Grant Sheen to be Named a 2018 Davidson Fellow
Grant Sheen to be Named a 2018 Davidson Fellow
Irvine, Calif. – The Davidson Institute for Talent Development has announced the 2018 Davidson Fellows. Among the honorees is 17-year-old Grant Sheen of Irvine. Sheen won a $10,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship for his project, An Alternating Minimization Method to Train Neural Network Models for Brainwave Classification. He is one of only 20 students across the country to receive this honor.
“I am honored and humbled to be selected as a Davidson Fellow because of its noble mission of providing educational support to the youth,” said Sheen.
Taking care of his grandmother during her final stages of Alzheimer’s disease inspired Sheen to search for a solution to the communication issues she suffered from. Sheen developed a highly efficient wireless brainwave classification method for Alzheimer’s patients. His work can be used to bridge the communication barrier between Alzheimer’s patients and their caretakers, and gives caretakers the ability to understand the needs of Alzheimer’s patients. On a healthcare level, this has the potential to impact quality of life and cost of medical treatment. Sheen’s work can also be extended to other communication disorders, such as stroke, autism, and ALS.
Sheen is a rising senior at Sage Hill High School and is interested in studying computer science, mathematics, and business through an integrated multi-disciplinary program.
“We are thrilled to recognize the 2018 Davidson Fellows not only for their incredible projects, but also for the journey they forged to reach this point,” said Bob Davidson, founder of the Davidson Institute. “Every year I am amazed by the depth of the Fellows’ accomplishments. Through encouragement and recognition, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development anticipates that gifted students like these will be among the pioneers who will solve the world’s most vexing problems.”
The 2018 Davidson Fellows will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 28.
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program offers $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships to students 18 or younger, who have completed significant projects that have the potential to benefit society in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature and music. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship has provided more than $7.5 million in scholarship funds to more than 300 students since its inception in 2001, and has been named one of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships by U.S. News & World Report. It is a program of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Reno, Nev. that supports profoundly gifted youth.
About the Davidson Institute
Founded by Bob Davidson in 1999, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development recognizes, nurtures and supports profoundly intelligent young people, and provides opportunities for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference. The Institute offers support through a number of programs and services, including the Davidson Fellows Scholarship and the Davidson Academy of Nevada. For more information about the 2018 Davidson Fellows, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows-Scholarship.
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High-resolution photos are available at www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows-Scholarship.
