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This would be incredibly cool if it works in reality and not just simulation. Remarkable that the author is just 17.

fracus 1y ago
She's also a very talented violinist.
epcoa 1y ago
I’m not going to shit on it, nothing wrong with going into the family business - but it isn’t a complete coincidence that her dad is a PhD biochemist at UT Tyler.
- buckle8017 1y ago
  It never is, the winner of this competition is in astral radio telescopes. Something tells me he didn't launch the satellite.
  - felineflock 1y ago
    With mentorship from Caltech and access to data from NASA’s NEOWISE mission, Matteo created a machine learning algorithm and compiled a groundbreaking database called VarWISE. https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2025-student-finalists/matteo-paz/ https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2025-student...
    - qzw 1y ago
      I knew someone who reached the final stage of one of these science fairs. Project was done at a lab in an Ivy League university over a couple of summers. Relative was a senior scientist at the lab and guided them every step of the way. Not to discount what these kids are doing, but the reality is that these science fairs have largely become a contest about how well your family is connected to science-fair-friendly research facilities and how good your presentation skills are. I mean, do we really think 17 year olds are out there doing human trials on novel cancer therapies? I’m sure there are some projects that are genuinely thought of and done by the students themselves, but looking at a lot of these PhD level research that are supposedly done as after school projects of high school kids, I can’t help but think the whole thing has become a bit of a farce.
- jmcgough 1y ago
  Yeah, it's great to have kids excited about science, but at 17 it's extremely unlikely that she taught herself enough chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry to come up with this. She needs years more of college-level coursework. Essentially impossible without a biochemist in the family to guide her.
- hooo 1y ago
  And look at her mother -- https://profiles.unthsc.edu/profile/381 https://profiles.unthsc.edu/profile/381 -- hmmm
14 1y ago
Seeing articles like this is almost hard to read. My kids are very smart but this girl is 1000 times what they are doing. This girl is 1000 times what I am doing. Maybe it is just imposter syndrome but sometimes I read articles like this and think I fell short in life. But I am also top of my peers at work and I am a health care provider and my clients all request me so I know I am doing good. Sometimes I just wonder what mark I will leave on this world.
- Glyptodon 1y ago
  My experience is that stuff like this isn't because someone is wildly smarter than everyone but because there are connections, support, and resources of some form.
  - 14 1y ago
    I understand that and I do know that I am actually very intelligent and smart. Same for my children I mean damn I have already taught my 8 year old how to solder as good as a professional and am working on programming with him. And as a health care worker I can look after even the most difficult complex care clients where other health care workers struggle. That is what I am known for at work. But sometimes seeing literal teens doing things that seem so far ahead of me it
- throwawaymaths 1y ago
  it's just a four step synthesis. with the help of a phd chemist you could probably learn the steps in three months, and if you put your mind to it you could learn the ochem in a year. this project is the culmination of at least a year-maybe even up to three-of work. whats surprising is that parents let their kids do ochem at 17!! thats some toxic shit :). safety is why chemistry is not a super popular field at high school level science fairs.
  - mofunnyman 1y ago
    C'mon, who doesn't like their kids dusted with methylmercury?
- 1y ago

She's also a very talented violinist.

I’m not going to shit on it, nothing wrong with going into the family business - but it isn’t a complete coincidence that her dad is a PhD biochemist at UT Tyler.

buckle8017 1y ago
It never is, the winner of this competition is in astral radio telescopes. Something tells me he didn't launch the satellite.
- felineflock 1y ago
  With mentorship from Caltech and access to data from NASA’s NEOWISE mission, Matteo created a machine learning algorithm and compiled a groundbreaking database called VarWISE. https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2025-student-finalists/matteo-paz/ https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/2025-student...
  - qzw 1y ago
    I knew someone who reached the final stage of one of these science fairs. Project was done at a lab in an Ivy League university over a couple of summers. Relative was a senior scientist at the lab and guided them every step of the way. Not to discount what these kids are doing, but the reality is that these science fairs have largely become a contest about how well your family is connected to science-fair-friendly research facilities and how good your presentation skills are. I mean, do we really think 17 year olds are out there doing human trials on novel cancer therapies? I’m sure there are some projects that are genuinely thought of and done by the students themselves, but looking at a lot of these PhD level research that are supposedly done as after school projects of high school kids, I can’t help but think the whole thing has become a bit of a farce.
jmcgough 1y ago
Yeah, it's great to have kids excited about science, but at 17 it's extremely unlikely that she taught herself enough chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry to come up with this. She needs years more of college-level coursework. Essentially impossible without a biochemist in the family to guide her.
hooo 1y ago
And look at her mother -- https://profiles.unthsc.edu/profile/381 https://profiles.unthsc.edu/profile/381 -- hmmm

14 1y ago

Seeing articles like this is almost hard to read. My kids are very smart but this girl is 1000 times what they are doing. This girl is 1000 times what I am doing. Maybe it is just imposter syndrome but sometimes I read articles like this and think I fell short in life. But I am also top of my peers at work and I am a health care provider and my clients all request me so I know I am doing good. Sometimes I just wonder what mark I will leave on this world.

Glyptodon 1y ago
My experience is that stuff like this isn't because someone is wildly smarter than everyone but because there are connections, support, and resources of some form.
- 14 1y ago
  I understand that and I do know that I am actually very intelligent and smart. Same for my children I mean damn I have already taught my 8 year old how to solder as good as a professional and am working on programming with him. And as a health care worker I can look after even the most difficult complex care clients where other health care workers struggle. That is what I am known for at work. But sometimes seeing literal teens doing things that seem so far ahead of me it
throwawaymaths 1y ago
it's just a four step synthesis. with the help of a phd chemist you could probably learn the steps in three months, and if you put your mind to it you could learn the ochem in a year. this project is the culmination of at least a year-maybe even up to three-of work. whats surprising is that parents let their kids do ochem at 17!! thats some toxic shit :). safety is why chemistry is not a super popular field at high school level science fairs.
- mofunnyman 1y ago
  C'mon, who doesn't like their kids dusted with methylmercury?
1y ago