61st Annual STS (2001–2002)
Finalists
Albert W. Leung

NEW YORK
Albert W. Leung, 17, of Brooklyn, submitted a zoology project to the Intel Science Talent Search, a study of how the brain of the golden hamster controls its internal clock. The internal clock is the process by which an animal's circadian rhythm is adjusted and reoriented depending on exposure to light and darkness. Albert studied the region of the rodent's brain (called the suprachiasmatic nucleus and consisting of a pair of coupled oscillators) that controls the internal clock. Albert developed a mathematical model of the oscillators, which analyzes one form of possible coupling modes. His work makes predictions that will be tested experimentally in the next few years. At Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, Albert is active in school publications and the science club. His hobbies include piano, web design, photography, handball and poetry. A volunteer for the American Red Cross since 1999, he serves as chairman of one of five Red Cross youth groups. The son of Philip and Cecilia Leung, Albert plans to continue his mathematics and computer science studies at MIT. His long-term ambitions include finding ways to improve education through automation technologies.