63rd Annual STS (2003-2004)
Finalists
Phillip Thomas Deutsch

CALIFORNIA
Phillip Thomas Deutsch, 17, of La Canada, investigated novel methods of determining the conformations or shapes of substituted ethanes, a simple type of organic molecule, for his Intel Science Talent Search chemistry project. In studying methods of conformational analysis to predict reaction rates, he had determined that previous methodologies that analyzed the equilibrium position of conformations in solution did not meet rigorous standards and set out to find one that would. He investigated three numerical methods suggested by nuclear magnetic resonance data, and believes that the validity of one method could improve the Altona procedure, the dominant method currently used. Phillip believes that knowledge about the conformations of ethanes could lead to insights about the conformations of more complicated molecules like proteins, which could have useful biological and medical implications. At La Canada High School, Phillip plays in the flute choir and the concert and marching bands. In 2003, he was a semi-finalist for both the U.S. Chemistry and Physics Olympiad Teams. The son of Drs. Andrew Deutsch and Jeanne Wallace, he hopes to study computer science at Caltech.