Jun Su and Weiguo Wang

Haian Senior School of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Province, China

Abstract

Fields-medal receiver, Professor Shing-Tung Yau established the S.-T. Yau High School Science Awards, for Chinese high school students in China and overseas, and S.-T. Yau High School Physics Award(YHPA) is one of the Awards. We introduce the YHPA in this paper, and share some experiences of taking part in the award. We hope that this work will inspire ambitious high school students to attend the competition for the YHPA.

Keywords

S.-T. Yau High School Science Awards, S.-T. Yau High School Physics Award, physical research topic

1.Introduction

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is a highly regarded scientific award for high school students in the United States[1]. It has inspired a many scientific and technological pioneers since its establishment in 1934. Professor Shing-Tung Yau, a world-renowned mathematician and Fields-medal receiver, established the S.-T. Yau High School Science Awards in 2008[2], for Chinese high school students in China and overseas, and the Tsinghua University (Beijing) hosts the contest. In addition, Professor S.-T. Yau has invited leading scientists to be the judges, and the participants are Chinese senior high school students in China and overseas. There are high school awards for mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. So far, the award for mathematics has been awarded in 9 sessions, the award for physics in 5 sessions, while the award for chemistry and biology were awarded in 2 sessions each, and the computer science prize in 1 session. Thanks to the growing awareness of this reward, the number of participating Chinese high school students around the world increased substantially. 

The southern, the northern, and the overseas divisions are grouped for the S.-T. Yau High School Physics Award(YHPA). Each participating team (a team is limited to three students) needs to decide on a physical research topic and submit a research report by early September each year. The Organizing Committee reviews the contributions of each division and announces the selected finalists. About 12 teams in both the southern and northern divisions are selected as finalists and announced in October. After their defense in Chinese (in each division), about 14 teams are chosen to participate in the national final. Teams that are not among the national finalists receive a reward for each division. At the national final in mid-December at Tsinghua University (Beijing), participants submit theses and perform defenses in English. Subsequently, one gold medal, one silver medal, three bronze medals, five honorable mentions, and four finalist awards. Among these, the top ten teams will receive bonuses. The rules are the same for all disciplines. Many students have qualified for and studied at world famous universities like Harvard and Yale since the establishment of this award.

2. How to prepare for YHPA

 I recommended some high school students to apply for YHPA in the years 2015 and 2016. The students reached the final, and they performed well in the national final too. I can share my guiding experience for the physics award competition to help both teachers and students, who are interested. The competition for the YHPA requires a small physics research project. To succeed, the high school students need to study and think about problems that are not confined to their regular textbooks. Therefore, qualified students should be fast learners, creative, and have a good foundation of physics. Although interest is also essential, the students should not only be passionate about physical research but also have practical relevant skills. They need to extend their knowledge of physics and scientific research techniques as well as common calculation, drawing, and motion-analysis software. 

Einstein once said, the question is more important than the problem. Similarly, choosing the right topic for the physics competition is very important. If the topic is too difficult, it will likely be beyond the cognitive scope of the students. On the other hand, it is not interesting if the selected topic is too arbitrary. Therefore, it is essential for students to find a suitable topic for the competition. This choice can be inspired from significant life experiences or based on previous research of predecessors. It would be difficult, for example, to find a suitable topic using the endless possibilities of Google scholar – the academic version of the popular search engine. I recommend the magazines The Physics Teacher and American Journal of Physics of American association of physics teachers(AAPT)[3-4], as well as Physics Education and European Journal of Physics in Institute of Physics(IOP)[5-6]. These magazines often feature original and interesting experimental and theoretical studies to find papers that meet the cognitive abilities and interests of high school students. After reading these papers, both teachers and students can see what researchers are doing, how they do it, and why they do it. In addition, they can learn many new experimental and theoretical methods. All these can help expand previously performed research.

 Our selected subject for the YHPA in 2015 came from a paper published in American Journal of Physics in 2015[7]. This paper analyzed the gravitational potential well in theory, and we studied its references and found that there were several theses discussing the gravitational potential well in theory but few experimental studies existed. As a result, we had the idea that it may be possible to print the gravitational potential well using a 3D printer, which would verify the theory through experiments. So, we used a 3D printer to perform this study and Mathematica to draw functions[8], which were transformed into .STL files. After much effort, we successfully printed the gravitational field with a 3D printer and carried out some interesting experiments. After the competition for YHPA, we expanded our research on this topic and published two research papers in the journal of physical education. One paper was published in American Journal of Physics[9], and the other in Physics Education[10]. Einstein said, “If we know what we need to do, then we don't call it research”. Similarly, after experiencing many twists and turns, the students discovered the true beauty and fascination of scientific research. Having no answer, after tireless searching, and despite many obstacles we managed to succeed. 

3.Summary

The YHPA created by Professor S.-T. Yau benefited from the organization and selection modes for the Intel ISEF, where examination papers and standard answers were abandoned but instead students encouraged to perform actual scientific research. This is very different from conventional physical exams. During the competition, the students can experience the joy of seeking new answers, which stimulates both motivation and creativity in scientific research. This also helps explore and cultivate promising young scientific talents. However, only very few teams qualify to enter the final. It is important to remember that the purpose of training students for scientific research not to win and award but to help understand the scientific method, acquire knowledge that is beyond regular textbooks, think about new problems, and feel the excitement of genuine research. This will help students develop and grow, which I think is also the original intention of the awards by Professor S.-T. Yau. We hope that this paper will inspire ambitious high school students to attend the competition for the YHPA and S.-T. Yau High School Science Awards.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Pro. S.-T. Yau, Pro. Sihui Wang, and the students of YHPA 2015-2016.

References

1.  The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF),  https://student.societyforscience.org/intel-isef/.

2.  Shing-Tung Yau High School Science Awards，http://www.yau-awards.science/.

3.  The Physics Teacher，http://aapt.scitation.org/journal/pte/.

4.  American Journal of Physics，http://aapt.scitation.org/journal/ajp/.

5.  Physics Education，http://iopscience.iop.org/.

6.  European Journal of Physics，http://iopscience.iop.org/.

7.  C. A. highton, “The 2D surfaces that generate Newtonian and general relativistic orbits with small Eccentricities”, Am. J. Phy., 83, 608-615(June 2015) .

8.  MATHEMATICA is a product of Wolfram Research, Inc. http://www.wolfram.com/.

9.  Jun Su, Weiguo Wang, et.al, “Visualization of gravitational potential wells using 3D printing technology”, Am. J. Phy., 84, 943-947(December 2016).

10. Meishu Lu, Jun Su et.al, “Visualisation of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion”, Phy. Edu., 52,(January 2017).