Pittsford student wins national research award for work at the laser lab

Diana Louise Carter//January 22, 2020//

Listen to this article

A Pittsford Sutherland High School student has won a national science award for a research project he developed while an intern at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester.

Simon Narang, 17, was named a Top 300 scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search earlier in January. On Thursday Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Society of Science & the Public will announce which of the 300 scholars are finalists in the competition for prizes up to $250,000.

As a Top 300 scholar, Narang won $2,000 for himself and $2,000 for his school with his project, “Modeling for Direct Drive Fusion Implosions: Cryogenic Target Filling at Arbitrary Viewing Angles and Yield Prediction.” The paper deals with the potential for greater output from the laboratory’s concentrated laser beams by holding the targets the lasers shoot at a slant instead of perpendicular to the beam.

The Society for Science & the Public said previous contest scholars have gone on to win Nobel Prizes and MacArthur Genius grants, or build successful careers as inventors or entrepreneurs. The 40 student finalists will go to Washington D.C. in March to compete for the major prizes.

Narang is the son of Sabrina Diol and Varun Narang.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275

Select Region or Brand

Upcoming Event