GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – A Buchholz High School (BHS) senior is adding to his list of accolades.
The Alachua County Public School (ACPS) system announced on Wednesday that Nathan Wei was named a 2024 finalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search – Society for Science (Regeneron STS), the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
The district says the selection ranks him among the top 40 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students in the nation.
Finalists receive a $25,000 award and will go on to compete in the finals in Washington, D.C. on March 7-13.
Regeneron STS says it selected this year’s finalists out of 2,162 entries submitted by students across the U.S. and ten other nations – the largest applicant pool since the 1960s.
According to the Talent Search website, they are chosen “based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and exceptional promise as STEM leaders.”
In order to be considered, students have to submit original research projects, essays and recommendations.
Wei’s project, ‘Novel Elastomeric Polystyrene via Photopolymerization and Post-Functionalization of Durable Ultra-High Molecular Weight Perfluorostyrene Copolymers,’ outlines his research on the development of a plastic that is strong, recyclable and made from renewable resources.
“My generation has grown up always hearing about climate change and how the planet is being damaged,” said Wei. “We’re the ones who are going to be affected by this, so when I got the opportunity to work at a research lab at UF (University of Florida), I wanted to do something that was targeted toward sustainability.”
Wei’s academic achievement includes being a member of the school’s national championship math team. He’s a 2024 National Merit Semifinalist and earned the highest possible total score on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The district says he’s also carried a very rigorous class load.
“I think I’ve taken just about every AP science and math class,” he said. “All the advanced curriculum Buchholz offers I’ve tried to get my hands on. Having such early exposure to STEM really sparked my interest and gave me the fundamentals to be able to do this research.”
Wei will be attending Princeton University after high school to major in chemistry. He says he has his sights set on becoming an academic.
“I like both sides of it,” he said. “You’re teaching new students and inspiring them to hopefully pursue the same things you’re pursuing, but you’re also doing groundbreaking research, making discoveries that will have a really big impact in the world.”