New Trier Senior Madeline Oh named a Top 300 Scholar in prestigious science competition
New Trier senior Madeline Oh was recently named a top 300 scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2023, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. The competition recognizes promising young scientists who generate innovative solutions to solve significant global challenges through rigorous research and discoveries.
Oh was selected for her research on the conditions that can lead to the mergers of black holes or neutron stars, often referred to as “asymmetric compact binary mergers.” She has long been interested in research involving gravitational waves and has been working on projects with members of Northwestern University’s astrophysics department since participating in a high school summer research program at the university the summer after her freshman year.
In her current research, Oh used a code called COSMIC to simulate large populations of stars evolving into binary black holes and neutron star-black hole binaries under varying initial conditions. She identified five main evolutionary pathways that led to the binary black holes and neutron star-black hole binaries, and found the majority of asymmetric systems followed one of said pathways. Next, she discovered that in order for the system to merge, the secondary object needed to receive a large kick in the right direction during its supernova so that the two components are not too far apart, she said.
“When the detection of gravitational waves was first announced in 2016, I was so excited because I had just learned about the possibility of the existence of gravitational waves the week before,” Oh said. “My love for physics and astronomy was also hugely inspired by my freshman year physics teacher, Mrs. [Sheri] Donovan.”
Oh will be studying physics at Brown University in the fall and looks forward to pursuing additional research opportunities.
“There’s a lot of work that’s only just beginning, and I feel so honored to be contributing to this significant moment in scientific history as a high school student,” Oh said, noting that gravitational waves were first detected only seven years ago. “Over the past two years that I’ve been engaged in this research, I have learned so much about astrophysics, scientific writing, coding, and what it means to be part of a research group. My mentors have given me so much of their time and support, and I would love to someday embody that role for future young scientists.”
Out of 1,949 applications from 627 high schools across 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and four other countries, Oh and her fellow scholars were chosen based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions, and exceptional promise as STEM leaders demonstrated through the submission of their original, independent research projects, essays and recommendations.
View the list of 300 Scholars, and learn more about Regeneron and the Society for Science here: https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2023-scholars/
