M&T). He is a Regeneron STS Scholar, Robotics World Championship semifinalist, MIT THINK Winner, and published author. As captain of the Plano West debate team, he led the team to top awards at the Texas State Tournament, Harvard Invitational, and other national tournaments. Brandon is also a director of Be the Light Youth Association, where he organizes speech and debate programs to empower students across Texas.
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AMAN SINGH DENTON, TX |
Aman Singh is a Turing Scholar (CS Honors Major) at the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated from the Texas Academy of Math and Science, where he conducted research in Machine Learning, specifically Natural Language Processing, at the HiLT Laboratory. Aman's skillset revolves around upper-level math, algorithmic development, and data science. He scored a 9 on the AIME, is a member of the USACO Gold Division, and won HackUTA 2019 with a project that automatically creates slideshow presentations on the fly.
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ANIRUDH SUDARSHAN PLANO, TX |
Anirudh is a senior at Plano West Senior High and will be attending UT Austin. His passions stem from finding innovative solutions to help those afflicted by life-threatening medical conditions. He is currently pursuing research about axon regeneration to help patients afflicted by nerve-related injuries. Anirudh has also served as President of Biology Club and Neuroscience Club. He has served as President of the National Honor Society and pursued his passion to help the community by founding a nonprofit to help underprivileged students.
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