Announcing the 2020 Pioneer Research Journal

Pioneer Academics announces the 27 original research papers that were selected  for the 2020 Pioneer Research Journal, an international collection of undergraduate-level research. Published annually, the journal features the most outstanding scholarship generated by the young scholars enrolled in the Pioneer Research Program, the world’s only online research program providing U.S. college credit for exceptional high school students from around the world. Each paper was nominated by one of Pioneer’s world class mentoring professors before undergoing a rigorous review by a member of the 47-member expert review committee of faculty from top American universities and colleges. This committee evaluated each paper according to four criteria: engagement with scholarship, evidence and analysis, writing and organization, and scholarly contribution. The papers ultimately selected after undergoing this rigorous review represent the top 2.7% of the research papers from Pioneer’s 2020 academic year.

For the authors featured in the 2020 Pioneer Research Journal, publication of their work represents a significant personal accomplishment and marks a major milestone in their academic career. Working alongside their professors under Pioneer’s academic oversight, the authors pursued important lines of scholarly inquiry while sharpening the research and writing skills so crucial to academic success. Maanasi Nair, a student at the International School Bangalore,  emphasized the value of carrying out original research, pointing out that it opened her eyes to the versatility of research and challenged her to use different skill sets. Additionally, she highlighted the value of being part of Pioneer’s diverse international community. Participating in the program allowed her, she said, “to learn tremendously from the beautiful community of scholars and mentors from around the world.”

Having honed their research skills under Pioneer’s auspices, the authors whose work is featured in the 2020 Pioneer Research Journal are making meaningful contributions to their respective academic fields and recognize the power of research to promote deeper understanding and drive change. Ethan Estrada,a student at Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School in Austin, Texas, and a Pioneer scholar in the field of psychology, noted that his research in Pioneer allowed him to understand how research can empower communities and said, “In the future, I hope to engage in community-based participatory research to give more voice to my community and others like it.”

We are so proud to feature the important work of all the authors whose research will be published in the 2020 edition of the Pioneer Research Journal, which marks Volume 7. The papers in this volume span multiple disciplines in STEM, the social sciences, and the humanities, with authors drawn from schools in China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States. We look forward to publishing this volume of original and compelling research, which demonstrates the extraordinary work that high school students from around the world can achieve when given access to exceptional mentorship and held to the highest academic standards.  Please see the list below for the paper titles and authors that will appear in this year’s journal. 

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Author: Abhishek Don Hemlani

School: BASIS International School Guangzhou, China

Pioneer Research Area: International Relations

Pioneer Research Concentration: Political Risk and Prediction

Pioneer Research Topic: Lebanon: An IMF Case Study

Author: Adrienne Lai

School: St. Stephen`s and St. Agnes School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Science, Technology, and Society

Pioneer Research Concentration: Digital Mapping

Pioneer Research Topic: Diversity vs. Inclusion in STEM: Factors that Accurately Measure a Tech Company’s Commitment to Inclusion

Author: Alejandra Duran Urriago

School: Colegio Santa Francisca Romana, Colombia

Pioneer Research Area: Biophysics

Pioneer Research Concentration: Biological Sensors: How and How Well Do They Work?

Pioneer Research Topic: Not so Optimal: The Evolution of Mutual Information in Potassium Voltage-Gated Channels*

*This paper will not be printed in the Pioneer Research Journal, as it is currently under consideration for publication in another journal.

Author: Annapurna Ananya Maddali

School: Quarry Lane School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Economics

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Politics of the Gig Economy: Entrepreneurship, Technological Innovation, and Politics

Pioneer Research Topic: Can Corporations Balance Economic Profit with Corporate Social Responsibility?

Author: Bangjun Yue

School: Institut Le Rosey, Switzerland

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy

Pioneer Research Concentration: Bioethics

Pioneer Research Topic: Bioethics: To What Extent should Humanity Perceive Eugenics as Applicable?

Author: Chuhan Zhang

School: Nanjing Jinling High School International Department, China

Pioneer Research Area: Anthropology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Communication and Culture

Pioneer Research Topic: What Is Wolf: Narratives About Human-Wildlife Conflict in Tibetan China

Author: Dojin Choi

School: Coppell High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Neuroscience

Pioneer Research Concentration: Understanding the Sense of Touch

Pioneer Research Topic: Exploring Neurotrophin Therapy as a Treatment for Rehabilitating Victims of Childhood Abuse

Author: Ethan Estrada

School: Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Psychology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Psychology of Immigration

Pioneer Research Topic: “¿Que Dijo?” Adolescent Feelings Towards Language Brokering and its Effects on Family Conflict

Author: Jiaying Liu

School: Indian Springs School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Our Planet’s Plastic Plight

Pioneer Research Topic: Coastal Plastic Management as a Response to Rafting Invasive Species

Author: Lutfi Erdogan

School: Uskudar American Academy, Turkey

Pioneer Research Area: Computer Science

Pioneer Research Concentration: Biology in Computing: Why Are Networks Neural?

