Prize Recipient

Eric Paniagua

Background:

My name is Eric Paniagua. I attended the Long Island School for the Gifted (LISG) grades 1-9. After 9th grade, I graduated from LISG and attended Massapequa High School (MHS) for grades 10-12. I graduated MHS as Valedictorian of the Class of 2005. My primary interests are research and mathematics. This year I was Captain of the Nassau County All-Star Math Team, and I was recognized as an Individual High Scorer in the New York State Math League. I started doing research in 9th grade in the Yin Lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). I used molecular genetics and proteomics techniques to study the role of a PKC in learning and memory in D. melanogaster. In March of 2004 I began working in the Chklovskii Lab (also at CSHL) where I am now studying the structure of the nervous system of C. elegans. My research has won me recognition as an Intel STS Semifinalist, regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium First Place winner, Intel ISEF Third Place winner in Physics, and LISEF First Place and Best in Category for Physics. I am heavily interested in math and in the dynamics and analysis of complex systems with particular interest in network theory. I am interested in computer science and programming. I started programming BASIC when I was 6, and I taught myself C++ at 9. My current active research interests lie in graph theory (Ramsey numbers, aspects of the graph isomorphism problem) and artificial evolution/artificial life (evolving computational systems).