Hobbies
tennis, ping pong, skiing, watching movies, reading magazines, listening to music, volunteering (public library, hospital)

Clubs
Physics and Chemistry Club, Junior Statesman of America, United States Tennis Association, Brunswick Hills Racquet Club, Youth Advisory Council (public library)

Experience
US Physics Olympiad – semifinalist (2006) American Mathematics Competitions (AMC 10, AMC 12, AIME, USAMO) – school winner (2005, 2007) New Jersey Science League – top 10% in physics 1 (2004) Central Jersey Math League Odyssey of the Mind – world finalist (2006) National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society), Spanish Honor Society

Biography
A watchful eye looks over me as I sit at my desk every day. I usually do not take notice, but on occasion, my glance falls upon the visage of a balding white-haired gentleman lethargically staring back at me through his tired eyes. Many could immediately identify him as Albert Einstein. This household name has become synonymous with genius, and the twenty-first century has only given his ideas and theories more relevance. In his lifetime, he sought to answer the question: How does the universe work? In that question lies the essence of a physicist’s motivation and the fodder for my intellectual curiosity throughout my life.

My interest in physics developed slowly over time. As a child, I always wondered why many trucks at a local trucking station had a huge flare on top. Air resistance reduction, my dad explained to me, but I did not quite understand. For my middle school’s 5th grade science fair, I decided to test the theory myself. After constructing a wind tunnel out of LEGOS, I created peanut butter jars with a concave, flat, and convex fronts and measured how much each one would stretch a rubber band when blown with a leaf blower. Sure enough, the convex peanut butter jar exerted the least force on the rubber band due to its aerodynamic shape. I walked away with a first prize award, but more importantly, a valuable experience in actively seeking answers.

I continued to ask questions for several years before I finally encountered physics in a classroom setting in my freshman year. Several people hated the class and could not understand the concepts at all, but my experience could not have differed more. In short, I loved it. In physics, I discovered a set of principles that create the foundation for our universe. Astonishing in its accuracy, universal in its applicability, and elegant in its simplicity, physics provided an immensely satisfying organization to a seemingly random environment. Time after time, I observed the efficacy of various mathematical relationships such as F=ma, whose implications rivaled the most influential people and events in history. My formal physics education explained many of my real-life observations, but often left me with more questions.

A course called Biological Physics run by Columbia University’s Science Honors Program helped to open my eyes further. This distinctive new field bridges the divide between the physical and life sciences, using the principles of physics to explain biological phenomena. Last summer, my research topic at Penn Summer Science Academy’s Biomedical Research program also dealt with biophysics. Specifically, my group studied tissue mechanics, or the response of cells to physical stimuli in their environment, such as cell-to-cell contact and flow. Thus, I realized that physics has a direct impact on life itself.

Throughout my life, physics has answered many of my questions, but it always raises many more in the process. Only religion can provide immediate and final answers, but for me, the journey of discovery provides even better nourishment for my perpetually questioning mind. Through US Physics Team, I hope to discover more and find new answers to the question, “How does the universe work?” like Einstein and those before him.