Pioneer Research Topic: Semi-Supervised Classification with Generative Adversarial Networks on Medical Datasets with Limited Size and Label

Author: Maanasi Nair

School: The International School Bangalore, India

Pioneer Research Area: Neuroscience

Pioneer Research Concentration: Vision Impossible: An introduction to the Psychology and Neuroscience of Seeing

Pioneer Research Topic: Search Asymmetry Manipulation with a Common Feature

Author: Mengyao (Angel) Yang

School: San Domenico School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Science, Technology, and Society

Pioneer Research Concentration: History of Medical Technologies

Pioneer Research Topic: Complicated Implications of Simple Images: Schizophrenic Patients’ and Their Families’ Views of MRI and fMRI in the United States from 2000-2020

Author: Nabo Yu

School: Webb Schools of California, United States 

Pioneer Research Area: Computer Science

Pioneer Research Concentration: Networks: from Searching the World Wide Web to Slowing the Spread of Infectious Diseases

Pioneer Research Topic: Analysis of Testing Accuracy Threshold for COVID-19 through a Computational SIR Model

Author: Qianyu Guo

School: YK Pao School, China

Pioneer Research Area: Mathematics

Pioneer Research Concentration: Fibonacci Numbers and Visual Proofs

Pioneer Research Topic: Cube-plate Tiling Numbers and Their Identities

Author: Qing Wan

School:Nanjing Jinling High School International Department, China

Pioneer Research Area: Sociology/Political Science

Pioneer Research Concentration: Gender and Political Conflict

Pioneer Research Topic: Uncovering the Invisibility: Protecting LGBT Groups in Armed Conflict and After

Author: Rohan Kartha

School: Westwood High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Gut Microbiome

Pioneer Research Topic: The Relationship Between the Anti-Inflammatory Strength of Butyrate and the Progression of Colorectal Cancer

Author: Ruoxuan Fang

School: Miss Porter’s School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Art History/Architecture

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Medieval Mediterranean: Confluence of Cultures

Pioneer Research Topic: Ship of Theseus: Looking at Hagia Sophia’s Cultural Complexity in the 21st Century

Author: Rushil Roy

School: Monte Vista High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Political Science

Pioneer Research Concentration: Big Questions in Comparative Politics: Nationalism, Modernity, the Social Question

Pioneer Research Topic: Exit, Voice, and Violence: Contemporary Responses of Non-Hindu Groups to the BJP’s Hindu Nationalism

Author: Seo Yoon Yang

School: Signal Mountain Middle/High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: History

Pioneer Research Concentration: Political Protest in Latin America

Pioneer Research Topic: “Ya me cansé”: The Role of International NGOs in the 2014 Ayotzinapa Massacre

Author: Vardaan Tekriwal

School: Jakarta Intercultural School, Indonesia

Pioneer Research Area: Business

Pioneer Research Concentration: Financial Accounting & Analysis, Capital Markets, Entrepreneurship, and Decision Making

Pioneer Research Topic: Intangible Assets: The Cause of Veblen Goods: A Breakdown of the Intangible Factors that Drive Pricing Premiums

Author: Xinlin Yu

School: International Department of the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University, China

Pioneer Research Area: Anthropology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Communication and Culture

Pioneer Research Topic: The Danmu Register and the Establishment of its Social Existence in a Youth-Centered Speech Community in China

Author: Xinyi Tian

School: Beijing Academy, China

Pioneer Research Area: Neuroscience/Psychology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Vision Impossible: An introduction to the Psychology and Neuroscience of Seeing

Pioneer Research Topic: How Images Influence People’s Understanding of Science in the Context of COVID-19

Author: Xinyue (Abby) Luo

School:  International Department of the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University, China

Pioneer Research Area: History/Sociology

Pioneer Research Concentration: History and Sociology of Sport

Pioneer Research Topic:  The Influence of Government Intervention on Sports Participation for School-Aged Children in China Between 2011 and 2020.

Author: Xuan Jiang

School: The Experimental High School Attached To Beijing Normal University, China

Pioneer Research Area: Anthropology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Nonverbal Communication

Pioneer Research Topic: The Slippery Slope: Naturalistic Observations into Nonverbal Manifestations of Formed Dominance Hierarchies Among Children at Play

Author: Yilong Wu

School: University School of Nashville, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Examined Life

Pioneer Research Topic: Nietzsche’s Agon with Plato: Truth, Morality, and Modernity

Author: Yuanmuhuang Long

School: High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Pioneer Research Area: Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Cell Biology

Pioneer Research Topic: The Roles of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer and the Investigation of Exosomal PD-L1 in Immunotherapy of Colorectal Carcinoma

Author: Zizheng Fang

School: Hangzhou Foreign Languages School, China

Pioneer Research Area: Mathematics

Pioneer Research Concentration: Combinatorics and Graph Theory

Pioneer Research Topic: Types of Graphs Generated by Pascal’s Simplices and a Problem Proposed by Teguia and Godbole