January/February 2020

NSPE Today
MATHCOUNTS Alumni Earn Presidential Award

PO-SHEN LOH (LEFT) AND DAVID ZHANG (RIGHT) REUNITED AT THE PECASE AWARD CEREMONY.

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is one of the government’s highest honors, recognizing those who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science, technology, and education. At least five MATHCOUNTS alumni are among those recognized in 2019.

Hugh Churchill is an assistant professor of physics at the University of Arkansas. His research group focuses on quantum devices made with low-dimensional materials, work that has real-world applications in logistics and artificial intelligence.

Stephen Jordan works on quantum mechanics for Microsoft and is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland. He previously researched quantum computing at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Percy Liang is an associate professor of computer science at Stanford University, with research focused on making machine learning more robust, fair, and interpretable and improving communication with computers via natural language.

Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur, a math professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team. He also founded expii.com, a social enterprise that reinvents the middle school math curriculum with online math courses focused on creative thinking.

David Zhang is an associate professor of bioengineering at Rice University. His research group examines the biophysics of nucleic acid hybridization to develop noninvasive cancer diagnostics. His work has been awarded four US patents.

The MATHCOUNTS Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides students in grades six through eight with extracurricular math programs. MATHCOUNTS was originally founded by NSPE in collaboration with other organizations, and the Society remains a partner. Numerous NSPE members volunteer with the organization.

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