The mathematical prowess of Alex Power has earned him another $10,000 in scholarship money for his continuing education.
The Cedar Falls 16-year-old already has a full-ride national merit scholarship to Iowa State University, where he will enroll this fall. Now he's been tabbed as one of 17 award winners nationwide by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, an organization based in Reno, Nev., that recognizes and rewards ground-breaking work in science, mathematics, technology, music, literature or philosophy.
Power was one of 12 winners of $10,000 scholarships. There were also five awards of $50,000 scholarships.
"I was excited and a little bit surprised," he said.
Power's mathematical project is titled "On Chromatic Polynomials and the Properties of their Chromatic Growth Ratios."
Polynomials are algebraic expressions, and chromatics relate to colors. Through graph equations that count the number of ways to color a graph with a specific number of colors, Power's work focused on chromatic growth ratios. The Davidson Institute said his work has significant applications in communication networks, robotic vision systems and the expansion of the Internet.
Last summer Power was one of 50 U.S. students chosen to take part in a research program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was there that he studied chromatic polynomials. Later, he sent his work to the institute.
"I had to make a 15-minute video of myself explaining it," he said. "I also needed recommendations from a mentor, a teacher and one professional."
Earlier this year the project also earned him a $1,000 scholarship from the Intel Science Talent Search.
The Davidson Institute was founded in 1999 and is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people. Applicants must submit a piece of work that has the potential to make a positive contribution to society.
Bob and Jan Davidson, former educational software entrepreneurs, are cofounders of the Davidson Institute.
"These young people are the ones who will fuel advances in science, mathematics and technology, as well as propel society to new heights in music and literature," Bob Davidson said in a press release.
On Sept. 25, the 2002 Davidson Fellows will receive their scholarships at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., where Power visited in May as a member of the Cedar Falls High School Science Bowl team, and in the eighth grade for math camps.
He said he will probably work toward a double major in mathematics plus either chemistry or physics.
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