Jack Terrell

Grade: 11

Started with SA in: 7

Future plans: “I aspire to be an astrophysicist. My goal is to get a PhD and do research in the field.”

Role model: “I look up to the big astrophysicists, like Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is an ambassador of science to the public, and I really appreciate his love and enthusiasm for science as a whole.” 

Favorite thing about SA: “I love the teachers and the academics here. I’ve had an excellent support network of teachers, and that has certainly been a highlight of my experience.”

Spotlight: For as long as he can remember, Jack has loved science, and his interest in astrophysics developed in fifth grade. Last summer, Jack was selected for the two-week Summer Scholars program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he focused on astronomy and studied exoplanets with the Transit Method. During the current academic year, Jack expanded on his work with the Transit Method, and in the course of his independent research, he encountered errors in determining the size of these distant worlds. Noticing that the hotter the exoplanet, the greater the inaccuracy, he created his own exoplanet model that included Black-body Radiation and enabled for the albedo (ratio of the light reflected by a planet) of the exoplanets to be discovered – incredibly valuable data in figuring out the composition of these worlds. During his research, Jack made the first albedo calculation for two exoplanets, including the first "Super Venus." Jack proposes that expanding his research worldwide and capturing subsequent results in a centralized database could ultimately lead to narrowing the search for other worlds like our own and those with life. This past winter, Jack submitted his research, “Application of Luminosity Modulus in Exoplanet Transits” to the Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair (PRSEF) where he earned second place in his category. Because of the novel, innovative nature of his work, he was selected as a finalist for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition which annually includes 1,800 high school students from 75 countries. Approximately 300 awards were distributed at ISEF last week in Dallas, and Jack earned a $500 award from the US Patent and Trademark Office Society for his highly innovative and patentable project. He also received a $3,000 grant toward pursuing further education and extracurricular work in science. Of the fair, Jack said, “On top of being an amazing, renowned event to be selected for, ISEF was also a whole lot of fun. Everyone works so hard just to get there in the first place, but ISEF is not only about the competition. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet like-minded people and network at mixers, symposia, ceremonies, and college fairs. Going to ISEF makes you feel as though you are a part of something larger than yourself.” Jack is now focused on patenting his model and furthering his research – applying the monetary awards received at ISEF to his future in the sciences.